Job 40-42
New American Standard Bible
Job Says What Can I Say?
40 Then the Lord said to Job,
3 Then Job answered the Lord and said,
4 “Behold, I am insignificant; what can I say in response to You?
I (C)put my hand on my mouth.
5 I have spoken once, and (D)I will not reply;
Or twice, and I will add nothing more.”
God Questions Job
6 Then the (E)Lord answered Job from the whirlwind and said,
7 “Now [b](F)tighten the belt on your waist like a man;
I will (G)ask you, and you instruct Me.
8 Will you really (H)nullify My judgment?
Will you (I)condemn Me (J)so that you may be justified?
9 Or do you have an arm like God,
And can you (K)thunder with a voice like His?
10 “(L)Adorn yourself with pride and dignity,
And clothe yourself with honor and majesty.
11 Let out your (M)outbursts of anger,
And look at everyone who is (N)arrogant, and humble him.
12 Look at everyone who is arrogant, and (O)humble him,
And (P)trample down the wicked [c]where they stand.
13 (Q)Hide them together in the dust;
Imprison [d]them in the hidden place.
14 Then I will also [e]confess to you,
That your own right hand can save you.
God’s Power Shown in Creatures
15 “Behold, [f]Behemoth, which (R)I made [g]as well as you;
He eats grass like an ox.
16 Behold, his strength in his waist,
And his power in the muscles of his belly.
17 He hangs his tail like a cedar;
The tendons of his thighs are knit together.
18 His bones are tubes of bronze;
His [h]limbs are like bars of iron.
19 “He is the (S)first of the ways of God;
Let his (T)Maker bring His sword near.
20 Indeed the [i]mountains (U)bring him food,
And all the animals of the field (V)play there.
21 He lies down under the lotus plants,
In the hiding place of the reeds and the marsh.
22 The lotus plants cover him with [j]shade;
The willows of the brook surround him.
23 If a river [k]rages, he is not alarmed;
He is confident, though the (W)Jordan rushes to his mouth.
24 Can anyone capture him [l]when he is on watch,
Can anyone pierce his nose with barbs?
God’s Power Shown in Creatures
41 “[m]Can you drag out [n](X)Leviathan with a fishhook,
And press down his tongue with a rope?
2 Can you (Y)put a [o]rope in his nose,
And pierce his jaw with a [p]hook?
3 Will he make many pleas to you,
Or will he speak to you gentle words?
4 Will he make a covenant with you?
Will you take him as a servant forever?
5 Will you play with him as with a bird,
And tie him down for your young girls?
6 Will the [q]traders bargain for him?
Will they divide him among the merchants?
7 Can you fill his skin with harpoons,
Or his head with fishing spears?
8 Lay your hand on him.
Remember the battle; [r]you will not do it again!
9 [s]Behold, [t]your expectation is false;
Will [u]you be hurled down even at the sight of him?
10 No one is so reckless that he dares to (Z)stir him;
Who then is he who opposes Me?
11 Who has (AA)been first to give to Me, that I should repay him?
Whatever is (AB)under the entire heaven is Mine.
12 “I will not be silent about his limbs,
Or his mighty strength, or his graceful frame.
13 Who can [v]strip off his outer covering?
Who can [w]pierce his double [x]armor?
14 Who can open the doors of his face?
Around his teeth there is terror.
15 His [y]strong scales are his pride,
Locked as with a tight seal.
16 One is so close to another
That no air can come between them.
17 They are joined one to another;
They clasp each other and cannot be separated.
18 His sneezes flash forth light,
And his eyes are like the (AC)eye of dawn.
19 From his mouth go burning torches;
Sparks of fire leap forth.
20 From his nostrils smoke goes out
As from a boiling pot and burning reeds.
21 His breath sets coals aglow,
And a flame goes forth from his mouth.
22 In his neck dwells strength,
And dismay leaps before him.
23 The folds of his flesh are joined together,
Firm and immovable on him.
24 His heart is as firm as a stone,
And as firm as a lower millstone.
25 When he rises up, the [z]mighty are afraid;
Because of the crashing they are bewildered.
