Study Desk

The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully, but are her feathers and plumage like the stork's?^[d](e)

She abandons her eggs on the ground and lets them be warmed in the sand.

She forgets that a foot may crush them or that some wild animal may trample them.

She treats her young harshly, as if they were not her own, with no fear that her labor may have been in vain.

For God has deprived her of wisdom; He has not endowed her with understanding.^(f)

When she proudly^[e] spreads her wings, she laughs at the horse and its rider.

Do you give strength to the horse? Do you adorn his neck with a mane?^[f]

Do you make him leap like a locust? His proud snorting fills one with terror.

He paws^[g] in the valley and rejoices in his strength; He charges into battle.^[h]

He laughs at fear, since he is afraid of nothing; he does not run from the sword.

A quiver rattles at his side, along with a flashing spear and a lance.^[i]

He charges ahead^[j] with trembling rage; he cannot stand still at the trumpet's sound.

When the trumpet blasts, he snorts defiantly.^[k] He smells the battle from a distance; he hears the officers' shouts and the battle cry.

Does the hawk take flight by your understanding and spread its wings to the south?

Does the eagle soar at your command and make its nest^(g) on high?

It lives on a cliff where it spends the night; its stronghold is on a rocky crag.

From there it searches for prey;^(h) its eyes penetrate the distance.

Its brood gulps down blood, and where the slain are, it is there.⁽ⁱ⁾

The Lord answered Job:

Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him? Let him who argues with God give an answer.^[a]

Then Job answered the Lord :

I am so insignificant. How can I answer You?^(a) I place my hand over my mouth.

I have spoken once, and I will not reply; twice, but now I can add nothing.^(b)

Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind:^(c)

Get ready to answer Me like a man; When I question^(d) you, you will inform Me.

Would you really challenge My justice? Would you declare Me guilty^(e) to justify yourself?^(f)

Do you have an arm like God's? Can you thunder with a voice like His?

Adorn yourself with majesty^(g) and splendor, and clothe yourself with honor and glory.

Unleash your raging anger;^(h) look on every proud person and humiliate him.⁽ⁱ⁾

Look on every proud person and humble him;^(j) trample the wicked where they stand.^[b]

Hide them together in the dust; imprison them in the grave.^[c]

Then I will confess to you that your own right hand^(k) can deliver you.^(l)

Look at Behemoth, which I made along with you. He eats grass like an ox.

Look at the strength of his loins and the power in the muscles of his belly.

He stiffens his tail like a cedar tree; the tendons of his thighs are woven firmly together.

His bones are bronze tubes; his limbs are like iron rods.

He is the foremost of God's works;^(m) only his Maker can draw the sword against him.

The hills yield food for him, while all sorts of wild animals play there.

He lies under the lotus plants, hiding in the protection^[d] of marshy reeds.

Lotus plants cover him with their shade; the willows by the brook surround him.

Though the river rages, Behemoth is unafraid; he remains confident, even if the Jordan surges up to his mouth.

Can anyone capture him while he looks on,^[e] or pierce his nose with snares?

^[a]Can you pull in Leviathan^(a) with a hook^(b) or tie his tongue down with a rope?

Can you put a cord^[b] through his nose or pierce his jaw with a hook?^(c)

Will he beg you for mercy or speak softly to you?

Will he make a covenant with you so that you can take him as a slave forever?^(d)

Can you play with him like a bird or put him on a leash^[c] for your girls?

Will traders bargain for him or divide him among the merchants?

Can you fill his hide with harpoons or his head with fishing spears?

Lay a^[d] hand on him. You will remember the battle and never repeat it!

^[e]Any hope of capturing him proves false. Does a person not collapse at the very sight of him?

No one is ferocious enough to rouse Leviathan;^(e) who then can stand against Me?

Who confronted Me, that I should repay him? Everything under heaven belongs to Me.^(f)

I cannot be silent about his limbs, his power, and his graceful proportions.

Who can strip off his outer covering? Who can penetrate his double layer of armor?^[f](g)

Who can open his jaws,^[g] surrounded by those terrifying teeth?

His pride is in his rows of scales, closely sealed together.

One scale is so close to another^[h] that no air can pass between them.

They are joined to one another, so closely connected^[i] they cannot be separated.

His snorting^[j] flashes with light, while his eyes are like the rays^[k] of dawn.

Flaming torches shoot from his mouth; fiery sparks fly out!

Smoke billows from his nostrils^(h) as from a boiling pot or burning reeds.

His breath sets coals ablaze, and flames pour out of his mouth.

Strength resides in his neck, and dismay dances before him.

The folds of his flesh are joined together, solid as metal^[l] and immovable.

His heart is as hard as a rock, as hard as a lower millstone!

When Leviathan rises, the mighty^[m] are terrified; they withdraw because of his thrashing.

The sword that reaches him will have no effect, nor will a spear, dart, or arrow.

He regards iron as straw, and bronze as rotten wood.

No arrow can make him flee; slingstones become like stubble to him.

A club is regarded as stubble, and he laughs⁽ⁱ⁾ at the sound of a javelin.

His undersides are jagged potsherds, spreading the mud like a threshing sledge.^(j)

He makes the depths seethe like a cauldron; he makes the sea like an ointment jar.

He leaves a shining wake behind him;^[n] one would think the deep had gray hair!

He has no equal on earth— a creature devoid of fear!

He surveys everything that is haughty; he is king over all the proud beasts.^[o]

Then Job replied to the Lord :

I^[a] know that You can do anything and no plan of Yours can be thwarted.^(a)

You asked, "Who is this who conceals My counsel with ignorance?"^(b) Surely I spoke about things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to^[b] know.^(c)

You said, "Listen now, and I will speak. When I question^(d) you, you will inform Me."

I had heard rumors about You, but now my eyes^(e) have seen You.

Therefore I take back my words and repent in dust and ashes.^[c]

After the Lord had finished speaking^[d] to Job, He said to Eliphaz the Temanite: "I am angry with you and your two friends, for you have not spoken the truth about Me, as My servant Job has.

Now take seven bulls and seven rams, go to My servant Job, and offer a burnt offering for yourselves. Then My servant Job will pray for you.^(f) I will surely accept his prayer and not deal with you as your folly deserves. For you have not spoken the truth about Me, as My servant Job has."

Then Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the Lord had told them, and the Lord accepted Job's prayer.