The Lord Challenges Job

Job 40

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.

Job 41

1 "Can you draw out a Leviathan 5 5 with a hook,
Or snare his tongue with a line which you lower?
2 Can you b put a reed through his nose,
Or pierce his jaw with a 7 hook?
3 Will he make many supplications to you?
Will he speak softly to you?
4 Will he make a covenant with you?
Will you take him as a servant forever?
5 Will you play with him as with a bird,
Or will you leash him for your maidens?
6 Will your companions 8 make a banquet of him?
Will they apportion him among the merchants?
7 Can you fill his skin with harpoons,
Or his head with fishing spears?
8 Lay your hand on him;
Remember the battle -
Never do it again!
9 Indeed, any hope of overcoming him is false;
Shall one not be overwhelmed at the sight of him?
10 No one is so fierce that he would dare stir him up.
Who then is able to stand against Me?
11 c Who has preceded Me, that I should pay him?
d Everything under heaven is Mine.

12 "I will not 9 conceal his limbs,
His mighty power, or his graceful proportions.
13 Who can 10 remove his outer coat?
Who can approach him with a double bridle?
14 Who can open the doors of his face,
With his terrible teeth all around?
15 His rows of 11 scales are his pride,
Shut up tightly as with a seal;
16 One is so near another
That no air can come between them;
17 They are joined one to another,
They stick together and cannot be parted.
18 His sneezings flash forth light,
And his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.
19 Out of his mouth go burning lights;
Sparks of fire shoot out.
20 Smoke goes out of his nostrils,
As from a boiling pot and burning rushes.
21 His breath kindles coals,
And a flame goes out of his mouth.
22 Strength dwells in his neck,
And 12 sorrow dances before him.
23 The folds of his flesh are joined together;
They are firm on him and cannot be moved.
24 His heart is as hard as stone,
Even as hard as the lower millstone.
25 When he raises himself up, the mighty are afraid;
Because of his crashings they 13 are beside themselves.
26 Though the sword reaches him, it cannot avail;
Nor does spear, dart, or javelin.
27 He regards iron as straw,
And bronze as rotten wood.
28 The arrow cannot make him flee;
Slingstones become like stubble to him.
29 Darts are regarded as straw;
He laughs at the threat of javelins.
30 His undersides are like sharp potsherds;
He spreads pointed marks in the mire.
31 He makes the deep boil like a pot;
He makes the sea like a pot of ointment.
32 He leaves a shining wake behind him;
One would think the deep had white hair.
33 On earth there is nothing like him,
Which is made without fear.
34 He beholds every high thing;
He is king over all the children of pride."

  1. Cross References
    Job 38:1
    Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said:
  2. Cross References
    Job 38:3
    Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me.
  3. Cross References
    Job 42:4
    Listen, please, and let me speak; You said, 'I will question you, and you shall answer Me.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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?
  9. 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.
  10. Cross References
    Psalms 74:14
    You broke the heads of Leviathan in pieces, And gave him as food to the people inhabiting the wilderness.
    Psalms 104:26
    There the ships sail about; There is that Leviathan Which You have made to play there.
    Isaiah 27:1
    In that day the LORD with His severe sword, great and strong, Will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan that twisted serpent; And He will slay the reptile that is in the sea.
  11. Cross References
    2 Kings 19:28
    Because your rage against Me and your tumult Have come up to My ears, Therefore I will put My hook in your nose And My bridle in your lips, And I will turn you back By the way which you came.
    Isaiah 37:29
    Because your rage against Me and your tumult Have come up to My ears, Therefore I will put My hook in your nose And My bridle in your lips, And I will turn you back By the way which you came."
  12. Cross References
    Romans 11:35
    "Or who has first given to Him And it shall be repaid to him?"
  13. Cross References
    Exodus 19:5
    Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice...
    Deuteronomy 10:14
    Indeed heaven and the highest heavens belong to...
    Job 9:5 - 10
    He removes the mountains, and they do not know ...
    Job 26:6 - 14
    Sheol is naked before Him, And Destruction has ...
    Psalms 24:1
    The earth is the LORD's, and all its fullness, ...
    Psalms 50:12
    If I were hungry, I would not tell you; For the...
    1 Corinthians 10:26
    For "the earth is the LORD's, and all its fulln...
    1 Corinthians 10:28
    But if anyone says to you, "This was offered to...
New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
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