26 The sword that reaches him cannot [aa]prevail,
Nor the spear, the dart, or the javelin.
27 He regards iron as straw,
Bronze as rotten wood.
28 The [ab]arrow cannot make him flee;
Slingstones are turned into stubble for him.
29 Clubs are regarded as stubble;
He laughs at the rattling of the javelin.
30 His underparts are like sharp pieces of pottery;
He [ac]spreads out like a threshing sledge on the mud.
31 He makes the depths boil like a pot;
He makes the sea like a jar of ointment.
32 Behind him he illuminates a pathway;
One would think the deep to be gray-haired.
33 (AD)Nothing on [ad]earth is like him,
One made without fear.
34 [ae]He looks on everything that is high;
He is king over all the (AE)sons of pride.”
Job’s Confession
42 Then Job answered the Lord and said,
2 “I know that (AF)You can do all things,
And that no plan is impossible for You.
3 ‘Who is this who (AG)conceals advice without knowledge?’
Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand,
Things (AH)too wonderful for me, which I do not know.
4 ‘Please listen, and I will speak;
I will (AI)ask You, and You instruct me.’
5 I have (AJ)heard of You by the hearing of the ear;
But now my (AK)eye sees You;
6 Therefore I retract,
And I repent, sitting on dust and ashes.”
God Is Displeased with Job’s Friends
7 It came about after the Lord had spoken these words to Job, that the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends, because you have not spoken of Me what is trustworthy, (AL)as My servant Job has. 8 Now therefore, take for yourselves (AM)seven bulls and seven rams, and go to My servant Job, and offer up a (AN)burnt offering for yourselves, and My servant Job will (AO)pray for you. (AP)For I will [af]accept him so as not to do with you as your foolishness deserves, because you have not spoken of Me what is trustworthy, as My servant Job has.” 9 So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the Lord told them; and the Lord [ag]accepted Job.
God Restores Job’s Fortunes
10 The Lord also (AQ)restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the Lord increased double all that Job had. 11 Then all his (AR)brothers, all his sisters, and all who had known him before came to him, and they ate bread with him in his house; and they (AS)sympathized with him and comforted him for all the adversities that the Lord had brought on him. And each one gave him a [ah]piece of money, and each a ring of gold. 12 (AT)The Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; (AU)and he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand female donkeys. 13 (AV)He also had seven sons and three daughters. 14 He named the first Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch. 15 In all the land no women were found as beautiful as Job’s daughters; and their father gave them inheritances among their brothers. 16 After this, Job lived 140 years, and saw his sons and his grandsons, four generations. 17 (AW)And Job died, an old man and full of days.
Footnotes
- Job 40:2 Lit answer it
- Job 40:7 I.e., as if for battle
- Job 40:12 Lit under them
- Job 40:13 Lit their faces
- Job 40:14 Or praise you
- Job 40:15 I.e., a powerful animal, possibly a hippopotamus
- Job 40:15 Lit with you
- Job 40:18 Lit bones
- Job 40:20 I.e., the mountain streams
- Job 40:22 Lit his shade
- Job 40:23 Or oppresses
- Job 40:24 Lit in his eyes
- Job 41:1 Ch 40:25 in Heb
- Job 41:1 I.e., a sea monster or crocodile
- Job 41:2 Lit rope of rushes
- Job 41:2 Or thorn; or ring
- Job 41:6 Lit partners
- Job 41:8 Lit do not add
- Job 41:9 Ch 41:1 in Heb
- Job 41:9 Lit his
- Job 41:9 Lit he
- Job 41:13 Lit uncover the face of his garment
- Job 41:13 Lit come into
- Job 41:13 As in LXX; Heb bridle
- Job 41:15 Lit rows of shields
- Job 41:25 Or gods
- Job 41:26 Lit rise
- Job 41:28 Lit son of the bow
- Job 41:30 Or moves across
- Job 41:33 Lit dust
- Job 41:34 Ch 41:26 in Heb
- Job 42:8 Lit lift up his face
- Job 42:9 Lit lifted up the face of
- Job 42:11 Heb qesitah
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