Insignificant Before God
40 Then Adonai answered Job, saying:
2 “Will the one who contends with Shaddai correct him?
Let him who accuses God answer!”
3 Then Job answered Adonai. He said:
4 “Indeed, I am unworthy—what can I reply to You?
I put my hand over my mouth.
5 I spoke once, but I have no answer—
twice, but I will say no more.”
6 Then Adonai answered Job from the whirlwind:
7 “Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you,
and you will inform Me!
8 “Would you really annul My judgment?
Would you condemn Me to justify yourself?
9 Do you have an arm like God’s
and can you thunder with a voice like His?
10 Then adorn yourself in majesty and dignity;
clothe yourself in splendor and honor.
11 Scatter the fury of your anger.
Look at every proud personand bring him low;
12 look at everyone who is proud and humble him;
tread down the wicked where they stand.
13 Hide them together in the dust
bind their faces in the hidden place.
14 Then I—even I will acknowledge to you,
that your own right hand can save you!
Behemoth and Leviathan
15 “Look now at Behemoth, which I made along with you.
He eats grass like an ox.
16 Now look at his strength in his loins,
and his power in the muscles of his belly.
17 He stiffens his tail like a cedar;
the sinews of his thighs are knit together.
18 His bones are tubes of bronze;
His limbs like rods of iron.
19 He is first among the ways of God,
Let his Maker draw near with His sword!
20 For the mountains bring him food,
and all the wild animals play there.
21 Under the lotus plants he lies down,
in the secrecy of the reeds and marsh.
22 The lotuses conceal him in their shade;
the willows of the brook surround him.
23 If the river rages, he is not alarmed.
He is secure, even though the Jordan surges against his mouth.
24 Can anyone capture it by its eyes,
or pierce his nose with hooks?
25 “Can you pull in Leviathan with a hook,[a]
or tie down his tongue with a cord?
26 Can you put a reed rope in his nose
or pierce his jaw with a hook?
27 Will he make many supplications to you,
or speak softly to you?
28 Will he make a covenant with you,
so you can take him as a slave forever?
29 Can you play with him like a bird,
or put him on a leash for your girls?
30 Will traders barter for him?
Will they divide him among the merchants?
31 Can you fill his hide with harpoons
or his head with fishing spears?
32 If you lay your hands on him—
you will remember the battle and never do it again!
Footnotes
- Job 40:25 Traditional Christian text numbered as 41:1-34.