Job 38-42
New American Standard Bible
God Speaks Now to Job
38 Then the Lord (A)answered Job from the whirlwind and said,
2 “Who is this who (B)darkens the divine plan
By words without knowledge?
3 Now [a](C)tighten the belt on your waist like a man,
And (D)I shall ask you, and you inform Me!
4 Where were you (E)when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell Me, if you [b]have understanding,
5 Who set its (F)measurements? Since you know.
Or who stretched the measuring line over it?
6 On what (G)were its bases sunk?
Or who laid its cornerstone,
7 When the morning stars sang together
And all the (H)sons of God shouted for joy?
8 “Or who (I)enclosed the sea with doors
When it went out from the womb, bursting forth;
9 When I made a cloud its garment,
And thick darkness its swaddling bands,
10 And I [c](J)placed boundaries on it
And set a bolt and doors,
11 And I said, ‘As far as this point you shall come, but no farther;
And here your proud waves shall stop’?
God’s Mighty Power
12 “Have you [d]ever in your life commanded the morning,
And made the dawn know its place,
13 So that it would take hold of (K)the ends of the earth,
And (L)the wicked would be shaken off from it?
14 It is changed like clay under the seal;
And they stand out like a garment.
15 (M)Their light is withheld from the wicked,
And the (N)uplifted arm is broken.
16 “Have you entered (O)the springs of the sea,
And walked [e]in the depth of the ocean?
17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you,
And have you seen the gates of (P)deep darkness?
18 Have you understood the [f]expanse of (Q)the earth?
Tell Me, if you know all this.
19 “Where is the way to the dwelling of light?
And darkness, where is its place,
20 That you would take it to (R)its territory,
And discern the paths to its [g]home?
21 You know, for (S)you were born then,
And the number of your days is great!
22 Have you entered the storehouses (T)of the snow,
And have you seen the storehouses of the (U)hail,
23 Which I have reserved for a time of distress,
For a day of war and battle?
24 Where is the way that (V)the light is divided,
And the east wind scattered on the earth?
25 “Who has split open a channel for the flood,
And a way for the thunderbolt,
26 To bring (W)rain on a land without [h]people,
On a desert without a person in it,
27 To (X)satisfy the waste and desolate land,
And to make the [i]seeds of grass to sprout?
28 Does (Y)the rain have a father?
Or who has fathered the drops of dew?
29 From whose womb has come the (Z)ice?
And the frost of heaven, who has given it birth?
30 Water [j]becomes hard like stone,
And the surface of the deep is imprisoned.
31 “Can you tie up the chains of the (AA)Pleiades,
Or untie the cords of Orion?
32 Can you bring out a [k]constellation in its season,
And guide the Bear with her [l]satellites?
33 Do you know the (AB)ordinances of the heavens,
Or do you establish their rule over the earth?
34 “Can you raise your voice to the clouds,
So that an (AC)abundance of water will cover you?
35 Can you (AD)send flashes of lightning, so that they may go
And say to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 Who has (AE)put wisdom in the innermost being,
Or given (AF)understanding to the [m]mind?
37 Who can count the clouds by wisdom,
And (AG)pour out the water jars of the heavens,
38 When the dust hardens into a mass
And the clods stick together?
39 “Can you hunt the (AH)prey for the lioness,
Or satisfy the appetite of young lions,
40 When they (AI)crouch in their hiding places,
And lie in wait in their lair?
41 Who prepares [n]feed for (AJ)the raven
When its young cry to God,
And wander about without food?
God Speaks of Nature and Its Beings
39 “Do you know the time the [o](AK)mountain goats give birth?
Do you observe the calving of the (AL)deer?
2 Can you count the months they fulfill,
Or do you know the time they give birth?
3 They kneel down, they deliver their young,
They get rid of their labor pains.
4 Their offspring become strong, they grow up in the open field;
They leave and do not return to them.
5 “Who sent the (AM)wild donkey out free?
And who opened the bonds of the swift donkey,
6 To whom I gave (AN)the wilderness as his home,
And the salt land as his dwelling place?
7 He laughs at the turmoil of the city,
He does not hear the shouting of the taskmaster.
8 He explores the mountains of his pasture,
And searches after every green thing.
9 Will the (AO)wild bull be willing to serve you,
Or will he spend the night at your feeding trough?
10 Can you tie down the wild bull in a furrow with [p]ropes,
Or will he [q]plow the valleys after you?
11 Will you trust him because his strength is great,
And leave your labor to him?
12 Will you have faith in him that he will return your [r]grain
And gather it from your threshing floor?
13 “The wings of the ostrich flap joyously,
With the pinion and feathers of [s]love,
14 For she abandons her eggs to the earth
And warms them in the dust,
15 And she forgets that a foot may crush [t]them,
Or that a wild animal may trample [u]them.
16 She treats her young (AP)cruelly, as if they were not hers;
Though her labor is for nothing, she is [v]unconcerned,
17 Because God has made her forget wisdom,
And has not given her a share of understanding.
18 When she rushes away on high,
She laughs at the horse and his rider.
19 “Do you give the horse his might?
Do you clothe his neck with a mane?
20 Do you make him (AQ)leap like locusts?
His majestic (AR)snorting is frightening.
21 [w]He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength;
He (AS)goes out to meet the battle.
22 He laughs at fear and is not dismayed;
And he does not turn back from the sword.
23 The quiver rattles against him,
The flashing spear and javelin.
24 He [x]races over the ground with a roar and fury,
And he does not stand still when he hears the sound of the trumpet.
25 As often as the trumpet sounds he says, ‘Aha!’
And he senses the battle from afar,
And the thunder of the captains and the war cry.
26 “Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars,
Stretching his wings toward the south?
27 Is it at your [y]command that the eagle flies high,
And makes (AT)his nest on high?
28 He dwells and spends his nights on the cliff,
On the rocky cliff, an inaccessible place.
29 From there he (AU)tracks food;
His eyes look at it from afar.
30 His young ones also lick up blood greedily;
And (AV)where the slain are, there he is.”
Job Says What Can I Say?
40 Then the Lord said to Job,
2 “Will the faultfinder (AW)contend with the Almighty?
Let him who (AX)rebukes God [z]give an answer.”
3 Then Job answered the Lord and said,
4 “Behold, I am insignificant; what can I say in response to You?
