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Would you indeed annul[a] my justice?
Would you declare me guilty so that you might be right?
Do you have an arm as powerful as God’s,[b]
and can you thunder with a voice like his?
10 Adorn yourself, then, with majesty and excellency,
and clothe yourself with glory and honor.
11 Scatter abroad[c] the abundance[d] of your anger.
Look at every proud man[e] and bring him low;
12 Look at every proud man and abase him;
crush the wicked on the spot.[f]
13 Hide them in the dust[g] together,
imprison[h] them[i] in the grave.[j]
14 Then I myself will acknowledge[k] to you
that your own right hand can save you.[l]

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Footnotes

  1. Job 40:8 tn The verb פָּרַר (parar) means “to annul; to break; to frustrate.” It was one thing for Job to claim his own integrity, but it was another matter altogether to nullify God’s righteousness in the process.
  2. Job 40:9 tn Heb “do you have an arm like God?” The words “as powerful as” have been supplied in the translation to clarify the metaphor.
  3. Job 40:11 tn The verb was used for scattering lightning (Job 37:11). God is challenging Job to unleash his power and judge wickedness in the world.
  4. Job 40:11 tn Heb “the overflowings.”
  5. Job 40:11 tn The word was just used in the positive sense of excellence or majesty; now the exalted nature of the person refers to self-exaltation, or pride.
  6. Job 40:12 tn The expression translated “on the spot” is the prepositional phrase תַּחְתָּם (takhtam, “under them”). “Under them” means in their place. But it can also mean “where someone stands, on the spot” (see Exod 16:29; Jos 6:5; Judg 7:21, etc.).
  7. Job 40:13 tn The word “dust” can mean “ground” here, or more likely, “grave.”
  8. Job 40:13 tn The verb חָבַשׁ (khavash) means “to bind.” In Arabic the word means “to bind” in the sense of “to imprison,” and that fits here.
  9. Job 40:13 tn Heb “their faces.”
  10. Job 40:13 tn The word is “secret place,” the place where he is to hide them, i.e., the grave. The text uses the word “secret place” as a metonymy for the grave.
  11. Job 40:14 tn The verb is usually translated “praise,” but with the sense of a public declaration or acknowledgment. It is from יָדָה (yadah, in the Hiphil, as here, “give thanks, laud”).
  12. Job 40:14 tn The imperfect verb has the nuance of potential imperfect: “can save; is able to save.”

Will you even put me in the wrong?
    Will you condemn me that you may be justified?(A)
Have you an arm like God,
    and can you thunder with a voice like his?(B)

10 “Deck yourself with majesty and dignity;
    clothe yourself with glory and splendor.(C)
11 Pour out the overflowings of your anger,
    and look on all who are proud and humble them.(D)
12 Look on all who are proud and bring them low;
    tread down the wicked where they stand.(E)
13 Hide them all in the dust together;
    bind their faces in the world below.[a]
14 Then I will also acknowledge to you
    that your own right hand can give you victory.(F)

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Footnotes

  1. 40.13 Heb the hidden place