Job 40:6–41:8

God’s Challenge to Job

^6fThen the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said:

⁷“Now ^g1prepare yourself like a man;

^hI will question you, and you shall answer Me:

⁸“Would ⁱyou indeed ²annul My judgment?

Would you condemn Me that you may be justified?

⁹Have you an arm like God?

Or can you thunder with ^ja voice like His?

^10kThen adorn yourself with majesty and splendor,

And array yourself with glory and beauty.

¹¹Disperse the rage of your wrath;

Look on everyone who is proud, and humble him.

¹²Look on everyone who is ^lproud, and bring him low;

Tread down the wicked in their place.

¹³Hide them in the dust together,

Bind their faces in hidden darkness.

¹⁴Then I will also confess to you

That your own right hand can save you.

¹⁵“Look now at the ³behemoth, which I made along with you;

He eats grass like an ox.

¹⁶See now, his strength is in his hips,

And his power is in his stomach muscles.

¹⁷He moves his tail like a cedar;

The sinews of his thighs are tightly knit.

¹⁸His bones are like beams of bronze,

His ribs like bars of iron.

¹⁹He is the first of the ^mways of God;

Only He who made him can bring near His sword.

²⁰Surely the mountains ⁿyield food for him,

And all the beasts of the field play there.

²¹He lies under the lotus trees,

In a covert of reeds and marsh.

²²The lotus trees cover him with their shade;

The willows by the brook surround him.

²³Indeed the river may rage,

Yet he is not disturbed;

He is confident, though the Jordan gushes into his mouth,

²⁴Though he takes it in his eyes,

Or one pierces his nose with a snare.

41“Can you draw out ^aLeviathan ¹with a hook,

Or snare his tongue with a line which you lower?

²Can you ^bput a reed through his nose,

Or pierce his jaw with a ²hook?

³Will he make many supplications to you?

Will he speak softly to you?

⁴Will he make a covenant with you?

Will you take him as a servant forever?

⁵Will you play with him as with a bird,

Or will you leash him for your maidens?

⁶Will your companions ³make a banquet of him?

Will they apportion him among the merchants?

⁷Can you fill his skin with harpoons,

Or his head with fishing spears?

⁸Lay your hand on him;

Remember the battle—

Never do it again!