I (AY)put my hand on my mouth.
5 I have spoken once, and (AZ)I will not reply;
Or twice, and I will add nothing more.”
God Questions Job
6 Then the (BA)Lord answered Job from the whirlwind and said,
7 “Now [aa](BB)tighten the belt on your waist like a man;
I will (BC)ask you, and you instruct Me.
8 Will you really (BD)nullify My judgment?
Will you (BE)condemn Me (BF)so that you may be justified?
9 Or do you have an arm like God,
And can you (BG)thunder with a voice like His?
10 “(BH)Adorn yourself with pride and dignity,
And clothe yourself with honor and majesty.
11 Let out your (BI)outbursts of anger,
And look at everyone who is (BJ)arrogant, and humble him.
12 Look at everyone who is arrogant, and (BK)humble him,
And (BL)trample down the wicked [ab]where they stand.
13 (BM)Hide them together in the dust;
Imprison [ac]them in the hidden place.
14 Then I will also [ad]confess to you,
That your own right hand can save you.
God’s Power Shown in Creatures
15 “Behold, [ae]Behemoth, which (BN)I made [af]as well as you;
He eats grass like an ox.
16 Behold, his strength in his waist,
And his power in the muscles of his belly.
17 He hangs his tail like a cedar;
The tendons of his thighs are knit together.
18 His bones are tubes of bronze;
His [ag]limbs are like bars of iron.
19 “He is the (BO)first of the ways of God;
Let his (BP)Maker bring His sword near.
20 Indeed the [ah]mountains (BQ)bring him food,
And all the animals of the field (BR)play there.
21 He lies down under the lotus plants,
In the hiding place of the reeds and the marsh.
22 The lotus plants cover him with [ai]shade;
The willows of the brook surround him.
23 If a river [aj]rages, he is not alarmed;
He is confident, though the (BS)Jordan rushes to his mouth.
24 Can anyone capture him [ak]when he is on watch,
Can anyone pierce his nose with barbs?
God’s Power Shown in Creatures
41 “[al]Can you drag out [am](BT)Leviathan with a fishhook,
And press down his tongue with a rope?
2 Can you (BU)put a [an]rope in his nose,
And pierce his jaw with a [ao]hook?
3 Will he make many pleas to you,
Or will he speak to you gentle words?
4 Will he make a covenant with you?
Will you take him as a servant forever?
5 Will you play with him as with a bird,
And tie him down for your young girls?
6 Will the [ap]traders bargain for him?
Will they divide him among the merchants?
7 Can you fill his skin with harpoons,
Or his head with fishing spears?
8 Lay your hand on him.
Remember the battle; [aq]you will not do it again!
9 [ar]Behold, [as]your expectation is false;
Will [at]you be hurled down even at the sight of him?
10 No one is so reckless that he dares to (BV)stir him;
Who then is he who opposes Me?
11 Who has (BW)been first to give to Me, that I should repay him?
Whatever is (BX)under the entire heaven is Mine.
12 “I will not be silent about his limbs,
Or his mighty strength, or his graceful frame.
13 Who can [au]strip off his outer covering?
Who can [av]pierce his double [aw]armor?
14 Who can open the doors of his face?
Around his teeth there is terror.
15 His [ax]strong scales are his pride,
Locked as with a tight seal.
16 One is so close to another
That no air can come between them.
17 They are joined one to another;
They clasp each other and cannot be separated.
18 His sneezes flash forth light,
And his eyes are like the (BY)eye of dawn.
19 From his mouth go burning torches;
Sparks of fire leap forth.
20 From his nostrils smoke goes out
As from a boiling pot and burning reeds.
21 His breath sets coals aglow,
And a flame goes forth from his mouth.
22 In his neck dwells strength,
And dismay leaps before him.
23 The folds of his flesh are joined together,
Firm and immovable on him.
24 His heart is as firm as a stone,
And as firm as a lower millstone.
25 When he rises up, the [ay]mighty are afraid;
Because of the crashing they are bewildered.
26 The sword that reaches him cannot [az]prevail,
Nor the spear, the dart, or the javelin.
27 He regards iron as straw,
Bronze as rotten wood.
28 The [ba]arrow cannot make him flee;
Slingstones are turned into stubble for him.
29 Clubs are regarded as stubble;
He laughs at the rattling of the javelin.
30 His underparts are like sharp pieces of pottery;
He [bb]spreads out like a threshing sledge on the mud.
31 He makes the depths boil like a pot;
He makes the sea like a jar of ointment.
32 Behind him he illuminates a pathway;
One would think the deep to be gray-haired.
33 (BZ)Nothing on [bc]earth is like him,
One made without fear.
34 [bd]He looks on everything that is high;
He is king over all the (CA)sons of pride.”
Job’s Confession
42 Then Job answered the Lord and said,
2 “I know that (CB)You can do all things,
And that no plan is impossible for You.
3 ‘Who is this who (CC)conceals advice without knowledge?’
Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand,
Things (CD)too wonderful for me, which I do not know.
4 ‘Please listen, and I will speak;
I will (CE)ask You, and You instruct me.’
5 I have (CF)heard of You by the hearing of the ear;
But now my (CG)eye sees You;
6 Therefore I retract,
And I repent, sitting on dust and ashes.”
God Is Displeased with Job’s Friends
7 It came about after the Lord had spoken these words to Job, that the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends, because you have not spoken of Me what is trustworthy, (CH)as My servant Job has. 8 Now therefore, take for yourselves (CI)seven bulls and seven rams, and go to My servant Job, and offer up a (CJ)burnt offering for yourselves, and My servant Job will (CK)pray for you. (CL)For I will [be]accept him so as not to do with you as your foolishness deserves, because you have not spoken of Me what is trustworthy, as My servant Job has.” 9 So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the Lord told them; and the Lord [bf]accepted Job.
God Restores Job’s Fortunes
10 The Lord also (CM)restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the Lord increased double all that Job had. 11 Then all his (CN)brothers, all his sisters, and all who had known him before came to him, and they ate bread with him in his house; and they (CO)sympathized with him and comforted him for all the adversities that the Lord had brought on him. And each one gave him a [bg]piece of money, and each a ring of gold. 12 (CP)The Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; (CQ)and he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand female donkeys. 13 (CR)He also had seven sons and three daughters. 14 He named the first Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch. 15 In all the land no women were found as beautiful as Job’s daughters; and their father gave them inheritances among their brothers. 16 After this, Job lived 140 years, and saw his sons and his grandsons, four generations. 17 (CS)And Job died, an old man and full of days.
