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40 The Lord answered and said to Job:
2 “Will the person who ·argues [contends] with the Almighty correct him?
Let the person who ·accuses [reproves] God answer him.”
3 Then Job answered the Lord:
4 “I am ·not worthy [small]; I cannot answer you anything,
so I will put my hand over my mouth [C to indicate no more talking].
5 I spoke one time, but I will not answer again;
I even spoke two times, but I will ·say [add] nothing more.”
6 Then the Lord spoke to Job from the ·storm [whirlwind]:
7 “·Be strong [Brace yourself; L Gird your loins], like a man!
I will ask you questions,
and you must ·answer [inform] me [38:3].
8 Would you ·say that I am unfair [discredit my justice]?
Would you ·blame [condemn] me to make yourself look ·right [righteous]?
9 ·Are you [L Is your arm] as strong as God?
Can your voice thunder like his?
10 If so, then decorate yourself with ·glory [loftiness] and ·beauty [pride];
dress in ·honor [splendor] and ·greatness [majesty] as if they were clothing.
11 Let your great anger ·punish [L loose];
look at the proud and bring them down.
12 Look at the proud and make them ·humble [submit].
Crush the wicked wherever they ·are [stand].
13 ·Bury [L Hide] them all in the ·dirt [dust] together;
·cover [hide] their faces in the ·grave [L hidden place].
14 If you can do that, then I myself will ·praise [acknowledge] you,
because ·you are strong enough to save yourself [L your right hand has given you the victory].
15 “Look at Behemoth, [C a large land animal or monster],
which I made just as I made you.
It eats grass like an ox.
16 Look at the strength it has in its ·body [L loins];
the muscles of its stomach are powerful.
17 Its tail ·is [stiffens] like a cedar tree;
the ·muscles [sinews] 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 [L approach it with a sword].
20 The hills, where the wild animals play,
provide food for it.
21 It ·lies [lives] under the lotus plants,
hidden by the ·tall grass in the swamp [reeds of the marsh].
22 The lotus plants ·hide [cover] it in their shadow;
the poplar trees by the ·streams [wadis] surround it.
23 If the river ·floods [grows turbulent], it will not ·be afraid [or hurry away];
it is ·safe [confident; secure] even if the Jordan River rushes to its mouth.
24 Can anyone ·blind its eyes and capture it [or take it with a hook]?
Can anyone ·put hooks in its nose [pierce its nose with a snare]?
41 “Can you catch Leviathan [C a large sea creature or monster; 3:8] on a fishhook
or tie its tongue down with a rope?
2 Can you put a cord through its nose
or ·a hook in its jaw [L pierce its jaw/cheek with a hook]?
3 Will it keep begging you for mercy
and speak to you with ·gentle [soft; kind; tender] words?
4 Will it ·make [L cut] an ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with you
and let you take it as your slave ·for life [L forever]?
5 Can you ·make a pet of Leviathan [L play with it] as you would a bird
or put it on a leash for your girls?
6 Will ·traders [the fishing guild] try to ·bargain [haggle] with you for it?
Will they divide it up among the merchants?
7 Can you stick ·darts [harpoons] all over its skin
or fill its head with fishing spears?
8 If you put one hand on it,
you will ·never forget [L remember] the battle,
and you will never do it again!
9 ·There is no hope of defeating it [Any hope of defeating/subduing it will prove a lie];
just seeing it ·overwhelms people [L throws people down].
10 No one is ·brave [fierce] enough to ·make it angry [arouse it; stir it up],
so who would be able to stand up against ·me [or it]?
11 ·No one [L Who…?] has ever ·given me anything that I must pay back [or confronted it and come out whole/safe],
·because everything under the sky belongs to me [or who—under the entire heavens?].
12 “I will ·speak [L not keep quiet] about Leviathan’s ·arms and legs [limbs],
its great strength and ·well-formed body [L grace of form].
13 ·No one [L Who…?] can ·tear off [L expose] its outer ·hide [L garment]
or ·poke [enter] through its double armor.
