Job 40-42

English Standard Version

² “Shall a faultfinder ^(B)contend with the Almighty?
    He who argues with God, let him answer it.”

⁴ “Behold, I am ^(C)of small account; what shall I answer you?
    ^(D)I lay my hand on my mouth.
⁵ I have spoken ^(E)once, and I will not answer;
    ^(F)twice, but I will proceed no further.”

^7 (H)“Dress for action^[a] like a man;
    ^(I)I will question you, and you make it known to me.
⁸ Will you even put me in the wrong?
    Will you condemn me that ^(J)you may be in the right?
⁹ Have you ^(K)an arm like God,
    and can you thunder with ^(L)a voice like his?

¹⁰ “Adorn yourself with majesty and dignity;
    ^(M)clothe yourself with glory and splendor.
¹¹ Pour out the overflowings of your anger,
    and look on everyone who is ^(N)proud and abase him.
¹² Look on everyone who is proud and bring him low
    and ^(O)tread down the wicked ^(P)where they stand.
^13 (Q)Hide them all in ^(R)the dust together;
    bind their faces in the world below.^[b]
14 Then will I also acknowledge to you
    that your own ^(S)right hand can save you.

¹⁵ “Behold, Behemoth,^[c]
    which I made as I made you;
    he eats ^(T)grass like an ox.
¹⁶ Behold, his strength in his loins,
    and his power in the muscles of his belly.
¹⁷ He makes his tail stiff like a cedar;
    the sinews of his thighs are knit together.
¹⁸ His bones are tubes of bronze,
    his limbs like bars of iron.

¹⁹ “He is ^(U)the first of ^(V)the works^[d] of God;
    let him who made him bring near his sword!
²⁰ For the mountains yield food for him
    where all the wild beasts play.
²¹ Under the lotus plants he lies,
    in the shelter of ^(W)the reeds and in the marsh.
²² For his shade the lotus trees cover him;
    the willows of the brook surround him.
²³ Behold, if the river is turbulent he is not frightened;
    he is confident though Jordan rushes against his mouth.
²⁴ Can one take him by his eyes,^[e]
    or pierce his nose with a snare?

41 ^[f] “Can you draw out ^(X)Leviathan^[g] with a fishhook
    or press down his tongue with a cord?
² Can you put ^(Y)a rope in his nose
    or pierce his jaw with ^(Z)a hook?
³ Will he make many pleas to you?
    Will he speak to you soft words?
⁴ Will he make a covenant with you
    to take him for ^(AA)your servant forever?
⁵ Will you play with him as with a bird,
    or will you put him on a leash for your girls?
⁶ Will traders bargain over him?
    Will they divide him up among the merchants?
⁷ Can you fill his skin with harpoons
    or his head with fishing spears?
⁸ Lay your hands on him;
    remember the battle—you will not do it again!
^9 [h] Behold, the hope of a man is false;
    he is laid low even at the sight of him.
¹⁰ No one is so fierce that he dares to stir him up.
    Who then is he who can stand before me?
^11 (AB)Who has first given to me, that I should repay him?
    ^(AC)Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.

¹² “I will not keep silence concerning his limbs,
    or his mighty strength, or his goodly frame.
¹³ Who can strip off his outer garment?
    Who would come near him with a bridle?
¹⁴ Who can open the doors of his face?
    Around his teeth is terror.
¹⁵ His back is made of^[i] rows of shields,
    shut up closely as with a seal.
¹⁶ One is so near to another
    that no air can come between them.
¹⁷ They are ^(AD)joined one to another;
    they clasp each other and cannot be separated.
¹⁸ His sneezings flash forth light,
    and his eyes are like ^(AE)the eyelids of the dawn.
¹⁹ Out of his mouth go flaming torches;
    sparks of fire leap forth.
²⁰ Out of his nostrils comes forth smoke,
    as from a boiling pot and burning rushes.
²¹ His breath ^(AF)kindles coals,
    and a flame comes forth from his mouth.
²² In his neck abides strength,
    and terror dances before him.
²³ The folds of his flesh ^(AG)stick together,
    firmly cast on him and immovable.
²⁴ His heart is hard as a stone,
    hard as the lower millstone.
²⁵ When he raises himself up, the mighty^[j] are afraid;
    at the crashing they are beside themselves.
²⁶ Though the sword reaches him, it does not avail,
    nor the spear, the dart, or the javelin.
²⁷ He counts iron as straw,
    and bronze as rotten wood.
²⁸ The arrow cannot make him flee;
    for him, sling stones are turned to stubble.
²⁹ Clubs are counted as stubble;
    he laughs at the rattle of javelins.
³⁰ His underparts are like sharp ^(AH)potsherds;
    he spreads himself like ^(AI)a threshing sledge on the mire.
³¹ He makes the deep boil like a pot;
    he makes the sea like a pot of ointment.
³² Behind him he leaves a shining wake;
    one would think the deep to be white-haired.
^33 (AJ)On earth there is not his like,
    a creature without fear.
³⁴ He sees everything that is high;
    he is king over all the ^(AK)sons of pride.”

² “I know that you can ^(AL)do all things,
    and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
^3 (AM)‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’
Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,
    things ^(AN)too wonderful for me, which I did not know.
⁴ ‘Hear, and I will speak;
    ^(AO)I will question you, and you make it known to me.’
⁵ I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,
    but now my eye sees you;
⁶ therefore I despise myself,
    and repent^[k] in ^(AP)dust and ashes.”