Job 40
English Standard Version
40 And the Lord (A)said to Job:
2 “Shall a faultfinder (B)contend with the Almighty?
He who argues with God, let him answer it.”
Job Promises Silence
3 Then Job answered the Lord and said:
4 “Behold, I am (C)of small account; what shall I answer you?
(D)I lay my hand on my mouth.
5 I have spoken (E)once, and I will not answer;
(F)twice, but I will proceed no further.”
The Lord Challenges Job
6 Then the Lord (G)answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:
7 (H)“Dress for action[a] like a man;
(I)I will question you, and you make it known to me.
8 Will you even put me in the wrong?
Will you condemn me that (J)you may be in the right?
9 Have you (K)an arm like God,
and can you thunder with (L)a voice like his?
10 “Adorn yourself with majesty and dignity;
(M)clothe yourself with glory and splendor.
11 Pour out the overflowings of your anger,
and look on everyone who is (N)proud and abase him.
12 Look on everyone who is proud and bring him low
and (O)tread down the wicked (P)where they stand.
13 (Q)Hide them all in (R)the dust together;
bind their faces in the world below.[b]
14 Then will I also acknowledge to you
that your own (S)right hand can save you.
15 “Behold, Behemoth,[c]
which I made as I made you;
he eats (T)grass like an ox.
16 Behold, his strength in his loins,
and his power in the muscles of his belly.
17 He makes his tail stiff like a cedar;
the sinews of his thighs are knit together.
18 His bones are tubes of bronze,
his limbs like bars of iron.
19 “He is (U)the first of (V)the works[d] of God;
let him who made him bring near his sword!
20 For the mountains yield food for him
where all the wild beasts play.
21 Under the lotus plants he lies,
in the shelter of (W)the reeds and in the marsh.
22 For his shade the lotus trees cover him;
the willows of the brook surround him.
23 Behold, if the river is turbulent he is not frightened;
he is confident though Jordan rushes against his mouth.
24 Can one take him by his eyes,[e]
or pierce his nose with a snare?
Job 40
Contemporary English Version
40 1 I am the Lord All-Powerful,
2 but you have argued
that I am wrong.
Now you must answer me.
3 Job said to the Lord:
4 Who am I to answer you?
5 I did speak once or twice,
but never again.
6 Then out of the storm
the Lord said to Job:
7 Face me and answer
the questions I ask!
8 Are you trying to prove
that you are innocent
by accusing me of injustice?
9 Do you have a powerful arm
and a thundering voice
that compare with mine?
10 If so, then surround yourself
with glory and majesty.
* 11 Show your furious anger!
Throw down and crush
12 all who are proud and evil.
13 Wrap them in grave clothes
and bury them together
in the dusty soil.
14 Do this, and I will agree
that you have won
this argument.
I Created You
15 I created both you
and the hippopotamus.[a]
It eats only grass like an ox,
16 but look at the mighty muscles
in its body 17 and legs.
Its tail is like a cedar tree,
and its thighs are thick.
18 The bones in its legs
are like bronze or iron.
19 I made it more powerful
than any other creature,
yet I am stronger still.
20 Undisturbed, it eats grass
while the other animals
play nearby.[b]
* 21 It rests in the shade of trees
along the riverbank
22 or hides among reeds
in the swamp.
23 It remains calm and unafraid
with the Jordan River rushing
and splashing in its face.
24 There is no way to capture
a hippopotamus—
not even by hooking its nose
or blinding its eyes.
Job 40
Authorized (King James) Version
40 Moreover the Lord answered Job, and said,
2 Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him?
he that reproveth God, let him answer it.
3 Then Job answered the Lord, and said,
4 Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee?
I will lay mine hand upon my mouth.
5 Once have I spoken; but I will not answer:
yea, twice; but I will proceed no further.
6 Then answered the Lord unto Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
7 Gird up thy loins now like a man:
I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
8 Wilt thou also disannul my judgment?
wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?
9 Hast thou an arm like God?
or canst thou thunder with a voice like him?
10 Deck thyself now with majesty and excellency;
and array thyself with glory and beauty.
11 Cast abroad the rage of thy wrath:
and behold every one that is proud, and abase him.
12 Look on every one that is proud, and bring him low;
and tread down the wicked in their place.
13 Hide them in the dust together;
and bind their faces in secret.
14 Then will I also confess unto thee
that thine own right hand can save thee.
15 Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee;
he eateth grass as an ox.
16 Lo now, his strength is in his loins,
and his force is in the navel of his belly.
17 He moveth his tail like a cedar:
the sinews of his stones are wrapped together.
18 His bones are as strong pieces of brass;
his bones are like bars of iron.
19 He is the chief of the ways of God:
he that made him can make his sword to approach unto him.
20 Surely the mountains bring him forth food,
where all the beasts of the field play.
21 He lieth under the shady trees,
in the covert of the reed, and fens.
22 The shady trees cover him with their shadow;
the willows of the brook compass him about.
23 Behold, he drinketh up a river, and hasteth not:
he trusteth that he can draw up Jordan into his mouth.
24 He taketh it with his eyes:
his nose pierceth through snares.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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KJV reproduced by permission of Cambridge University Press, the Crown’s patentee in the UK.