Notas al pie
- Job 38:3 I.e., as if for battle
- Job 38:4 Lit know understanding
- Job 38:10 Lit broke My decree on it
- Job 38:12 Lit from your days commanded
- Job 38:16 Or in search of the deep
- Job 38:18 Or width
- Job 38:20 Lit house
- Job 38:26 Lit man
- Job 38:27 Or growth
- Job 38:30 Lit hides itself like
- Job 38:32 Heb Mazzaroth
- Job 38:32 Lit sons
- Job 38:36 Or rooster
- Job 38:41 Lit its feed
- Job 39:1 Lit goats of the rock
- Job 39:10 Lit his rope
- Job 39:10 I.e., pull a harrow, a farming device
- Job 39:12 Lit seed
- Job 39:13 Or a stork
- Job 39:15 Lit it
- Job 39:15 Lit it
- Job 39:16 Lit without fear
- Job 39:21 Lit They paw
- Job 39:24 Lit swallows up
- Job 39:27 Lit mouth
- Job 40:2 Lit answer it
- Job 40:7 I.e., as if for battle
- Job 40:12 Lit under them
- Job 40:13 Lit their faces
- Job 40:14 Or praise you
- Job 40:15 I.e., a powerful animal, possibly a hippopotamus
- Job 40:15 Lit with you
- Job 40:18 Lit bones
- Job 40:20 I.e., the mountain streams
- Job 40:22 Lit his shade
- Job 40:23 Or oppresses
- Job 40:24 Lit in his eyes
- Job 41:1 Ch 40:25 in Heb
- Job 41:1 I.e., a sea monster or crocodile
- Job 41:2 Lit rope of rushes
- Job 41:2 Or thorn; or ring
- Job 41:6 Lit partners
- Job 41:8 Lit do not add
- Job 41:9 Ch 41:1 in Heb
- Job 41:9 Lit his
- Job 41:9 Lit he
- Job 41:13 Lit uncover the face of his garment
- Job 41:13 Lit come into
- Job 41:13 As in LXX; Heb bridle
- Job 41:15 Lit rows of shields
- Job 41:25 Or gods
- Job 41:26 Lit rise
- Job 41:28 Lit son of the bow
- Job 41:30 Or moves across
- Job 41:33 Lit dust
- Job 41:34 Ch 41:26 in Heb
- Job 42:8 Lit lift up his face
- Job 42:9 Lit lifted up the face of
- Job 42:11 Heb qesitah
Job 38-42
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Lord Answers Job
38 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind:(A)
2 “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?(B)
3 Gird up your loins like a man;
I will question you, and you shall declare to me.(C)
4 “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding.(D)
5 Who determined its measurements—surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?
6 On what were its bases sunk,
or who laid its cornerstone(E)
7 when the morning stars sang together
and all the heavenly beings[a] shouted for joy?(F)
8 “Or who shut in the sea with doors
when it burst out from the womb,(G)
9 when I made the clouds its garment
and thick darkness its swaddling band,(H)
10 and prescribed bounds for it,
and set bars and doors,(I)
11 and said, ‘Thus far shall you come and no farther,
and here shall your proud waves be stopped’?(J)
12 “Have you commanded the morning since your days began
and caused the dawn to know its place,(K)
13 so that it might take hold of the skirts of the earth,
and the wicked be shaken out of it?(L)
14 It is changed like clay under the seal,
and it is dyed[b] like a garment.
15 Light is withheld from the wicked,
and their uplifted arm is broken.(M)
16 “Have you entered into the springs of the sea
or walked in the recesses of the deep?(N)
17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you,
or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?(O)
18 Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth?
Declare, if you know all this.(P)
19 “Where is the way to the dwelling of light,
and where is the place of darkness,
20 that you may take it to its territory
and that you may discern the paths to its home?(Q)
21 Surely you know, for you were born then,
and the number of your days is great!(R)
22 “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow,
or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,(S)
23 which I have reserved for the time of trouble,
for the day of battle and war?(T)
24 What is the way to the place where the light is distributed
or where the east wind is scattered upon the earth?(U)
25 “Who has cut a channel for the torrents of rain
and a way for the thunderbolt,(V)
26 to bring rain on a land where no one lives,
on the desert, which is empty of human life,(W)
27 to satisfy the waste and desolate land,
and to make the ground put forth grass?(X)
28 “Has the rain a father,
or who has fathered the drops of dew?(Y)
29 From whose womb did the ice come forth,
and who has given birth to the hoarfrost of heaven?(Z)
30 The waters become hard like stone,
and the face of the deep is frozen.
31 “Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades
or loose the cords of Orion?(AA)
32 Can you lead forth the Mazzaroth in their season,
or can you guide the Bear with its children?
33 Do you know the ordinances of the heavens?
Can you establish their rule on the earth?(AB)
34 “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,
so that a flood of waters may cover you?(AC)
35 Can you send forth lightnings, so that they may go
and say to you, ‘Here we are’?(AD)
36 Who has put wisdom in the inward parts[c]
or given understanding to the mind?[d](AE)
37 Who has the wisdom to number the clouds?
Or who can tilt the waterskins of the heavens
38 when the dust runs into a mass
and the clods cling together?
39 “Can you hunt the prey for the lion
or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,(AF)
40 when they crouch in their dens
or lie in wait in their covert?(AG)
41 Who provides for the raven its prey,
when its young ones cry to God
and wander about for lack of food?(AH)
39 “Do you know when the mountain goats give birth?
Do you observe the calving of the deer?(AI)
2 Can you number the months that they fulfill,
and do you know the time when they give birth,
3 when they crouch to give birth to their offspring
and are delivered of their young?(AJ)
4 Their young ones become strong; they grow up in the open;
they go forth and do not return to them.
5 “Who has let the wild ass go free?
Who has loosed the bonds of the swift ass,(AK)
6 to which I have given the steppe for its home,
the salt land for its dwelling place?(AL)
7 It scorns the tumult of the city;
it does not hear the shouts of the driver.
8 It ranges the mountains as its pasture,
and it searches after every green thing.
