Job 40; Job 41; Job 42

Job 40

1 The Lord said to Job:

2 "Will the person who argues with the Almighty correct him? Let the person who accuses God answer him."

3 Then Job answered the Lord:

4 "I am not worthy; I cannot answer you anything, so I will put my hand over my mouth.

5 I spoke one time, but I will not answer again; I even spoke two times, but I will say nothing more."

6 Then the Lord spoke to Job from the storm:

7 "Be strong, like a man! I will ask you questions, and you must answer me.

8 Would you say that I am unfair? Would you blame me to make yourself look right?

9 Are you as strong as God? Can your voice thunder like his?

10 If so, then decorate yourself with glory and beauty; dress in honor and greatness as if they were clothing.

11 Let your great anger punish; look at the proud and bring them down.

12 Look at the proud and make them humble. Crush the wicked wherever they are.

13 Bury them all in the dirt together; cover their faces in the grave.

14 If you can do that, then I myself will praise you, because you are strong enough to save yourself.

15 "Look at the behemoth, which I made just as I made you. It eats grass like an ox.

16 Look at the strength it has in its body; the muscles of its stomach are powerful.

17 Its tail is like a cedar tree; the muscles of its thighs are woven together.

18 Its bones are like tubes of bronze; its legs are like bars of iron.

19 It is one of the first of God's works, but its Maker can destroy it.

20 The hills, where the wild animals play, provide food for it.

21 It lies under the lotus plants, hidden by the tall grass in the swamp.

22 The lotus plants hide it in their shadow; the poplar trees by the streams surround it.

23 If the river floods, it will not be afraid; it is safe even if the Jordan River rushes to its mouth.

24 Can anyone blind its eyes and capture it? Can anyone put hooks in its nose?

Job 41

1 "Can you catch the leviathann on afish hook or tie its tongue down with a rope?

2 Can you put a cord through its nose or a hook in its jaw?

3 Will it keep begging you for mercy and speak to you with gentle words?

4 Will it make an agreement with you and let you take it as your slave for life?

5 Can you make a pet of the leviathan as you would a bird or put it on a leash for your girls?

6 Will traders try to bargain with you for it? Will they divide it up among the merchants?

7 Can you stick darts all over its skin or fill its head with fishing spears?

8 If you put one hand on it, you will never forget the battle, and you will never do it again!

9 There is no hope of defeating it; just seeing it overwhelms people.

10 No one is brave enough to make it angry, so who would be able to stand up against me?

11 No one has ever given me anything that I must pay back, because everything under the sky belongs to me.

12 "I will speak about Leviathan's arms and legs, its great strength and well-formed body.

13 No one can tear off its outer hide or poke through its double armor.

14 No one can force open its great jaws; they are filled with frightening teeth.

15 It has rows of shields on its back that are tightly sealed together.

16 Each shield is so close to the next one that no air can go between them.

17 They are joined strongly to one another; they hold on to each other and cannot be separated.

18 When it snorts, flashes of light are thrown out, and its eyes look like the light at dawn.

19 Flames blaze from its mouth; sparks of fire shoot out.

20 Smoke pours out of its nose, as if coming from a large pot over a hot fire.

21 Its breath sets coals on fire, and flames come out of its mouth.

22 There is great strength in its neck. People are afraid and run away.

23 The folds of its skin are tightly joined; they are set and cannot be moved.

24 Its chest is as hard as a rock, even as hard as a grinding stone.

25 The powerful fear its terrible looks and draw back in fear as it moves.

26 The sword that hits it does not hurt it, nor the arrows, darts, and spears.

27 It treats iron as if it were straw and bronze metal as if it were rotten wood.

28 It does not run away from arrows; stones from slings are like chaff to it.

29 Clubs feel like pieces of straw to it, and it laughs when they shake a spear at it.

30 The underside of its body is like broken pieces of pottery. It leaves a trail in the mud like a threshing board.

31 It makes the deep sea bubble like a boiling pot; it stirs up the sea like a pot of oil.

32 When it swims, it leaves a shining path in the water that makes the sea look as if it had white hair.

33 Nothing else on earth is equal to it; it is a creature without fear.

34 It looks down on all those who are too proud; it is king over all proud creatures."

Job 42

1 Then Job answered the Lord:

2 "I know that you can do all things and that no plan of yours can be ruined.

3 You asked, 'Who is this that made my purpose unclear by saying things that are not true?' Surely I spoke of things I did not understand; I talked of things too wonderful for me to know.

4 You said, 'Listen now, and I will speak. I will ask you questions, and you must answer me.'

5 My ears had heard of you before, but now my eyes have seen you.

6 So now I hate myself; I will change my heart and life. I will sit in the dust and ashes."

7 After the Lord had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not said what is right about me, as my servant Job did.

8 Now take seven bulls and seven male sheep, and go to my servant Job, and offer a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will listen to his prayer. Then I will not punish you for being foolish. You have not said what is right about me, as my servant Job did."

9 So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite did as the Lord said, and the Lord listened to Job's prayer.

10 After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord gave him success again. The Lord gave Job twice as much as he had owned before.

11 Job's brothers and sisters came to his house, along with everyone who had known him before, and they all ate with him there. They comforted him and made him feel better about the trouble the Lord had brought on him, and each one gave Job a piece of silver and a gold ring.

12 The Lord blessed the last part of Job's life even more than the first part. Job had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand teams of oxen, and a thousand female donkeys.

13 Job also had seven sons and three daughters.

14 He named the first daughter Jemimah, the second daughter Keziah, and the third daughter Keren-Happuch.

15 There were no other women in all the land as beautiful as Job's daughters. And their father Job gave them land to own along with their brothers.

16 After this, Job lived one hundred forty years. He lived to see his children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren.

17 Then Job died; he was old and had lived many years.