1 MOREOVER, THE Lord said to Job,
2 Shall he who would find fault with the Almighty contend with Him? He who disputes with God, let him answer it.
3 Then Job replied to the Lord:
4 Behold, I am of small account and vile! What shall I answer You? I lay my hand upon my mouth. Ezra 9:6; Ps. 51:4.
5 I have spoken once, but I will not reply again--indeed, twice have I answered, but I will proceed no further.
6 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, saying,
7 Gird up your loins now like a man; I will demand of you, and you answer Me.
8 Will you also annul (set aside and render void) My judgment? Will you condemn Me your God, that you may appear righteous and justified?
9 Have you an arm like God? Or can you thunder with a voice like His?
10 Since you question the manner of the Almighty's rule deck yourself now with the excellency and dignity of the Supreme Ruler, and yourself undertake the government of the world if you are so wise, and array yourself with honor and majesty.
11 Pour forth the overflowings of your anger, and look on everyone who is proud and abase him;
12 Look on everyone who is proud and bring him low, and tread down the wicked where they stand if you are so able, Job.
13 Bury and hide them all in the dust together; and shut them up in the prison house of death.
14 If you can do all this, Job, proving yourself of divine might then will I God praise you also and acknowledge that your own right hand can save you.
15 Behold now the behemoth (the hippopotamus), which I created as I did you; he eats grass like an ox.
16 See now, his strength is in his loins, and his power is in the sinews of his belly.
17 He moves his tail like a cedar tree; the tendons of his thighs are twisted together like a rope.
18 His bones are like tubes of bronze; his limbs or ribs are like bars of iron.
19 The hippopotamus is the first in magnitude and power of the works of God in animal life; only He Who made him provides him with his swordlike tusks, or only God Who made him can bring near His sword to master him.
20 Surely the mountains bring him food, where all the wild animals play.
21 He lies under the lotus trees, in the covert of the reeds in the marsh.
22 The lotus trees cover him with their shade; the willows of the brook compass him about.
23 Behold, if a river is violent and overflows, he does not tremble; he is confident, though the Jordan River swells and rushes against his mouth.
24 Can any take him when he is on the watch, or pierce through his nose with a snare?