9 “Is the wild ox willing to serve you?
Will it spend the night at your crib?(AM)
10 Can you tie it in the furrow with ropes,
or will it harrow the valleys after you?
11 Will you depend on it because its strength is great,
and will you hand over your labor to it?
12 Do you have faith in it that it will return
and bring your grain to your threshing floor?[e]
13 “The ostrich’s wings flap wildly,
though its pinions lack plumage.[f]
14 For it leaves its eggs to the earth
and lets them be warmed on the ground,
15 forgetting that a foot may crush them
and that a wild animal may trample them.
16 It deals cruelly with its young, as if they were not its own;
though its labor should be in vain, yet it has no fear;(AN)
17 because God has made it forget wisdom
and given it no share in understanding.(AO)
18 When it spreads its plumes aloft,[g]
it laughs at the horse and its rider.
19 “Do you give the horse its might?
Do you clothe its neck with mane?(AP)
20 Do you make it leap like the locust?
Its majestic snorting is terrible.(AQ)
21 It paws[h] violently, exults mightily;
it goes out to meet the weapons.(AR)
22 It laughs at fear and is not dismayed;
it does not turn back from the sword.
23 Upon it rattle the quiver,
the flashing spear, and the javelin.
24 With fierceness and rage it swallows the ground;
it cannot stand still at the sound of the trumpet.(AS)
25 When the trumpet sounds, it says ‘Aha!’
From a distance it smells the battle,
the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.(AT)
26 “Is it by your wisdom that the hawk soars
and spreads its wings toward the south?
27 Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up
and makes its nest on high?(AU)
28 It lives on the rock and makes its home
in the fastness of the rocky crag.
29 From there it spies the prey;
its eyes see it from far away.(AV)
30 Its young ones suck up blood,
and where the slain are, there it is.”(AW)
40 And the Lord said to Job:
Job’s Response to God
3 Then Job answered the Lord:
4 “See, I am of small account; what shall I answer you?
I lay my hand on my mouth.(AY)
5 I have spoken once, and I will not answer,
twice but will proceed no further.”(AZ)
God’s Challenge to Job
6 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind:(BA)
7 “Gird up your loins like a man;
I will question you, and you declare to me.(BB)
8 Will you even put me in the wrong?
Will you condemn me that you may be justified?(BC)
9 Have you an arm like God,
and can you thunder with a voice like his?(BD)
10 “Deck yourself with majesty and dignity;
clothe yourself with glory and splendor.(BE)
11 Pour out the overflowings of your anger,
and look on all who are proud and humble them.(BF)
12 Look on all who are proud and bring them low;
tread down the wicked where they stand.(BG)
13 Hide them all in the dust together;
bind their faces in the world below.[j]
14 Then I will also acknowledge to you
that your own right hand can give you victory.(BH)
15 “Look at Behemoth,
which I made just as I made you;
it eats grass like an ox.(BI)
16 Its strength is in its loins
and its power in the muscles of its belly.
17 It makes its tail stiff like a cedar;
the sinews of its thighs are knit together.
18 Its bones are tubes of bronze,
its limbs like bars of iron.
19 “It is the first of the great acts of God;
only its Maker can approach it with the sword.(BJ)
20 For the mountains yield food for it
where all the wild animals play.(BK)
21 Under the lotus plants it lies,
in the covert of the reeds and in the marsh.
22 The lotus trees cover it for shade;
the willows of the wadi surround it.(BL)
23 Even if the river is turbulent, it is not frightened;
it is confident though Jordan rushes against its mouth.
24 Can one take it with hooks[k]
or pierce its nose with a snare?(BM)
41 [l]“Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook
or press down its tongue with a cord?(BN)
2 Can you put a rope in its nose
or pierce its jaw with a hook?(BO)
3 Will it make many supplications to you?
Will it speak soft words to you?
4 Will it make a covenant with you
to be taken as your servant forever?
5 Will you play with it as with a bird
or put it on a leash for your young women?
6 Will traders bargain over it?
Will they divide it up among the merchants?
7 Can you fill its skin with harpoons
or its head with fishing spears?
8 Lay hands on it;
think of the battle; you will not do it again!
9 [m]Any hope of capturing it[n] will be disappointed;
one is overwhelmed even at the sight of it.
10 No one is so fierce as to dare to stir it up.
Who can stand before it?[o](BP)
11 Who can confront it[p] and be safe?[q]
—under the whole heaven, who?[r](BQ)
12 “I will not keep silent concerning its limbs
or its mighty strength or its splendid frame.
13 Who can strip off its outer garment?
Who can penetrate its double coat of mail?[s]
14 Who can open the doors of its face?
There is terror all around its teeth.
15 Its back[t] is made of shields in rows,
shut up closely as with a seal.
16 One is so near to another
that no air can come between them.
17 They are joined one to another;
they clasp each other and cannot be separated.
18 Its sneezes flash forth light,
and its eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn.(BR)
19 From its mouth go flaming torches;
sparks of fire leap out.
20 Out of its nostrils comes smoke,
as from a boiling pot and burning rushes.
21 Its breath kindles coals,
and a flame comes out of its mouth.
22 In its neck abides strength,
and terror dances before it.
23 The folds of its flesh cling together;
it is firmly cast and immovable.
24 Its heart is as hard as stone,
as hard as the lower millstone.
25 When it raises itself up the gods are afraid;
at the crashing they are beside themselves.
26 Though the sword reaches it, it does not avail,
nor does the spear, the dart, or the javelin.
27 It counts iron as straw
and bronze as rotten wood.
28 The arrow cannot make it flee;
slingstones, for it, are turned to chaff.
29 Clubs are counted as chaff;
it laughs at the rattle of javelins.
30 Its underparts are like sharp potsherds;
it spreads itself like a threshing sledge on the mire.
31 It makes the deep boil like a pot;
it makes the sea like a pot of ointment.
32 It leaves a shining wake behind it;
one would think the deep to be white-haired.
33 On earth it has no equal,
a creature without fear.(BS)
34 It surveys everything that is lofty;
it is king over all that are proud.”
