Job 40

1GOD said in reply to Job.

2Shall one who should be disciplined complain against Shaddai? He who arraigns God must respond.

3Job said in reply to GOD:

4See, I am of small worth; what can I answer You?I clap my hand to my mouth.

5I have spoken once, and will not reply;Twice, and will do so no more.

6Then GOD replied to Job out of the tempest and said:

7Gird your loins like a man; I will ask, and you will inform Me.

8Would you impugn My justice?Would you condemn Me that you may be right?

9Have you an arm like God’s?Can you thunder with a voice like this?

10Deck yourself now with grandeur and eminence;Clothe yourself in glory and majesty.

11Scatter wide your raging anger;See all who are proud, and bring them low.

12See all who are proud, and humble them,And bring the wicked down where they stand.

13Bury them all in the earth;Hide their faces in obscurity.

14Then even I would praise youFor the triumph your right hand won you.

15Take now behemoth, whom I made as I did you;It eats grass, like the cattle.

16Its strength is in its loins,Its might in the muscles of its belly.

17It makes its tail stand up like a cedar;The sinews of its thighs are knit together.

18Its bones are like tubes of bronze,Its limbs like iron rods.

19It is the first of God’s works;Only its Maker can draw the sword against it.

20The mountains yield it produce,Where all the beasts of the field play.

21It lies down beneath the lotuses,In the cover of the swamp reeds.

22The lotuses embower it with shade;The willows of the brook surround it.

23It can restrain the river from rushing away;It is confident the stream will gush at its command.

24Can it be taken by its eyes?Can its nose be pierced by hooks?

25Can you draw out Leviathan by a fishhook?Can you press down its tongue by a rope?

26Can you put a ring through its nose,Or pierce its jaw with a barb?

27Will it plead with you at length?Will it speak soft words to you?

28Will it make an agreement with youTo be taken as your lifelong slave?

29Will you play with it like a bird,And tie it down for your maids?

30Shall traders traffic in it? Will it be divided up among merchants?

31Can you fill its skin with dartsOr its head with fish-spears?

32Lay a hand on it,And you will never think of battle again.