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Job 40-42
GOD’S WORD Translation
Job 40-42
GOD’S WORD Translation
The Lord Speaks
40 The Lord responded to Job,
2 “Will the person who finds fault with the Almighty correct him?
Will the person who argues with God answer him?”
Job Speaks
3 Job answered the Lord,
4 “I’m so insignificant. How can I answer you?
I will put my hand over my mouth.
5 I spoke once, but I can’t answer—
twice, but not again.”
The Lord Speaks: Can You Be Like Me, Job?
6 Then the Lord responded to Job out of a storm,
7 “Brace yourself like a man!
I will ask you, and you will teach me.
8 “Would you undo my justice?
Would you condemn me so that you can be righteous?
9 Do you have power like God’s?
Can you thunder with a voice like his?
10 Then dress yourself in majesty and dignity.
Clothe yourself in splendor and glory.
11 Unleash your outbursts of anger.
Look at all who are arrogant, and put them down.
12 Look at all who are arrogant, and humble them.
Crush wicked people wherever they are.
13 Hide them completely in the dust,
and cover their faces in the hidden place.
14 Then even I will praise you
because your right hand can save you.
Can You Conquer Behemoth, Job?
15 “Look at Behemoth,[a] which I made along with you.
It eats grass as cattle do.
16 Look at the strength in its back muscles,
the power in its stomach muscles.
17 It makes its tail stiff like a cedar.
The ligaments of its thighs are intertwined.
18 Its bones are bronze tubes.
They are like iron bars.
19 Behemoth is the first of God’s conquests.
Its maker approaches it with his sword.
20 The hills bring it food,
and all the wild animals play there.
21 It lies down under the lotus plants
in a hiding place among reeds and swamps.
22 Lotus plants provide it with cover.
Poplars by the stream surround it.
23 Though the river flows powerfully against it, it’s not alarmed.
It’s confident ⌞even⌟ when the Jordan rushes against its mouth.
24 Can anyone blind its eyes [b]
or pierce its nose with snares?
The Lord Continues: Can You Conquer Leviathan, Job?
41 [c]“Can you pull Leviathan out ⌞of the water⌟ with a fishhook
or tie its tongue down with a rope?
2 Can you put a ring through its nose
or pierce its jaw with a hook?
3 Will it plead with you for mercy
or speak tenderly to you?
4 Will it make an agreement with you
so that you can take it as your permanent slave?
5 Can you play with it like a bird
or keep it on a leash for your girls?
6 Will traders bargain over it
and divide it among the merchants?
7 Can you fill its hide with harpoons
or its head with fishing spears?
8 Lay your hand on it.
Think of the struggle!
Don’t do it again!
9 Certainly, any hope ⌞of defeating it⌟ is a false hope.
Doesn’t the sight of it overwhelm you?
10 No one is brave enough to provoke Leviathan.
Then who can stand in front of me? [d]
11 Who can confront me that I should repay him?
Everything under heaven belongs to me!
12 “I will not be silent about Leviathan’s limbs,
its strength, or its graceful form.
13 Who can skin its hide?
Who can approach it with a harness?
14 Who can open its closed mouth?
Its teeth are surrounded by terror.
15 Its back has rows of scales that are tightly sealed.
16 One is so close to the other
that there is no space between them.
17 Each is joined to the other.
They are locked together and inseparable.
18 When Leviathan sneezes, it gives out a flash of light.
Its eyes are like the first rays of the dawn.
19 Flames shoot from its mouth.
Sparks of fire fly from it.
20 Smoke comes from its nostrils
like a boiling pot heated over brushwood.
21 Its breath sets coals on fire,
and a flame pours from its mouth.
22 Strength resides in its neck,
and power dances in front of it.
23 The folds of its flesh stick to each other.
They are solid and cannot be moved.
24 Its chest is solid like a rock,
solid like a millstone.
25 “The mighty are afraid when Leviathan rises.
Broken down, they draw back.
26 A sword may strike it but not pierce it.
Neither will a spear, lance, or dart.
27 It considers iron to be like straw
and bronze to be like rotten wood.
28 An arrow won’t make it run away.
Stones from a sling turn to dust against it.
29 It considers clubs to be like stubble,
and it laughs at a rattling javelin.
30 Its underside is like sharp pieces of broken pottery.
It stretches out like a threshing [e] sledge on the mud.
