Job 40–41

40The Lord answered Job:

²Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him?

Let him who argues with God give an answer. ^q

³Then Job answered the Lord:

⁴I am so insignificant. How can I answer You? ^r

I place my hand over my mouth.

⁵I have spoken once, and I will not reply;

twice, but now I can add nothing. ^s

⁶Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind: ^t

⁷Get ready to answer Me like a man;

When I question ^uyou, you will inform Me.

⁸Would you really challenge My justice?

Would you declare Me guilty ^vto justify yourself? ^w

⁹Do you have an arm like God’s?

Can you thunder with a voice like His?

¹⁰Adorn yourself with majesty ^xand splendor,

and clothe yourself with honor and glory.

¹¹Unleash your raging anger; ^y

look on every proud person and humiliate him. ^z

¹²Look on every proud person and humble him; ^a

trample the wicked where they stand. ^b

¹³Hide them together in the dust;

imprison them in the grave. ^c

¹⁴Then I will confess to you

that your own right hand ^dcan deliver you. ^e

¹⁵Look at Behemoth,

which I made along with you.

He eats grass like an ox.

¹⁶Look at the strength of his loins

and the power in the muscles of his belly.

¹⁷He stiffens his tail like a cedar tree;

the tendons of his thighs are woven firmly together.

¹⁸His bones are bronze tubes;

his limbs are like iron rods.

¹⁹He is the foremost of God’s works; ^f

only his Maker can draw the sword against him.

²⁰The hills yield food for him,

while all sorts of wild animals play there.

²¹He lies under the lotus plants,

hiding in the protection ^gof marshy reeds.

²²Lotus plants cover him with their shade;

the willows by the brook surround him.

²³Though the river rages, Behemoth is unafraid;

he remains confident, even if the Jordan surges up to his mouth.

²⁴Can anyone capture him while he looks on, ^h

or pierce his nose with snares?

41ⁱCan you pull in Leviathan ^jwith a hook ^k

or tie his tongue down with a rope?

²Can you put a cord ^lthrough his nose

or pierce his jaw with a hook? ^m

³Will he beg you for mercy

or speak softly to you?

⁴Will he make a covenant with you

so that you can take him as a slave forever? ⁿ

⁵Can you play with him like a bird

or put him on a leash ^ofor your girls?

⁶Will traders bargain for him

or divide him among the merchants?

⁷Can you fill his hide with harpoons

or his head with fishing spears?

⁸Lay a ^phand on him.

You will remember the battle

and never repeat it!

^9qAny hope of capturing him proves false.

Does a person not collapse at the very sight of him?

¹⁰No one is ferocious enough to rouse Leviathan; ^r

who then can stand against Me?

¹¹Who confronted Me, that I should repay him?

Everything under heaven belongs to Me. ^s

¹²I cannot be silent about his limbs,

his power, and his graceful proportions.

¹³Who can strip off his outer covering?

Who can penetrate his double layer of armor? ^tu

¹⁴Who can open his jaws, ^v

surrounded by those terrifying teeth?

¹⁵His pride is in his rows of scales,

closely sealed together.

¹⁶One scale is so close to another ^w

that no air can pass between them.

¹⁷They are joined to one another,

so closely connected ^xthey cannot be separated.

¹⁸His snorting ^yflashes with light,

while his eyes are like the rays ^zof dawn.

¹⁹Flaming torches shoot from his mouth;

fiery sparks fly out!

²⁰Smoke billows from his nostrils ^a

as from a boiling pot or burning reeds.

²¹His breath sets coals ablaze,

and flames pour out of his mouth.

²²Strength resides in his neck,

and dismay dances before him.

²³The folds of his flesh are joined together,

solid as metal ^band immovable.

²⁴His heart is as hard as a rock,

as hard as a lower millstone!

²⁵When Leviathan rises, the mighty ^care terrified;

they withdraw because of his thrashing.

²⁶The sword that reaches him will have no effect,

nor will a spear, dart, or arrow.

²⁷He regards iron as straw,

and bronze as rotten wood.

²⁸No arrow can make him flee;

slingstones become like stubble to him.

²⁹A club is regarded as stubble,

and he laughs ^dat the sound of a javelin.

³⁰His undersides are jagged potsherds,

spreading the mud like a threshing sledge. ^e

³¹He makes the depths seethe like a cauldron;

he makes the sea like an ointment jar.

³²He leaves a shining wake behind him; ^f

one would think the deep had gray hair!

³³He has no equal on earth—

a creature devoid of fear!

³⁴He surveys everything that is haughty;

he is king over all the proud beasts. ^g