Job 40

The Lord Answers Job

1 And the Lord x said to Job:

2 "Shall a faultfinder y 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 z of small account; what shall I answer you?
a I lay my hand on my mouth.
5 I have spoken b once, and I will not answer;
b twice, but I will proceed no further."

The Lord Challenges Job

6 Then the Lord c answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:

7 d "Dress for action 1 like a man;
e 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 f you may be in the right?
9 Have you g an arm like God,
and can you thunder with h a voice like his?

10 "Adorn yourself with majesty and dignity;
i clothe yourself with glory and splendor.
11 Pour out the overflowings of your anger,
and look on everyone who is j proud and abase him.
12 Look on everyone who is proud and bring him low
and k tread down the wicked l where they stand.
13 m Hide them all in n the dust together;
bind their faces in the world below. 2
14 Then will I also acknowledge to you
that your own o right hand can save you.

15 "Behold, Behemoth, 3
which I made as I made you;
he eats p 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 q the first of r the works 4 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 s 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, 5
or pierce 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 33:13
    Why do you contend against him, saying, 'He will answer none of man's words'?
  3. Cross References
    Job 42:6
    Therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.
    Ezra 9:6
    Saying: "O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens.
  4. Cross References
    Job 21:5
    Look at me and be appalled, and lay your hand over your mouth.
    Job 29:9
    The princes refrained from talking and laid their hand on their mouth.
    Judges 18:19
    And they said to him, "Keep quiet; put your hand on your mouth and come with us and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and clan in Israel?
  5. Cross References
    Job 33:14
    For God speaks in one way, and in two, though man does not perceive it.
    Psalms 62:11
    Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God.
  6. Cross References
    Job 33:14
    For God speaks in one way, and in two, though man does not perceive it.
    Psalms 62:11
    Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God.
  7. Cross References
    Job 38:1
    Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:
  8. Cross References
    Job 38:3
    Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me.
  9. Cross References
    Job 38:3
    Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me.
    Job 42:4
    'Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you make it known to me.'
  10. Cross References
    Job 32:2
    Then Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, burned with anger. He burned with anger at Job because he justified himself rather than God.
  11. Cross References
    Psalms 89:13
    You have a mighty arm; strong is your hand, high your right hand.
    Isaiah 63:12
    Who caused his glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses, who divided the waters before them to make for himself an everlasting name.
  12. Cross References
    Job 37:4
    After it his voice roars; he thunders with his majestic voice, and he does not restrain the lightnings when his voice is heard.
  13. Cross References
    Psalms 93:1
    The Lord reigns; he is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed; he has put on strength as his belt. Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved.
    Psalms 104:1
    Bless the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, you are very great! You are clothed with splendor and majesty.
  14. Cross References
    Daniel 4:37
    Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.
    Isaiah 2:11 - 17
    The haughty looks of man shall be brought low, and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled, and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.
  15. Cross References
    Isaiah 63:3
    I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples no one was with me; I trod them in my anger and trampled them in my wrath; their lifeblood spattered on my garments, and stained all my apparel.
  16. Cross References
    Job 36:20
    Do not long for the night, when peoples vanish in their place.
  17. Cross References
    Isaiah 2:10
    Enter into the rock and hide in the dust from before the terror of the Lord, and from the splendor of his majesty.
  18. Cross References
    Job 21:26
    They lie down alike in the dust, and the worms cover them.
  19. Cross References
    Psalms 98:1
    Oh sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.
    Isaiah 59:16
    He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no one to intercede; then his own arm brought him salvation, and his righteousness upheld him.
    Isaiah 63:5
    I looked, but there was no one to help; I was appalled, but there was no one to uphold; so my own arm brought me salvation, and my wrath upheld me.
  20. Cross References
    Numbers 22:4
    And Moab said to the elders of Midian, "This horde will now lick up all that is around us, as the ox licks up the grass of the field." So Balak the son of Zippor, who was king of Moab at that time.
  21. Cross References
    Proverbs 8:22
    The Lord possessed me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old.
  22. Cross References
    Job 26:14
    Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways, and how small a whisper do we hear of him! But the thunder of his power who can understand?
  23. Cross References
    Psalms 68:30
    Rebuke the beasts that dwell among the reeds, the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples. Trample underfoot those who lust after tribute; scatter the peoples who delight in war.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
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