Job Is Humbled and Satisfied
42 Then Job answered the Lord:
2 “I know that you can do all things
and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.(BT)
3 ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’
Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me that I did not know.(BU)
4 ‘Hear, and I will speak;
I will question you, and you declare to me.’(BV)
5 I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,
but now my eye sees you;(BW)
6 therefore I despise myself
and repent in dust and ashes.”(BX)
Job’s Friends Are Humiliated
7 After the Lord had spoken these words to Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.(BY) 8 Now therefore take seven bulls and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering, and my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has done.”(BZ) 9 So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did what the Lord had told them, and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer.
Job’s Fortunes Are Restored Twofold
10 And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he had prayed for his friends, and the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.(CA) 11 Then there came to him all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and they ate bread with him in his house; they showed him sympathy and comforted him for all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him; and each of them gave him a piece of money[u] and a gold ring.(CB) 12 The Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning, and he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand donkeys.(CC) 13 He also had seven sons and three daughters.(CD) 14 He named the first Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch. 15 In all the land there were no women so beautiful as Job’s daughters, and their father gave them an inheritance along with their brothers. 16 After this Job lived one hundred and forty years and saw his children and his children’s children, four generations.(CE) 17 And Job died, old and full of days.(CF)
Notas al pie
- 38.7 Heb sons of God
- 38.14 Cn: Heb and they stand forth
- 38.36 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 38.36 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 39.12 Heb your grain and your threshing floor
- 39.13 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 39.18 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 39.21 Gk Syr Vg: Heb they dig
- 40.2 Traditional rendering of Heb Shaddai
- 40.13 Heb the hidden place
- 40.24 Cn: Heb in his eyes
- 41.1 40.25 in Heb
- 41.9 41.1 in Heb
- 41.9 Heb of it
- 41.10 Heb me
- 41.11 Heb me
- 41.11 Gk: Heb that I shall repay
- 41.11 Heb to me
- 41.13 Gk: Heb bridle
- 41.15 Cn Compare Gk Vg: Heb pride
- 42.11 Heb a qesitah
Job 38-42
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
38 Then the Lord answered Job out of a whirlwind, and said:
2 Who is this that wrappeth up sentences in unskillful words?
3 Gird up thy loins like a man: I will ask thee, and answer thou me.
4 Where wast thou when I laid up the foundations of the earth? tell me if thou hast understanding.
5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?
6 Upon what are its bases grounded? or who laid the corner stone thereof,
7 When the morning stars praised me together, and all the sons of God made a joyful melody?
8 Who shut up the sea with doors, when it broke forth as issuing out of the womb:
9 When I made a cloud the garment thereof, and wrapped it in a mist as in swaddling bands?
10 I set my bounds around it, and made it bars and doors:
11 And I said: Hitherto thou shalt come, and shalt go no further, and here thou shalt break thy swelling waves.
12 Didst thou since thy birth command the morning, and shew the dawning of the day its place?
13 And didst thou hold the extremities of the earth shaking them, and hast thou shaken the ungodly out of it?
14 The seal shall be restored as clay, and shall stand as a garment:
15 From the wicked their light shall be taken away, and the high arm shall be broken.
16 Hast thou entered into the depths of the sea, and walked in the lowest parts of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been opened to thee, and hast thou seen the darksome doors?
18 Hast thou considered the breadth of the earth? tell me, if thou knowest all things?
19 Where is the way where light dwelleth, and where is the place of darkness:
20 That thou mayst bring every thing to its own bounds, and understand the paths of the house thereof.
21 Didst thou know then that thou shouldst be born? and didst thou know the number of thy days?
22 Hast thou entered into the storehouses of the snow, or has thou beheld the treasures of the hail:
23 Which I have prepared for the time of the enemy, against the day of battle and war?
24 By what way is the light spread, and heat divided upon the earth?
25 Who gave a course to violent showers, or a way for noisy thunder:
26 That it should rain on the earth without man in the wilderness, where no mortal dwelleth:
27 That it should fill the desert and desolate land, and should bring forth green grass?
28 Who is the father of rain? or who begot the drops of dew?
29 Out of whose womb came the ice; and the frost from heaven who hath gendered it?
30 The waters are hardened like a stone, and the surface of the deep is congealed.
31 Shalt thou be able to join together the shining stars the Pleiades, or canst thou stop the turning about of Arcturus?
32 Canst thou bring forth the day star in its time, and make the evening star to rise upon the children of the earth?
33 Dost thou know the order of heaven, and canst thou set down the reason thereof on the earth?
34 Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that an abundance of waters may cover thee?
35 Canst thou send lightnings, and will they go, and will they return and say to thee: Here we are?
36 Who hath put wisdom in the heart of man? or who gave the cock understanding?
37 Who can declare the order of the heavens, or who can make the harmony of heaven to sleep?
38 When was the dust poured on the earth, and the clods fastened together?
39 Wilt thou take the prey for the lioness, and satisfy the appetite of her whelps,
40 When they couch in the dens and lie in wait in holes?
41 Who provideth food for the raven, when her young ones cry to God, wandering about, because they have no meat?
39 Knowest thou the time when the wild goats bring forth among the rocks, or hast thou observed the hinds when they fawn?
2 Hast thou numbered the months of their conceiving, or knowest thou the time when they bring forth?
3 They bow themselves to bring forth young, and they cast them, and send forth roarings.
4 Their young are weaned and go to feed: they go forth, and return not to them.
5 Who hath sent out the wild ass free, and who hath loosed his bonds?
6 To whom I have given a house in the wilderness, and his dwellings in the barren land.
7 He scorneth the multitude of the city, he heareth not the cry of the driver.
8 He looketh round about the mountains of his pasture, and seeketh for every green thing.
9 Shall the rhinoceros be willing to serve thee, or will he stay at thy crib?
10 Canst thou bind the rhinoceros with thy thong to plough, or will he break the clods of the valleys after thee?
11 Wilt thou have confidence in his great strength, and leave thy labours to him?
12 Wilt thou trust him that he will render thee the seed, and gather it into thy barnfloor?
13 The wing of the ostrich is like the wings of the heron, and of the hawk.
14 When she leaveth her eggs on the earth, thou perhaps wilt warm them in the dust.
15 She forgetteth that the foot may tread upon them, or that the beasts of the field may break them.
16 She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not hers, she hath laboured in vain, no fear constraining her.