31 It makes the deep sea boil like a pot.
It stirs up the ocean like a boiling kettle.
32 It leaves a shining path behind it
so that the sea appears to have silvery hair.
33 Nothing on land can compare to it.
It was made fearless.
34 It looks down on all high things.
It is king of everyone who is arrogant.”
Job Speaks: I Admit That I Was Wrong
42 Then Job answered the Lord,
2 “I know that you can do everything
and that your plans are unstoppable.
3 “⌞You said,⌟ ‘Who is this that belittles my advice
without having any knowledge ⌞about it⌟?’
Yes, I have stated things I didn’t understand,
things too mysterious for me to know.
4 “⌞You said,⌟ ‘Listen now, and I will speak.
I will ask you, and you will teach me.’
5 I had heard about you with my own ears,
but now I have seen you with my own eyes.
6 That is why I take back what I said,
and I sit in dust and ashes to show that I am sorry.”
Job’s Life Is Restored
7 After the Lord had said those things to Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz from Teman, “I’m very angry with you and your two friends because you didn’t speak what is right about me as my servant Job has done. 8 So take seven young bulls and seven rams. Go to my servant Job, and make a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you. Then I will accept his prayer not to treat you as godless fools. After all, you didn’t speak what is right about me as my servant Job has done.”
9 Then Eliphaz of Teman, Bildad of Shuah, and Zophar of Naama went and did what the Lord had told them to do. And the Lord accepted Job’s prayer.
10 After Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored Job’s prosperity and gave him twice as much ⌞as he had before⌟. 11 Then all his brothers and sisters and everyone who had previously known him came to him. They ate with him at his house, sympathized with him, and comforted him for all the evil the Lord had brought to him. Each one gave him some money and a gold ring.
12 The Lord blessed the latter years of Job’s life more than the earlier years. He had 14,000 sheep and goats, 6,000 camels, 2,000 oxen, and 1,000 donkeys. 13 He also had seven sons and three daughters. 14 He named the first ⌞daughter⌟ Jemimah, the second Cassia, and the third Keren Happuch. 15 Nowhere in the whole country could be found women who were as beautiful as Job’s daughters. Their father gave them and their brothers an inheritance.
16 Job lived 140 years after this. He saw his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.[f] 17 Then at a very old age, Job died.
Footnotes
- 40:15 The Hebrew word Behemoth means “beast, animal.”
- 40:24 Or “catch it with a trap.”
- 41:1 Job 41:1–34 in English Bibles is Job 40:25–41:26 in the Hebrew Bible.
- 41:10 Some Hebrew manuscripts; many Hebrew manuscripts “it.”
- 41:30 Threshing is the process of beating stalks to separate them from the grain.
- 42:16 Or “grandchildren, four generations.”
Job 40-42
New International Version
Job 40-42
New International Version
40 The Lord said to Job:(A)
2 “Will the one who contends with the Almighty(B) correct him?(C)
Let him who accuses God answer him!”(D)
3 Then Job answered the Lord:
4 “I am unworthy(E)—how can I reply to you?
I put my hand over my mouth.(F)
5 I spoke once, but I have no answer(G)—
twice, but I will say no more.”(H)
6 Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm:(I)
7 “Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.(J)
8 “Would you discredit my justice?(K)
Would you condemn me to justify yourself?(L)
9 Do you have an arm like God’s,(M)
and can your voice(N) thunder like his?(O)
10 Then adorn yourself with glory and splendor,
and clothe yourself in honor and majesty.(P)
11 Unleash the fury of your wrath,(Q)
look at all who are proud and bring them low,(R)
12 look at all who are proud(S) and humble them,(T)
crush(U) the wicked where they stand.
13 Bury them all in the dust together;(V)
shroud their faces in the grave.(W)
14 Then I myself will admit to you
that your own right hand can save you.(X)
15 “Look at Behemoth,
which I made(Y) along with you
and which feeds on grass like an ox.(Z)
16 What strength(AA) it has in its loins,
what power in the muscles of its belly!(AB)
17 Its tail sways like a cedar;
the sinews of its thighs are close-knit.(AC)
18 Its bones are tubes of bronze,
its limbs(AD) like rods of iron.(AE)
19 It ranks first among the works of God,(AF)
yet its Maker(AG) can approach it with his sword.(AH)
20 The hills bring it their produce,(AI)
and all the wild animals play(AJ) nearby.(AK)
21 Under the lotus plants it lies,
hidden among the reeds(AL) in the marsh.(AM)
22 The lotuses conceal it in their shadow;
the poplars by the stream(AN) surround it.