14 ·No one [L Who…?] can force open ·its great jaws [L the doors of its face];
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 [L draws near the other, so]
that no air can go between them.
17 ·They are joined strongly to one another [L Each clings to its neighbor];
they hold on to each other and cannot be ·separated [broken off].
18 When it ·snorts [sneezes], 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 [or Violence leaps before it].
23 The folds of its skin are tightly joined;
they are set and cannot be moved.
24 Its ·chest [L heart] is as hard as a rock,
even as hard as a ·grinding stone [lower millstone].
25 The ·powerful [mighty; or gods] fear ·its terrible looks [L when it lifts itself up]
and ·draw back in fear as it moves [or the waves miss their mark/retreat].
26 The sword that ·hits [approaches] it does not hurt it,
nor the arrows, darts, and spears.
27 It ·treats [considers] 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 [chaff] to it,
and it laughs when they ·shake [rattle] a spear at it.
30 The underside of its body is like ·broken [or sharp] pieces of pottery.
It leaves a trail in the mud like a threshing board.
31 It makes the deep sea ·bubble like a boiling [L boil like a] pot;
it ·stirs up the sea like a pot of oil [L makes the sea like ointment].
32 ·When it swims [L After it], 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 [proud; lofty];
it is king over all proud creatures.”
Job Answers the Lord
42 Then Job answered the Lord[L and said]:
2 “I know that you can do all things
and that no plan of yours ·can be ruined [is impossible; can be hindered].
3 You asked, ‘Who is this that made my ·purpose [L counsel; advice] ·unclear [hidden] by ·saying things that are not true [L ignorance; 38:2]?’
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 [inform] me.’
5 My ears had heard of you before,
but now my eyes have seen you.
6 So now I ·hate [despise] myself;
I will ·change my heart and life [L repent], ·and will sit in [L …in] dust and ashes [C for his questioning of God, not for anything that led to his suffering].”
End of the Story
7 After the Lord had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “·I am angry with [L My anger burns against] you and your two friends, because you have not said what is ·right [correct] 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 [Lev. 1:1–7] for yourselves [C for atonement]. My servant Job will ·pray [intercede] for you, and I will ·listen to [accept] his prayer. Then I will not ·punish you for being foolish [L treat you according to your foolishness]. You have not said what is ·right [correct] 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 [accepted] Job’s prayer.
10 After Job had ·prayed [interceded] for his friends, the Lord ·gave him success again [restored his fortunes]. 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 [commiserated with him concerning the trouble/evil] 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 [C “turtledove”], the second daughter Keziah [C “cassia,” a spice], and the third daughter Keren-Happuch [C “a horn (jar) of eye paint”]. 15 There were no other women in all the ·land [or earth] 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 [L full of days].
Becoming Friends with God
11 [L Therefore] Since we know what it means to fear the Lord, we try to persuade people [C either about the truth of the Gospel or about Paul’s good motives]. God knows what we really are, and I hope that in your ·hearts [consciences] you know, too. 12 We are not trying to ·prove [commend] ourselves to you again, but we are giving you a ·reason [opportunity] to ·be proud of [boast about] us. Then you will have an answer for those who ·are proud [boast] about ·things that can be seen [outward appearance] rather than what is in the heart. 13 If we are out of our minds, it is for God. If we have our right minds, it is for you. 14 [L For] The love of Christ ·controls [compels; drives] us, because we ·know [are convinced; have concluded] that One died for all, so all have died [C we died spiritually with Christ, the penalty for our sins]. 15 Christ died for all so that those who live would ·not continue to [no longer] live for themselves, but for him who died for them and was raised from the dead.
