Job 40:6-41:34

New International Reader's Version

⁷ “Get ready to stand up for yourself.
    I will ask you some more questions.
    Then I want you to answer me.

⁸ “Would you dare to claim that I am not being fair?
    Would you judge me in order to make yourself seem right?
⁹ Is your arm as powerful as mine is?
    Can your voice thunder as mine does?
¹⁰ Then put on glory and beauty as if they were your clothes.
    Also put on honor and majesty.
¹¹ Let loose your great anger.
    Look at those who are proud and bring them low.
¹² Look at proud people and make them humble.
    Crush evil people right where they are.
¹³ Bury their bodies together in the dust.
    Cover their faces in the grave.
¹⁴ Then I myself will admit to you
    that your own right hand can save you.

¹⁵ “Look at Behemoth. It is a huge animal.
    I made both of you.
    It eats grass like an ox.
¹⁶ Look at the strength it has in its hips!
    What power it has in the muscles of its stomach!
¹⁷ Its tail sways back and forth like a cedar tree.
    The tendons of its thighs are close together.
¹⁸ Its bones are like tubes made out of bronze.
    Its legs are like rods made out of iron.
¹⁹ It ranks first among my works.
    I made it. I can approach it with my sword.
²⁰ The hills produce food for it.
    All the other wild animals play near it.
²¹ It lies under lotus plants.
    It hides in tall grass in the swamps.
²² The lotus plants hide it in their shade.
    Poplar trees near streams surround it.
²³ It is not afraid when the river roars.
    It is secure even when the Jordan River rushes against its mouth.
²⁴ Can anyone capture it by its eyes?
    Can anyone trap it and poke a hole through its nose?

41 “Job, can you pull Leviathan out of the sea with a fishhook?
    Can you tie down its tongue with a rope?
² Can you put a rope through its nose?
    Can you stick a hook through its jaw?
³ Will it keep begging you for mercy?
    Will it speak gently to you?
⁴ Will it make an agreement with you?
    Can you make it your slave for life?
⁵ Can you make a pet out of it like a bird?
    Can you put it on a leash for the young women in your house?
⁶ Will traders offer you something for it?
    Will they divide it up among the merchants?
⁷ Can you fill its body with harpoons?
    Can you throw fishing spears into its head?
⁸ If you touch it, it will fight you.
    Then you will remember never to touch it again!
⁹ No one can possibly control Leviathan.
    Just looking at it will terrify you.
¹⁰ No one dares to wake it up.
    So who can possibly stand up to me?
¹¹ Who has a claim against me that I must pay?
    Everything on earth belongs to me.

¹² “Now I will speak about the Leviathan’s legs.
    I will talk about its strength and its graceful body.
¹³ Who can strip off its outer coat?
    Who would try to pierce its double coat of armor?
¹⁴ Who dares to open its jaws?
    Its mouth is filled with terrifying teeth.
¹⁵ Its back has rows of shields
    that are close together.
¹⁶ Each one is so close to the next one
    that not even air can pass between them.
¹⁷ They are joined tightly to one another.
    They stick together and can’t be forced apart.
¹⁸ Leviathan’s snorting throws out flashes of light.
    Its eyes shine like the first light of day.
¹⁹ Flames spray out of its mouth.
    Sparks of fire shoot out.
²⁰ Smoke pours out of its nose.
    It is like smoke from a boiling pot over burning grass.
²¹ Its breath sets coals on fire.
    Flames fly out of its mouth.
²² Its neck is very strong.
    People run to get out of its way.
²³ Its rolls of fat are close together.
    They are firm and can’t be moved.
²⁴ Its chest is as hard as rock.
    It is as hard as a lower millstone.
²⁵ When Leviathan rises up,
    even mighty people are terrified.
    They run away when it moves around wildly.
²⁶ A sword that strikes it has no effect.
    Neither does a spear or dart or javelin.
²⁷ It treats iron as if it were straw.
    It crushes bronze as if it were rotten wood.
²⁸ Arrows do not make it run away.
    Stones that are thrown from slings are like straw hitting it.
²⁹ A club seems like a piece of straw to it.
    It laughs when it hears a javelin rattling.
³⁰ Its undersides are like broken pieces of pottery.
    It leaves a trail in the mud like a threshing sled.
³¹ It makes the ocean churn like a boiling pot.
    It stirs up the sea like perfume someone is making.
³² It leaves a shiny trail behind it.
    You would think the ocean had white hair.
³³ Nothing on earth is equal to Leviathan.
    That creature is not afraid of anything.
³⁴ It looks down on proud people.
    It rules over all those who are proud.”