17 For God hath deprived her of wisdom, neither hath he given her understanding.
18 When time shall be, she setteth up her wings on high: she scorneth the horse and his rider.
19 Wilt thou give strength to the horse, or clothe his neck with neighing?
20 Wilt thou lift him up like the locusts? the glory of his nostrils is terror.
21 He breaketh up the earth with his hoof, he pranceth boldly, he goeth forward to meet armed men.
22 He despiseth fear, he turneth not his back to the sword,
23 Above him shall the quiver rattle, the spear and shield shall glitter.
24 Chasing and raging he swalloweth the ground, neither doth he make account when the noise of the trumpet soundeth.
25 When he heareth the trumpet he saith: Ha, ha: he smelleth the battle afar off, the encouraging of the captains, and the shouting of the army.
26 Doth the hawk wax feathered by thy wisdom, spreading her wings to the south?
27 Will the eagle mount up at thy command, and make her nest in high places?
28 She abideth among the rocks, and dwelleth among cragged flints, and stony hills, where there is no access.
29 From thence she looketh for the prey, and her eyes behold afar off.
30 Her young ones shall suck up blood: and wheresoever the carcass shall be, she is immediately there.
31 And the Lord went on, and said to Job:
32 Shall he that contendeth with God be so easily silenced? surely he that reproveth God, ought to answer him.
33 Then Job answered the Lord, and said:
34 What can I answer, who hath spoken inconsiderately? I will lay my hand upon my mouth.
35 One thing I have spoken, which I wish I had not said: and another, to which I will add no more.
40 And the Lord answering Job out of the whirlwind, said:
2 Gird up thy loins like a man: I will ask thee, and do thou tell me.
3 Wilt thou make void my judgment: and condemn me, that thou mayst be justified?
4 And hast thou an arm like God, and canst thou thunder with a voice like him?
5 Clothe thyself with beauty, and set thyself up on high and be glorious, and put on goodly garments.
6 Scatter the proud in thy indignation, and behold every arrogant man, and humble him.
7 Look on all that are proud, and confound them, and crush the wicked in their place.
8 Hide them in the dust together, and plunge their faces into the pit.
9 Then I will confess that thy right hand is able to save thee.
10 Behold behemoth whom I made with thee, he eateth grass like an ox.
11 His strength is in his loins, and his force in the navel of his belly.
12 He setteth up his tail like a cedar, the sinews of his testicles are wrapped together.
13 His bones are like pipes of brass, his gristle like plates of iron.
14 He is the beginning of the ways of God, who made him, he will apply his sword.
15 To him the mountains bring forth grass: there all the beasts of the field shall play.
16 He sleepeth under the shadow, in the covert of the reed, and in moist places.
17 The shades cover his shadow, the willows of the brook shall compass him about.
18 Behold, he will drink up a river, and not wonder: and he trusteth that the Jordan may run into his mouth.
19 In his eyes as with a hook he shall take him, and bore through his nostrils with stakes.
20 Canst thou draw out the leviathan with a hook, or canst thou tie his tongue with a cord?
21 Canst thou put a ring in his nose, or bore through his jaw with a buckle?
22 Will he make many supplications to thee, or speak soft words to thee?
23 Will he make a covenant with thee, and wilt thou take him to be a servant for ever?
24 Shalt thou play with him as with a bird, or tie him up for thy handmaids?
25 Shall friends cut him in pieces, shall merchants divide him?
26 Wilt thou fill nets with his skin, and the cabins of fishes with his head?
27 Lay thy hand upon him: remember the battle, and speak no more.
28 Behold his hope shall fail him, and in the sight of all he shall be cast down.
41 I will not stir him up, like one that is cruel: for who can resist my countenance?
2 Who hath given me before that I should repay him? All things that are under heaven are mine.
3 I will not spare him, nor his mighty words, and framed to make supplication.
4 Who can discover the face of his garment? or who can go into the midst of his mouth?
5 Who can open the doors of his face? his teeth are terrible round about.
6 His body is like molten shields, shut close up with scales pressing upon one another.
7 One is joined to another, and not so much as any air can come between them:
8 They stick one to another and they hold one another fast, and shall not be separated.
9 His sneezing is like the shining of fire, and his eyes like the eyelids of the morning.
10 Out of his mouth go forth lamps, like torches of lighted fire.
11 Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, like that of a pot heated and boiling.
12 His breath kindleth coals, and a flame cometh forth out of his mouth.
13 In his neck strength shall dwell, and want goeth before his face.
14 The members of his flesh cleave one to another: he shall send lightnings against him, and they shall not be carried to another place.
15 His heart shall be as hard as a stone, and as firm as a smith's anvil.
16 When he shall raise him up, the angels shall fear, and being affrighted shall purify themselves.
17 When a sword shall lay at him, it shall not be able to hold, nor a spear, nor a breastplate.
18 For he shall esteem iron as straw, and brass as rotten wood.
19 The archer shall not put him to flight, the stones of the sling are to him like stubble.
20 As stubble will he esteem the hammer, and he will laugh him to scorn who shaketh the spear.
21 The beams of the sun shall be under him, and he shall strew gold under him like mire.
22 He shall make the deep sea to boil like a pot, and shall make it as when ointments boil.
23 A path shall shine after him, he shall esteem the deep as growing old.
24 There is no power upon earth that can be compared with him who was made to fear no one.
25 He beholdeth every high thing, he is king over all the children of pride.
42 Then Job answered the Lord, and said:
2 I know that thou canst do all things, and no thought is hid from thee.
3 Who is this that hideth counsel without knowledge? Therefore I have spoken unwisely, and things that above measure exceeded my knowledge.
4 Hear, and I will speak: I will ask thee, and do thou tell me.
5 With the hearing of the ear, I have heard thee, but now my eye seeth thee.
6 Therefore I reprehend myself, and do penance in dust and ashes.
7 And after the Lord had spoken these words to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Themanite: My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends, because you have not spoken the thing that is right before me, as my servant Job hath.
8 Take unto you therefore seven oxen, and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer for yourselves a holocaust: and my servant Job shall pray for you: his face I will accept, that folly be not imputed to you: for you have not spoken right things before me, as my servant Job hath.
9 So Eliphaz the Themanite, and Baldad the Suhite, and Sophar the Naamathite went, and did as the Lord had spoken to them, and the Lord accepted the face of Job.
10 The Lord also was turned at the penance of Job, when he prayed for his friends. And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.
