1Moreover the Lord answered Job, and said:
2“Shall the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him?
He who rebukes God, let him answer it.”
Job’s Response to God
3Then Job answered the Lord and said:
4“Behold, I am vile;
What shall I answer You?
I lay my hand over my mouth.
5Once I have spoken, but I will not answer;
Yes, twice, but I will proceed no further.”
God’s Challenge to Job
6Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said:
7“Now 40:7 Lit. gird up your loinsprepare yourself like a man;
I will question you, and you shall answer Me:
8“Would you indeed 40:8 nullifyannul My judgment?
Would you condemn Me that you may be justified?
9Have you an arm like God?
Or can you thunder with a voice like His?
10Then adorn yourself with majesty and splendor,
And array yourself with glory and beauty.
11Disperse the rage of your wrath;
Look on everyone who is proud, and humble him.
Tread down the wicked in their place.
13Hide them in the dust together,
Bind their faces in hidden darkness.
14Then I will also confess to you
That your own right hand can save you.
15“Look now at the 40:15 A large animal, exact identity unknownbehemoth, which I made along with you;
He eats grass like an ox.
16See now, his strength is in his hips,
And his power is in his stomach muscles.
17He moves his tail like a cedar;
The sinews of his thighs are tightly knit.
18His bones are like beams of bronze,
His ribs like bars of iron.
19He is the first of the ways of God;
Only He who made him can bring near His sword.
20Surely the mountains yield food for him,
And all the beasts of the field play there.
21He lies under the lotus trees,
In a covert of reeds and marsh.
22The lotus trees cover him with their shade;
The willows by the brook surround him.
23Indeed the river may rage,
Yet he is not disturbed;
He is confident, though the Jordan gushes into his mouth,
24Though he takes it in his eyes,
Or one pierces his nose with a snare.
New King James Version®, Copyright© 1982, Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