16 [L So; As a result] From ·this time [now] on we do not think of anyone ·as the world does [or from a merely human perspective; L according to the flesh]. [L Although] In the past we thought of Christ ·as the world thinks [or as nothing more than a man; L according to the flesh], but we no longer think of him in that way. 17 If anyone belongs to Christ, ·there is a new creation [the new creation has arrived; or that person has become a new creation]. The old things have gone; [L look; T behold] ·everything is made new [the new has come]! 18 All this is from God, who through Christ ·made peace between us and [reconciled us to] himself, and gave us the ·work of telling everyone about the peace we can have with him [L ministry/service of reconciliation]. 19 [L For] God was in Christ, ·making peace between the world and [reconciling the world to] himself. In Christ, God did not ·hold the world guilty of its sins [L count their trespasses against them]. And he ·gave [committed/entrusted to] us this message of ·peace [reconciliation]. 20 So we ·have been sent to speak [L are ambassadors] for Christ. It is as if God is ·calling to [urging; exhorting; encouraging] you through us. We speak for Christ when we ·beg [implore; urge] you to be ·at peace with [reconciled to] God. 21 God made ·Christ [L the one] who ·had no sin [or never sinned; L did not know sin] to become sin for us, so that in ·Christ [L him] we could become ·right with [L the righteousness of] God.
A Song for the King’s Wedding
For the director of music. To the tune of “Lilies.” A ·maskil [skillful psalm; meditation]. A love song of the sons of Korah [C descendants of Kohath, son of Levi, who served as Temple musicians; 1 Chr. 6:22].
45 ·Beautiful words fill my mind [L My heart is stirred with a good word].
I ·am speaking of royal things [or address my work to the king].
My tongue is like the pen of a skilled writer [Ezra 7:6].
2 You are more ·handsome [or excellent] than anyone,
and ·you are an excellent speaker [L grace flows from your lips; Prov. 22:11],
so God has blessed you forever.
3 Put on your sword ·at your side [L on your thigh], powerful warrior.
Show your ·glory [splendor] and majesty.
4 In your majesty ·win [L ride forth for] the victory
for what is ·true [faithful] and ·right [righteous].
Your ·power [L right hand] ·will do [L teaches you] amazing things.
5 Your sharp arrows will ·enter [pierce]
the hearts of the king’s enemies.
·Nations [Peoples] will ·be defeated before [L fall beneath] you.
6 ·God, your throne will last [or Your throne is a throne of God] forever and ever.
·You will rule your kingdom with fairness [L A scepter of virtue will be the scepter of your kingdom].
7 You love ·right [righteousness] and hate ·evil [wickedness],
so God has ·chosen [anointed] you from among your ·friends [companions];
·he has set you apart with much joy [L …with the oil of joy; C kings were anointed with oil at their coronation; 1 Sam. 10:1; 16:13; Heb. 1:8–9].
8 Your clothes smell like myrrh, aloes, and cassia.
From palaces of ivory
·music [stringed instruments] comes to make you happy.
9 Kings’ daughters are among your honored women.
Your ·bride [queen; consort] stands at your right side
wearing gold from Ophir [C perhaps a region in southern Arabia].
10 Listen to me, daughter; look and ·pay attention [L incline your ear].
Forget your people and your father’s ·family [L house; Gen. 2:24].
11 The king ·loves [L desires; longs for] your beauty.
Because he is your ·master [lord], you should ·obey [L bow yourself before] him.
12 ·People from the city [L The daughter] of Tyre have brought ·a gift [tribute].
Wealthy people ·will want to meet you [seek your favor].
13 The ·princess [L daughter of the king] is ·very beautiful [L all glorious within].
Her gown is woven with gold.
14 In her ·beautiful [embroidered] clothes she is brought to the king.
·Her bridesmaids [Virgins] follow behind her,
and ·they are also brought to him [L her friends follow].
15 They come with happiness and joy;
they enter the king’s palace.
16 You will have sons to replace your fathers [C addressed to the king].
You will make them ·rulers [princes] through all the land.
17 I will make your name famous from now on,
so people will praise you forever and ever.
14 The ·words [L mouth] of ·an unfaithful wife [L the strange woman] are like a deep ·trap [pit].
Those who make the Lord angry will ·get caught by them [L fall in it].
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