Job 40

1 Then Yahweh answered Job and said,
2 "Shall a faultfinder contend with Shaddai? Anyone who argues with God must answer it."

Job Responds to Yahweh

3 So Job answered Yahweh and said,
4 "Look, I am insignificant. What shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth.
5 Once I have spoken, and I will not answer; even twice, but I will not proceed."

Yahweh Challenges Job Again

6 Then Yahweh answered Job from the storm, and he said,
7 "{Prepare yourself for a difficult task like a man}, and I will question you, and you shall declare to me.

Yahweh Interrogates Job Again

8 "Indeed, would you annul my justice? Would you condemn me, so that you might be righteous?
9 Or do you have an arm like God, and can you thunder with a voice like his?
10 Adorn yourself [with] pride and dignity, and clothe yourself [with] splendor.
11 Pour out the overflowing of your anger, and look at all [the] proud, and humble them.
12 Look at all [the] proud, humble them, and tread down [the] wicked {where they stand}.
13 Hide them in the dust together; bind their faces in the grave.
14 And I will also praise you, that your [own] right hand can save you.
15 "Look, Behemoth, which I have made just as [I made] you; it eats grass like the ox.
16 Look, its strength [is] in its loins and its power in the muscles of its stomach.
17 It keeps its tail straight like a cedar; [the] sinews of its thighs are tightly wound.
18 Its bones [are] tubes of copper, its limbs like rods of iron.
19 "It [is] the first of God's actions; the [one who] made him furnishes [it with] his sword.
20 Yes, [the] mountains yield produce for it, and all {wild animals} play there.
21 Under [the] lotus tree it lies, in [the] hiding place of [the] reeds and [in the] marsh.
22 [The] lotus trees cover it [with] their shade; [the] wadi's poplar trees surround it.
23 Look, [if the] river is turbulent, it is not frightened; it is confident even though [the] Jordan rushes against its mouth.
24 Can anyone take it by its eyes? Can he pierce [its] nose with a snare?

Footnotes 11

  • [a]. Hebrew "And"
  • [b]. Hebrew "And"
  • [c]. Or "and"
  • [d]. Or "And"
  • [e]. Literally "Gird up like a man your loins"
  • [f]. The particle sometimes translated "please" is present, but an almighty God or sovereign king does not say "please" when commanding his subjects
  • [g]. Literally "in place of them"
  • [h]. Some interpret as a hippopotamus
  • [i]. See NET; nearly all other English translations: "Only his Maker can draw the sword against him" (NJPS; compare NLT), or "only its Maker can approach it with the sword" (NRSV, NIV, ESV, HCSB, NASU)
  • [j]. Literally "all [the] animals of the field"
  • [k]. A seasonal stream that is often dry

Job 40 Commentaries

Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.