Job 40–41

40Job, you challenged Almighty God;

will you give up now, or will you answer?

^3–4I spoke foolishly, Lord. What can I answer?

I will not try to say anything else.

⁵I have already said more than I should.

⁶Then out of the storm the Lord spoke to Job once again.

⁷Stand up straight now,

and answer my questions.

⁸Are you trying to prove that I am unjust—

to put me in the wrong and yourself in the right?

⁹Are you as strong as I am?

Can your voice thunder as loud as mine?

¹⁰If so, stand up in your honour and pride;

clothe yourself with majesty and glory.

¹¹Look at those who are proud;

pour out your anger and humble them.

¹²Yes, look at them and bring them down;

crush the wicked where they stand.

¹³Bury them all in the ground;

bind them in the world of the dead.

¹⁴Then I will be the first to praise you

and admit that you won the victory yourself.

¹⁵Look at the monster Behemoth;^w

I created him and I created you.

He eats grass like a cow,

¹⁶but what strength there is in his body,

and what power there is in his muscles!

¹⁷His tail stands up like a cedar,

and the muscles in his legs are strong.

¹⁸His bones are as strong as bronze,

and his legs are like iron bars.

¹⁹The most amazing of all my creatures!

Only his Creator can defeat him.

²⁰Grass to feed him grows

on the hills where wild beasts play.^x

²¹He lies down under the thorn bushes,

and hides among the reeds in the swamp.

²²The thorn bushes and the willows by the stream

give him shelter in their shade.

²³He is not afraid of a rushing river;

he is calm when the Jordan dashes in his face.

²⁴Who can blind his eyes and capture him?

Or who can catch his snout in a trap?

41^*Can you catch Leviathan^y with a fish-hook

or tie his tongue down with a rope?

²Can you put a rope through his snout

or put a hook through his jaws?

³Will he beg you to let him go?

Will he plead with you for mercy?

⁴Will he make an agreement with you

and promise to serve you for ever?

⁵Will you tie him up like a pet bird,

like something to amuse your servant women?

⁶Will fishermen bargain over him?

Will merchants cut him up to sell?

⁷Can you fill his hide with fishing spears

or pierce his head with a harpoon?

⁸Touch him once and

you’ll never try it again; you’ll never forget the fight!

⁹Anyone who sees Leviathan

loses courage and falls to the ground.

¹⁰When he is aroused, he is fierce;

no one would dare to stand before him.

¹¹Who can attack him and still be safe?

No one in all the world can do it.^z

¹²Let me tell you about Leviathan’s legs

and describe how great and strong he is.

¹³No one can tear off his outer coat

or pierce the armour^a he wears.

¹⁴Who can make him open his jaws,

ringed with those terrifying teeth?

¹⁵His back^b is made of rows of shields,

fastened together and hard as stone.

¹⁶Each one is joined so tight to the next,

not even a breath can come between.

¹⁷They all are fastened so firmly together

that nothing can ever pull them apart.

¹⁸Light flashes when he sneezes,

and his eyes glow like the rising sun.

¹⁹Flames blaze from his mouth,

and streams of sparks fly out.

²⁰Smoke comes pouring out of his nose,

like smoke from weeds burning under a pot.

²¹His breath starts fires burning;

flames leap out of his mouth.

²²His neck is so powerful

that all who meet him are terrified.

²³There is not a weak spot in his skin;

it is as hard and unyielding as iron.

²⁴His stony heart is without fear,

as unyielding and hard as a millstone.

²⁵When he rises up, even the strongest^c are frightened;

they are helpless with fear.

²⁶There is no sword that can wound him;

no spear or arrow or lance that can harm him.

²⁷For him iron is as flimsy as straw,

and bronze as soft as rotten wood.

²⁸There is no arrow that can make him run;

rocks thrown at him are like bits of straw.

²⁹To him a club is a piece of straw,

and he laughs when men throw spears.

³⁰The scales on his belly are like jagged pieces of pottery;

they tear up the muddy ground like a threshing-sledge.^d

³¹He churns up the sea like boiling water

and makes it bubble like a pot of oil.

³²He leaves a shining path behind him

and turns the sea to white foam.

³³There is nothing on earth to compare with him;

he is a creature that has no fear.

³⁴He looks down on even the proudest animals;

he is king of all wild beasts.