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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?

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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 “Look at Behemoth,
    which I made just as I made you;
    it eats grass like an ox.(A)
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.(B)
20 For the mountains yield food for it
    where all the wild animals play.(C)
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.(D)
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[a]
    or pierce its nose with a snare?(E)

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Footnotes

  1. 40.24 Cn: Heb in his eyes