Add parallel Print Page Options

15 “Look, Behemoth,[a] which I have made just as I made you;
it eats grass like the ox.
16 Look, its strength is in its loins
and its power in the muscles of its stomach.
17 It keeps its tail straight like a cedar;
the sinews of its thighs are tightly wound.
18 Its bones are tubes of copper,
its limbs like rods of iron.
19 “It is the first of God’s actions;
the one who made him furnishes it with his sword.[b]
20 Yes, the mountains yield produce for it,
and all wild animals[c] play there.
21 Under the lotus tree it lies,
in the hiding place of the reeds and in the marsh.
22 The lotus trees cover it with their shade;
the wadi’s[d] poplar trees surround it.
23 Look, if the river is turbulent, it is not frightened;
it is confident even though the Jordan rushes against its mouth.
24 Can anyone take it by its eyes?
Can he pierce its nose with a snare?

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Job 40:15 Some interpret as a hippopotamus
  2. Job 40:19 See NET; nearly all other English translations: “Only his Maker can draw the sword against him” (NJPS; compare NLT), or “only its Maker can approach it with the sword” (NRSV, NIV, ESV, HCSB, NASU)
  3. Job 40:20 Literally “all the animals of the field”
  4. Job 40:22 A seasonal stream that is often dry

15 “Behold, Behemoth,[a]
    which I made as I made you;
    he eats (A)grass like an ox.
16 Behold, his strength in his loins,
    and his power in the muscles of his belly.
17 He makes his tail stiff like a cedar;
    the sinews of his thighs are knit together.
18 His bones are tubes of bronze,
    his limbs like bars of iron.

19 “He is (B)the first of (C)the works[b] of God;
    let him who made him bring near his sword!
20 For the mountains yield food for him
    where all the wild beasts play.
21 Under the lotus plants he lies,
    in the shelter of (D)the reeds and in the marsh.
22 For his shade the lotus trees cover him;
    the willows of the brook surround him.
23 Behold, if the river is turbulent he is not frightened;
    he is confident though Jordan rushes against his mouth.
24 Can one take him by his eyes,[c]
    or pierce his nose with a snare?

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Job 40:15 A large animal, exact identity unknown
  2. Job 40:19 Hebrew ways
  3. Job 40:24 Or in his sight