Job 40

The Lord Answers Job

1 Moreover the LORD a answered Job, and said:

2 "Shall b the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him?
He who c rebukes God, let him answer it."

Job Promises Silence

3 Then Job answered the LORD and said:

4 "Behold, d I am vile;
What shall I answer You?
e I lay my hand over my mouth.
5 Once I have spoken, but I will not answer;
Yes, twice, but I will proceed no further."

The Lord Challenges Job

6 f Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said:

7 "Now g 1 prepare yourself like a man;
h I will question you, and you shall answer Me:
8 "Would i you indeed 2 annul My judgment?
Would you condemn Me that you may be justified?
9 Have you an arm like God?
Or can you thunder with j a voice like His?

10 k Then adorn yourself with majesty and splendor,
And array yourself with glory and beauty.
11 Disperse the rage of your wrath;
Look on everyone who is proud, and humble him.
12 Look on everyone who is l proud, and bring him low;
Tread down the wicked in their place.
13 Hide them in the dust together,
Bind their faces in hidden darkness.
14 Then I will also confess to you
That your own right hand can save you.

15 "Look now at the 3 behemoth, 3 which I made along with you;
He eats grass like an ox.
16 See now, his strength is in his hips,
And his power is in his stomach muscles.
17 He moves his tail like a cedar;
The sinews of his thighs are tightly knit.
18 His bones are like beams of bronze,
His ribs like bars of iron.

19 He is the first of the m ways of God;
Only He who made him can bring near His sword.
20 Surely the mountains n yield food for him,
And all the beasts of the field play there.
21 He lies under the lotus trees,
In a covert of reeds and marsh.
22 The lotus trees cover him with their shade;
The willows by the brook surround him.
23 Indeed the river may rage,
Yet he is not disturbed;
He is confident, though the Jordan gushes into his mouth,
24 Though he takes it in his eyes,
Or one pierces his nose with a snare.

  1. Cross References
    Job 38:1
    Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said:
  2. Cross References
    Job 9:3
    If one wished to contend with Him, He could not answer Him one time out of a thousand.
    Job 10:2
    I will say to God, 'Do not condemn me; Show me why You contend with me.
    Job 33:13
    Why do you contend with Him? For He does not give an accounting of any of His words.
  3. Cross References
    Job 13:3
    But I would speak to the Almighty, And I desire to reason with God.
    Job 23:4
    I would present my case before Him, And fill my mouth with arguments.
  4. Cross References
    Ezra 9:6
    And I said: "O my God, I am too ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God; for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has grown up to the heavens.
    Job 42:6
    Therefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes.
  5. Cross References
    Job 29:9
    The princes refrained from talking, And put their hand on their mouth.
    Psalms 39:9
    I was mute, I did not open my mouth, Because it was You who did it.
  6. Cross References
    Job 38:1
    Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said:
  7. Cross References
    Job 38:3
    Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me.
  8. Cross References
    Job 42:4
    Listen, please, and let me speak; You said, 'I will question you, and you shall answer Me.
  9. Cross References
    Job 16:11
    God has delivered me to the ungodly, And turned me over to the hands of the wicked.
    Job 19:6
    Know then that God has wronged me, And has surrounded me with His net.
    Psalms 51:4
    Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight - That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge.
    Romans 3:4
    Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar. As it is written: "That You may be justified in Your words, And may overcome when You are judged.
  10. Cross References
    Job 37:4
    After it a voice roars; He thunders with His majestic voice, And He does not restrain them when His voice is heard.
    Psalms 29:3
    The voice of the LORD is over the waters; The God of glory thunders; The LORD is over many waters.
    Psalms 29:4
    The voice of the LORD is powerful; The voice of the LORD is full of majesty.
  11. Cross References
    Psalms 93:1
    The LORD reigns, He is clothed with majesty; The LORD is clothed, He has girded Himself with strength. Surely the world is established, so that it cannot be moved.
    Psalms 104:1
    Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, You are very great: You are clothed with honor and majesty.
  12. Cross References
    1 Samuel 2:7
    The LORD makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and lifts up.
    Isaiah 2:12
    For the day of the LORD of hosts Shall come upon everything proud and lofty, Upon everything lifted up - And it shall be brought low -
    Isaiah 13:11
    I will punish the world for its evil, And the wicked for their iniquity; I will halt the arrogance of the proud, And will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
    Daniel 4:37
    Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to put down.
  13. Cross References
    Job 26:14
    Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways, And how small a whisper we hear of Him! But the thunder of His power who can understand?
  14. Cross References
    Psalms 104:14
    He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, And vegetation for the service of man, That he may bring forth food from the earth.
New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
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