11 And all his brethren came to him, and all his sisters, and all that knew him before, and they ate bread with him in his house: and bemoaned him, and comforted him upon all the evil that God had brought upon him. And every man gave him one ewe, and one earring of gold.
12 And the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning. And he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses.
13 And he had seven sons, and three daughters.
14 And he called the names of one Dies, and the name of the second Cassia, and the name of the third Cornustibil.
15 And there were not found in all the earth women so beautiful as the daughters of Job: and their father gave them inheritance among their brethren.
16 And Job lived after these things, a hundred and forty years, and he saw his children, and his children's children, unto the fourth generation, and he died an old man, and full of days.
Job 38-42
The Message
God Confronts Job
Have You Gotten to the Bottom of Things?
38 1-11 And now, finally, God answered Job from the eye of a violent storm. He said:
“Why do you confuse the issue?
Why do you talk without knowing what you’re talking about?
Pull yourself together, Job!
Up on your feet! Stand tall!
I have some questions for you,
and I want some straight answers.
Where were you when I created the earth?
Tell me, since you know so much!
Who decided on its size? Certainly you’ll know that!
Who came up with the blueprints and measurements?
How was its foundation poured,
and who set the cornerstone,
While the morning stars sang in chorus
and all the angels shouted praise?
And who took charge of the ocean
when it gushed forth like a baby from the womb?
That was me! I wrapped it in soft clouds,
and tucked it in safely at night.
Then I made a playpen for it,
a strong playpen so it couldn’t run loose,
And said, ‘Stay here, this is your place.
Your wild tantrums are confined to this place.’
12-15 “And have you ever ordered Morning, ‘Get up!’
told Dawn, ‘Get to work!’
So you could seize Earth like a blanket
and shake out the wicked like cockroaches?
As the sun brings everything to light,
brings out all the colors and shapes,
The cover of darkness is snatched from the wicked—
they’re caught in the very act!
16-18 “Have you ever gotten to the true bottom of things,
explored the labyrinthine caves of deep ocean?
Do you know the first thing about death?
Do you have one clue regarding death’s dark mysteries?
And do you have any idea how large this earth is?
Speak up if you have even the beginning of an answer.
19-21 “Do you know where Light comes from
and where Darkness lives
So you can take them by the hand
and lead them home when they get lost?
Why, of course you know that.
You’ve known them all your life,
grown up in the same neighborhood with them!
22-30 “Have you ever traveled to where snow is made,
seen the vault where hail is stockpiled,
The arsenals of hail and snow that I keep in readiness
for times of trouble and battle and war?
Can you find your way to where lightning is launched,
or to the place from which the wind blows?
Who do you suppose carves canyons
for the downpours of rain, and charts
the route of thunderstorms
That bring water to unvisited fields,
deserts no one ever lays eyes on,
Drenching the useless wastelands
so they’re carpeted with wildflowers and grass?
And who do you think is the father of rain and dew,
the mother of ice and frost?
You don’t for a minute imagine
these marvels of weather just happen, do you?
31-33 “Can you catch the eye of the beautiful Pleiades sisters,
or distract Orion from his hunt?
Can you get Venus to look your way,
or get the Great Bear and her cubs to come out and play?
Do you know the first thing about the sky’s constellations
and how they affect things on Earth?
34-35 “Can you get the attention of the clouds,
and commission a shower of rain?
Can you take charge of the lightning bolts
and have them report to you for orders?
What Do You Have to Say for Yourself?
36-38 “Who do you think gave weather-wisdom to the ibis,
and storm-savvy to the rooster?
Does anyone know enough to number all the clouds
or tip over the rain barrels of heaven
When the earth is cracked and dry,
the ground baked hard as a brick?
39-41 “Can you teach the lioness to stalk her prey
and satisfy the appetite of her cubs
As they crouch in their den,
waiting hungrily in their cave?
And who sets out food for the ravens
when their young cry to God,
fluttering about because they have no food?”
39 1-4 “Do you know the month when mountain goats give birth?
Have you ever watched a doe bear her fawn?
Do you know how many months she is pregnant?
Do you know the season of her delivery,
when she crouches down and drops her offspring?
Her young ones flourish and are soon on their own;
they leave and don’t come back.
5-8 “Who do you think set the wild donkey free,
opened the corral gates and let him go?
I gave him the whole wilderness to roam in,
the rolling plains and wide-open places.
He laughs at his city cousins, who are harnessed and harried.
He’s oblivious to the cries of teamsters.
He grazes freely through the hills,
nibbling anything that’s green.
9-12 “Will the wild buffalo condescend to serve you,
volunteer to spend the night in your barn?
Can you imagine hitching your plow to a buffalo
and getting him to till your fields?
He’s hugely strong, yes, but could you trust him,
would you dare turn the job over to him?
You wouldn’t for a minute depend on him, would you,
to do what you said when you said it?
13-18 “The ostrich flaps her wings futilely—
all those beautiful feathers, but useless!
She lays her eggs on the hard ground,
leaves them there in the dirt, exposed to the weather,
Not caring that they might get stepped on and cracked
or trampled by some wild animal.
She’s negligent with her young, as if they weren’t even hers.
She cares nothing about anything.
She wasn’t created very smart, that’s for sure,
wasn’t given her share of good sense.
But when she runs, oh, how she runs,
laughing, leaving horse and rider in the dust.
19-25 “Are you the one who gave the horse his prowess
and adorned him with a shimmering mane?
Did you create him to prance proudly
and strike terror with his royal snorts?
He paws the ground fiercely, eager and spirited,
then charges into the fray.
He laughs at danger, fearless,
doesn’t shy away from the sword.
The banging and clanging
of quiver and lance don’t faze him.
He quivers with excitement, and at the trumpet blast
races off at a gallop.
At the sound of the trumpet he neighs mightily,
smelling the excitement of battle from a long way off,
catching the rolling thunder of the war cries.
26-30 “Was it through your know-how that the hawk learned to fly,
soaring effortlessly on thermal updrafts?
Did you command the eagle’s flight,
and teach her to build her nest in the heights,
Perfectly at home on the high cliff face,
invulnerable on pinnacle and crag?
From her perch she searches for prey,
spies it at a great distance.
Her young gorge themselves on carrion;
wherever there’s a roadkill, you’ll see her circling.”
40 1-2 God then confronted Job directly:
“Now what do you have to say for yourself?
Are you going to haul me, the Mighty One, into court and press charges?”
