Job 40
40
1-2Job, you challenged Almighty God;
will you give up now, or will you answer?
Job
3-4I spoke foolishly, LORD. What can I answer?
I will not try to say anything else.
5I have already said more than I should.
6Then out of the storm the LORD spoke to Job once again.
The LORD
7Stand up straight now,
and answer my questions.
8Are you trying to prove that I am unjust —
to put me in the wrong and yourself in the right?
9Are you as strong as I am?
Can your voice thunder as loud as mine?
10If so, stand up in your honour and pride;
clothe yourself with majesty and glory.
11Look at those who are proud;
pour out your anger and humble them.
12Yes, look at them and bring them down;
crush the wicked where they stand.
13Bury them all in the ground;
bind them in the world of the dead.
14Then I will be the first to praise you
and admit that you won the victory yourself.
15Look at the monster Behemoth;#40.15 Behemoth: Some identify this with the hippopotamus, others with a legendary creature.
I created him and I created you.
He eats grass like a cow,
16but what strength there is in his body,
and what power there is in his muscles!
17His tail stands up like a cedar,
and the muscles in his legs are strong.
18His bones are as strong as bronze,
and his legs are like iron bars.
19The most amazing of all my creatures!
Only his Creator can defeat him.
20Grass to feed him grows
on the hills where wild beasts play.#40.20 Verse 20 in Hebrew is unclear.
21He lies down under the thorn bushes,
and hides among the reeds in the swamp.
22The thorn bushes and the willows by the stream
give him shelter in their shade.
23He is not afraid of a rushing river;
he is calm when the Jordan dashes in his face.
24Who can blind his eyes and capture him?
Or who can catch his snout in a trap?
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Job 40: GNBDC
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.
Job 40
40
1The Lord then answered Job and said:
2Will one who argues with the Almighty be corrected?
Let him who would instruct God give answer!#Jb 38:3.
3Then Job answered the Lord and said:
4#Job’s first reaction is humble, but also seemingly cautious. Look, I am of little account; what can I answer you?
I put my hand over my mouth.
5I have spoken once, I will not reply;
twice, but I will do so no more.
6Then the Lord answered Job out of the storm and said:
7Gird up your loins now, like a man.
I will question you, and you tell me the answers!
8#The issue is joined in these verses, and the Lord seems to challenge Job to play God and to bring down the proud and wicked. Would you refuse to acknowledge my right?
Would you condemn me that you may be justified?
9Have you an arm like that of God,
or can you thunder with a voice like his?
10Adorn yourself with grandeur and majesty,
and clothe yourself with glory and splendor.
11Let loose the fury of your wrath;
look at everyone who is proud and bring them down.
12Look at everyone who is proud, and humble them.
Tear down the wicked in their place,
13bury them in the dust together;
in the hidden world imprison them.
14Then will I too praise you,
for your own right hand can save you.
15Look at Behemoth,#Behemoth: a primeval monster of chaos; identified by some scholars as the hippopotamus, on which the description of Behemoth is partially based. The point of the Behemoth-Leviathan passages is that only the Lord, not Job, can control the cosmic evil which these forces symbolize. whom I made along with you,
who feeds on grass like an ox.
16See the strength in his loins,
the power in the sinews of his belly.
17He carries his tail like a cedar;
the sinews of his thighs are like cables.
18His bones are like tubes of bronze;
his limbs are like iron rods.
19He is the first of God’s ways,
only his maker can approach him with a sword.
20For the mountains bring him produce,
and all wild animals make sport there.
21Under lotus trees he lies,
in coverts of the reedy swamp.
22The lotus trees cover him with their shade;
all about him are the poplars in the wadi.
23If the river grows violent, he is not disturbed;
he is tranquil though the Jordan surges about his mouth.
24Who can capture him by his eyes,
or pierce his nose#Eyes…nose: the only exposed parts of the submerged beast. with a trap?
25Can you lead Leviathan#Leviathan: although identified by some scholars as the crocodile, it is more likely another chaos monster; see note on 3:8. about with a hook,
or tie down his tongue with a rope?
26Can you put a ring into his nose,
or pierce through his cheek with a gaff?
27Will he then plead with you, time after time,
or address you with tender words?
28Will he make a covenant with you
that you may have him as a slave forever?
29Can you play with him, as with a bird?
Can you tie him up for your little girls?
30Will the traders bargain for him?
Will the merchants#Merchants: lit., “Canaanites,” whose reputation for trading was so widespread that their name came to be used for merchants; cf. Prv 31:24. divide him up?
31Can you fill his hide with barbs,
or his head with fish spears?
32Once you but lay a hand upon him,
no need to recall any other conflict!
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