Job’s Reply to God’s Challenge
40:1 Then the LORD answered Job:
40:2 “Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him?
Let the person who accuses God give him an answer!”
40:3 Then Job answered the LORD:
40:4 “Indeed, I am completely unworthy – how could I reply to you?
I put my hand over my mouth to silence myself.
40:5 I have spoken once, but I cannot answer;
twice, but I will say no more.”
The Lord’s Second Speech
40:6 Then the LORD answered Job from the whirlwind:
40:7 “Get ready for a difficult task like a man.
I will question you and you will inform me!
40:8 Would you indeed annul my justice?
Would you declare me guilty so that you might be right?
40:9 Do you have an arm as powerful as God’s,
and can you thunder with a voice like his?
40:10 Adorn yourself, then, with majesty and excellency,
and clothe yourself with glory and honor!
40:11 Scatter abroad the abundance of your anger.
Look at every proud man and bring him low;
40:12 Look at every proud man and abase him;
crush the wicked on the spot!
40:13 Hide them in the dust together,
imprison them in the grave.
40:14 Then I myself will acknowledge to you
that your own right hand can save you.
The Description of Behemoth
40:15 “Look now at Behemoth, which I made as I made you;
it eats grass like the ox.
40:16 Look at its strength in its loins,
and its power in the muscles of its belly.
40:17 It makes its tail stiff like a cedar,
the sinews of its thighs are tightly wound.
40:18 Its bones are tubes of bronze,
its limbs like bars of iron.
40:19 It ranks first among the works of God,
the One who made it
has furnished it with a sword.
40:20 For the hills bring it food,
where all the wild animals play.
40:21 Under the lotus trees it lies,
in the secrecy of the reeds and the marsh.
40:22 The lotus trees conceal it in their shadow;
the poplars by the stream conceal it.
40:23 If the river rages, it is not disturbed,
it is secure, though the Jordan
should surge up to its mouth.
40:24 Can anyone catch it by its eyes,
or pierce its nose with a snare?