Job Answers God
I’m Ready to Shut Up and Listen
3-5 Job answered:
“I’m speechless, in awe—words fail me.
I should never have opened my mouth!
I’ve talked too much, way too much.
I’m ready to shut up and listen.”
God’s Second Set of Questions
I Want Straight Answers
6-7 God addressed Job next from the eye of the storm, and this is what he said:
“I have some more questions for you,
and I want straight answers.
8-14 “Do you presume to tell me what I’m doing wrong?
Are you calling me a sinner so you can be a saint?
Do you have an arm like my arm?
Can you shout in thunder the way I can?
Go ahead, show your stuff.
Let’s see what you’re made of, what you can do.
Unleash your outrage.
Target the arrogant and lay them flat.
Target the arrogant and bring them to their knees.
Stop the wicked in their tracks—make mincemeat of them!
Dig a mass grave and dump them in it—
faceless corpses in an unmarked grave.
I’ll gladly step aside and hand things over to you—
you can surely save yourself with no help from me!
15-24 “Look at the land beast, Behemoth. I created him as well as you.
Grazing on grass, docile as a cow—
Just look at the strength of his back,
the powerful muscles of his belly.
His tail sways like a cedar in the wind;
his huge legs are like beech trees.
His skeleton is made of steel,
every bone in his body hard as steel.
Most magnificent of all my creatures,
but I still lead him around like a lamb!
The grass-covered hills serve him meals,
while field mice frolic in his shadow.
He takes afternoon naps under shade trees,
cools himself in the reedy swamps,
Lazily cool in the leafy shadows
as the breeze moves through the willows.
And when the river rages he doesn’t budge,
stolid and unperturbed even when the Jordan goes wild.
But you’d never want him for a pet—
you’d never be able to housebreak him!”
I Run This Universe
41 1-11 “Or can you pull in the sea beast, Leviathan, with a fly rod
and stuff him in your creel?
Can you lasso him with a rope,
or snag him with an anchor?
Will he beg you over and over for mercy,
or flatter you with flowery speech?
Will he apply for a job with you
to run errands and serve you the rest of your life?
Will you play with him as if he were a pet goldfish?
Will you make him the mascot of the neighborhood children?
Will you put him on display in the market
and have shoppers haggle over the price?
Could you shoot him full of arrows like a pin cushion,
or drive harpoons into his huge head?
If you so much as lay a hand on him,
you won’t live to tell the story.
What hope would you have with such a creature?
Why, one look at him would do you in!
If you can’t hold your own against his glowering visage,
how, then, do you expect to stand up to me?
Who could confront me and get by with it?
I’m in charge of all this—I run this universe!
12-17 “But I’ve more to say about Leviathan, the sea beast,
his enormous bulk, his beautiful shape.
Who would even dream of piercing that tough skin
or putting those jaws into bit and bridle?
And who would dare knock at the door of his mouth
filled with row upon row of fierce teeth?
His pride is invincible;
nothing can make a dent in that pride.
Nothing can get through that proud skin—
impervious to weapons and weather,
The thickest and toughest of hides,
impenetrable!
18-34 “He snorts and the world lights up with fire,
he blinks and the dawn breaks.
Comets pour out of his mouth,
fireworks arc and branch.
Smoke erupts from his nostrils
like steam from a boiling pot.
He blows and fires blaze;
flames of fire stream from his mouth.
All muscle he is—sheer and seamless muscle.
To meet him is to dance with death.
Sinewy and lithe,
there’s not a soft spot in his entire body—
As tough inside as out,
rock-hard, invulnerable.
Even angels run for cover when he surfaces,
cowering before his tail-thrashing turbulence.
Javelins bounce harmlessly off his hide,
harpoons ricochet wildly.
Iron bars are so much straw to him,
bronze weapons beneath notice.
Arrows don’t even make him blink;
bullets make no more impression than raindrops.
A battle ax is nothing but a splinter of kindling;
he treats a brandished harpoon as a joke.
His belly is armor-plated, inexorable—
unstoppable as a barge.
He roils deep ocean the way you’d boil water,
he whips the sea like you’d whip an egg into batter.
With a luminous trail stretching out behind him,
you might think Ocean had grown a gray beard!
There’s nothing on this earth quite like him,
not an ounce of fear in that creature!
He surveys all the high and mighty—
king of the ocean, king of the deep!”
Job Worships God
I Babbled On About Things Far Beyond Me
42 1-6 Job answered God:
“I’m convinced: You can do anything and everything.
Nothing and no one can upset your plans.
You asked, ‘Who is this muddying the water,
ignorantly confusing the issue, second-guessing my purposes?’
I admit it. I was the one. I babbled on about things far beyond me,
made small talk about wonders way over my head.
You told me, ‘Listen, and let me do the talking.
Let me ask the questions. You give the answers.’
I admit I once lived by rumors of you;
now I have it all firsthand—from my own eyes and ears!
I’m sorry—forgive me. I’ll never do that again, I promise!
I’ll never again live on crusts of hearsay, crumbs of rumor.”
God Restores Job
I Will Accept His Prayer
7-8 After God had finished addressing Job, he turned to Eliphaz the Temanite and said, “I’ve had it with you and your two friends. I’m fed up! You haven’t been honest either with me or about me—not the way my friend Job has. So here’s what you must do. Take seven bulls and seven rams, and go to my friend Job. Sacrifice a burnt offering on your own behalf. My friend Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer. He will ask me not to treat you as you deserve for talking nonsense about me, and for not being honest with me, as he has.”
9 They did it. Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite did what God commanded. And God accepted Job’s prayer.
10-11 After Job had interceded for his friends, God restored his fortune—and then doubled it! All his brothers and sisters and friends came to his house and celebrated. They told him how sorry they were, and consoled him for all the trouble God had brought him. Each of them brought generous housewarming gifts.
12-15 God blessed Job’s later life even more than his earlier life. He ended up with fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand teams of oxen, and one thousand donkeys. He also had seven sons and three daughters. He named the first daughter Dove, the second, Cinnamon, and the third, Darkeyes. There was not a woman in that country as beautiful as Job’s daughters. Their father treated them as equals with their brothers, providing the same inheritance.
16-17 Job lived on another 140 years, living to see his children and grandchildren—four generations of them! Then he died—an old man, a full life.
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