Job 40:7-17

7 "Now ¹gird up your loins like a man; I will ²ask you, and you instruct Me.

8 "Will you really ³annul My judgment? Will you ⁴condemn Me ⁵that you may be justified?

9 "Or do you have an arm like God, And can you ⁶thunder with a voice like His?

10 "⁷Adorn yourself with eminence and dignity, And clothe yourself with honor and majesty.

11 "Pour out ⁸the overflowings of your anger, And look on everyone who is ⁹proud, and make him low.

12 "Look on everyone who is proud, and ¹⁰humble him, And ¹¹tread down the wicked where they stand.

13 "¹²Hide them in the dust together; Bind them in the hidden place.

14 "Then I will also confess to you, That your own right hand can save you.

God's Power Shown in Creatures

15 "Behold now, Behemoth, which ¹³I made as well as you; He eats grass like an ox.

16 "Behold now, his strength in his loins And his power in the muscles of his belly.

17 "He bends his tail like a cedar; The sinews of his thighs are knit together.

Job 40:7-17 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JOB 40

In this chapter Job is called upon to give in his answer, Job 40:1,2, which he does in the most humble manner, acknowledging his vileness and folly, Job 40:3-5; and then the Lord proceeds to give him further conviction of his superior justice and power, Job 40:6-9; and one thing he proposes to him, to humble the proud, if he could, and then he would own his own right hand could save him, Job 40:10-15; and observes to him another instance of his power in a creature called behemoth, which he had made, and gives a description of, Job 40:15-24.

Cross References

• 1. Job 38:3
• 2. Job 38:3; Job 42:4
• 3. Romans 3:4
• 4. Job 10:3, 7; Job 16:11; Job 19:6; Job 27:2
• 5. Job 13:18; Job 27:6
• 6. Job 37:5; Psalms 29:3
• 7. Psalms 93:1; Psalms 104:1
• 8. Isaiah 42:25; Nahum 1:6, 8
• 9. Isaiah 2:12; Daniel 4:37
• 10. 1 Samuel 2:7; Isaiah 2:12; Isaiah 13:11; Daniel 4:37
• 11. Isaiah 63:3
• 12. Isaiah 2:10-12
• 13. Job 40:19

Footnotes

• [a] Lit "under them"
• [b] Or "their faces"
• [c] Or "praise you"
• [d] Or "the hippopotamus"
• [e] Lit "with"