23 A raging river(AO) does not alarm it;
it is secure, though the Jordan(AP) should surge against its mouth.
24 Can anyone capture it by the eyes,
or trap it and pierce its nose?(AQ)
41 [a]“Can you pull in Leviathan(AR) with a fishhook(AS)
or tie down its tongue with a rope?
2 Can you put a cord through its nose(AT)
or pierce its jaw with a hook?(AU)
3 Will it keep begging you for mercy?(AV)
Will it speak to you with gentle words?
4 Will it make an agreement with you
for you to take it as your slave for life?(AW)
5 Can you make a pet of it like a bird
or put it on a leash for the young women in your house?
6 Will traders barter for it?
Will they divide it up among the merchants?
7 Can you fill its hide with harpoons
or its head with fishing spears?(AX)
8 If you lay a hand on it,
you will remember the struggle and never do it again!(AY)
9 Any hope of subduing it is false;
the mere sight of it is overpowering.(AZ)
10 No one is fierce enough to rouse it.(BA)
Who then is able to stand against me?(BB)
11 Who has a claim against me that I must pay?(BC)
Everything under heaven belongs to me.(BD)
12 “I will not fail to speak of Leviathan’s limbs,(BE)
its strength(BF) and its graceful form.
13 Who can strip off its outer coat?
Who can penetrate its double coat of armor[b]?(BG)
14 Who dares open the doors of its mouth,(BH)
ringed about with fearsome teeth?
15 Its back has[c] rows of shields
tightly sealed together;(BI)
16 each is so close to the next
that no air can pass between.
17 They are joined fast to one another;
they cling together and cannot be parted.
18 Its snorting throws out flashes of light;
its eyes are like the rays of dawn.(BJ)
19 Flames(BK) stream from its mouth;
sparks of fire shoot out.
20 Smoke pours from its nostrils(BL)
as from a boiling pot over burning reeds.
21 Its breath(BM) sets coals ablaze,
and flames dart from its mouth.(BN)
22 Strength(BO) resides in its neck;
dismay goes before it.
23 The folds of its flesh are tightly joined;
they are firm and immovable.
24 Its chest is hard as rock,
hard as a lower millstone.(BP)
25 When it rises up, the mighty are terrified;(BQ)
they retreat before its thrashing.(BR)
26 The sword that reaches it has no effect,
nor does the spear or the dart or the javelin.(BS)
27 Iron it treats like straw(BT)
and bronze like rotten wood.
28 Arrows do not make it flee;(BU)
slingstones are like chaff to it.
29 A club seems to it but a piece of straw;(BV)
it laughs(BW) at the rattling of the lance.
30 Its undersides are jagged potsherds,
leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing sledge.(BX)
31 It makes the depths churn like a boiling caldron(BY)
and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment.(BZ)
32 It leaves a glistening wake behind it;
one would think the deep had white hair.
33 Nothing on earth is its equal(CA)—
a creature without fear.
34 It looks down on all that are haughty;(CB)
it is king over all that are proud.(CC)”
Job
42 Then Job replied to the Lord:
2 “I know that you can do all things;(CD)
no purpose of yours can be thwarted.(CE)
3 You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’(CF)
Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me to know.(CG)
4 “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.’(CH)
5 My ears had heard of you(CI)
but now my eyes have seen you.(CJ)
6 Therefore I despise myself(CK)
and repent(CL) in dust and ashes.”(CM)
Epilogue
7 After the Lord had said these things to Job(CN), he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “I am angry with you and your two friends,(CO) because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.(CP) 8 So now take seven bulls and seven rams(CQ) and go to my servant Job(CR) and sacrifice a burnt offering(CS) for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer(CT) and not deal with you according to your folly.(CU) You have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.”(CV) 9 So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite(CW) did what the Lord told them; and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer.(CX)
10 After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes(CY) and gave him twice as much as he had before.(CZ) 11 All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before(DA) came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the Lord had brought on him,(DB) and each one gave him a piece of silver[d] and a gold ring.
12 The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. 13 And he also had seven sons and three daughters. 14 The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch. 15 Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job’s daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers.
16 After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. 17 And so Job died, an old man and full of years.(DC)
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
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