New King James Version

New Living Translation

God’s Power and Wisdom

Moreover the Lord answered Job, and said:

1

Then the LORD said to Job,

2

“Shall the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him?
He who rebukes God, let him answer it.”

2

“Do you still want to argue with the Almighty?
You are God’s critic, but do you have the answers?”

3

Job’s Response to God

Then Job answered the Lord and said:

3

Job Responds to the LORD

Then Job replied to the LORD,

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“Behold, I am vile;
What shall I answer You?
I lay my hand over my mouth.

4

“I am nothing — how could I ever find the answers?
I will cover my mouth with my hand.

5

Once I have spoken, but I will not answer;
Yes, twice, but I will proceed no further.”

5

I have said too much already.
I have nothing more to say.”

6

God’s Challenge to Job

Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said:

6

The LORD Challenges Job Again

Then the LORD answered Job from the whirlwind:

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“Now [a]prepare yourself like a man;
I will question you, and you shall answer Me:

7

“Brace yourself like a man,
because I have some questions for you,
and you must answer them.

8

“Would you indeed [b]annul My judgment?
Would you condemn Me that you may be justified?

8

“Will you discredit my justice
and condemn me just to prove you are right?

9

Have you an arm like God?
Or can you thunder with a voice like His?

9

Are you as strong as God?
Can you thunder with a voice like his?

10

Then adorn yourself with majesty and splendor,
And array yourself with glory and beauty.

10

All right, put on your glory and splendor,
your honor and majesty.

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Disperse the rage of your wrath;
Look on everyone who is proud, and humble him.

11

Give vent to your anger.
Let it overflow against the proud.

12

Look on everyone who is proud, and bring him low;
Tread down the wicked in their place.

12

Humiliate the proud with a glance;
walk on the wicked where they stand.

13

Hide them in the dust together,
Bind their faces in hidden darkness.

13

Bury them in the dust.
Imprison them in the world of the dead.

14

Then I will also confess to you
That your own right hand can save you.

14

Then even I would praise you,
for your own strength would save you.

15

“Look now at the [c]behemoth, which I made along with you;
He eats grass like an ox.

15

“Take a look at Behemoth,a
which I made, just as I made you.
It eats grass like an ox.

16

See now, his strength is in his hips,
And his power is in his stomach muscles.

16

See its powerful loins
and the muscles of its belly.

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He moves his tail like a cedar;
The sinews of his thighs are tightly knit.

17

Its tail is as strong as a cedar.
The sinews of its thighs are knit tightly together.

18

His bones are like beams of bronze,
His ribs like bars of iron.

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Its bones are tubes of bronze.
Its limbs are bars of iron.

19

He is the first of the ways of God;
Only He who made him can bring near His sword.

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It is a prime example of God’s handiwork,
and only its Creator can threaten it.

20

Surely the mountains yield food for him,
And all the beasts of the field play there.

20

The mountains offer it their best food,
where all the wild animals play.

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He lies under the lotus trees,
In a covert of reeds and marsh.

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It lies under the lotus plants,b
hidden by the reeds in the marsh.

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The lotus trees cover him with their shade;
The willows by the brook surround him.

22

The lotus plants give it shade
among the willows beside the stream.

23

Indeed the river may rage,
Yet he is not disturbed;
He is confident, though the Jordan gushes into his mouth,

23

It is not disturbed by the raging river,
not concerned when the swelling Jordan rushes around it.

24

Though he takes it in his eyes,
Or one pierces his nose with a snare.

24

No one can catch it off guard
or put a ring in its nose and lead it away.

Parallel

New King James Version

New Living Translation

Job 40

Job 40