Job 40:1-42:6

1The LORD said to Job:

2“Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who accuses God answer him!”

3Then Job answered the LORD :

4“I am unworthy—how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth.

5I spoke once, but I have no answer— twice, but I will say no more.”

6Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm:

7“Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.

8“Would you discredit my justice? Would you condemn me to justify yourself?

9Do you have an arm like God’s, and can your voice thunder like his?

10Then adorn yourself with glory and splendor, and clothe yourself in honor and majesty.

11Unleash the fury of your wrath, look at all who are proud and bring them low,

12look at all who are proud and humble them, crush the wicked where they stand.

13Bury them all in the dust together; shroud their faces in the grave.

14Then I myself will admit to you that your own right hand can save you.

15“Look at Behemoth, which I made along with you and which feeds on grass like an ox.

16What strength it has in its loins, what power in the muscles of its belly!

17Its tail sways like a cedar; the sinews of its thighs are close-knit.

18Its bones are tubes of bronze, its limbs like rods of iron.

19It ranks first among the works of God, yet its Maker can approach it with his sword.

20The hills bring it their produce, and all the wild animals play nearby.

21Under the lotus plants it lies, hidden among the reeds in the marsh.

22The lotuses conceal it in their shadow; the poplars by the stream surround it.

23A raging river does not alarm it; it is secure, though the Jordan should surge against its mouth. 24Can anyone capture it by the eyes, or trap it and pierce its nose?

1In Hebrew texts 41:1-8 is numbered 40:25-32, and 41:9-34 is numbered 41:1-26. “Can you pull in Leviathan with a fishhook or tie down its tongue with a rope?

2Can you put a cord through its nose or pierce its jaw with a hook?

3Will it keep begging you for mercy? Will it speak to you with gentle words?

4Will it make an agreement with you for you to take it as your slave for life?

5Can you make a pet of it like a bird or put it on a leash for the young women in your house?

6Will traders barter for it? Will they divide it up among the merchants?

7Can you fill its hide with harpoons or its head with fishing spears?

8If you lay a hand on it, you will remember the struggle and never do it again!

9Any hope of subduing it is false; the mere sight of it is overpowering.

10No one is fierce enough to rouse it. Who then is able to stand against me?

11Who has a claim against me that I must pay? Everything under heaven belongs to me.

12“I will not fail to speak of Leviathan’s limbs, its strength and its graceful form.

13Who can strip off its outer coat? Who can penetrate its double coat of armor Septuagint; Hebrew double bridle ?

14Who dares open the doors of its mouth, ringed about with fearsome teeth?

15Its back has Or Its pride is its rows of shields tightly sealed together;

16each is so close to the next that no air can pass between.

17They are joined fast to one another; they cling together and cannot be parted.

18Its snorting throws out flashes of light; its eyes are like the rays of dawn.

19Flames stream from its mouth; sparks of fire shoot out.

20Smoke pours from its nostrils as from a boiling pot over burning reeds.

21Its breath sets coals ablaze, and flames dart from its mouth.

22Strength resides in its neck; dismay goes before it.

23The folds of its flesh are tightly joined; they are firm and immovable.

24Its chest is hard as rock, hard as a lower millstone.

25When it rises up, the mighty are terrified; they retreat before its thrashing.

26The sword that reaches it has no effect, nor does the spear or the dart or the javelin.

27Iron it treats like straw and bronze like rotten wood.

28Arrows do not make it flee; slingstones are like chaff to it.

29A club seems to it but a piece of straw; it laughs at the rattling of the lance.

30Its undersides are jagged potsherds, leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing sledge.

31It makes the depths churn like a boiling caldron and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment.

32It leaves a glistening wake behind it; one would think the deep had white hair.

33Nothing on earth is its equal— a creature without fear. 34It looks down on all that are haughty; it is king over all that are proud.”

Job 1Then Job replied to the LORD :

2“I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted.

3You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.

4“You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’

5My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.

6Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.”