Study Desk

The Lord said to Job:^(a)

"Will the one who contends with the Almighty^(b) correct him?^(c) Let him who accuses God answer him!"^(d)

Then Job answered the Lord :

"I am unworthy^(e)—how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth.^(f)

I spoke once, but I have no answer^(g)— twice, but I will say no more."^(h)

Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm:⁽ⁱ⁾

"Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.^(j)

"Would you discredit my justice?^(k) Would you condemn me to justify yourself?^(l)

Do you have an arm like God's,^(m) and can your voice⁽ⁿ⁾ thunder like his?^(o)

Then adorn yourself with glory and splendor, and clothe yourself in honor and majesty.^(p)

Unleash the fury of your wrath,^(q) look at all who are proud and bring them low,^(r)

look at all who are proud^(s) and humble them,^(t) crush^(u) the wicked where they stand.

Bury them all in the dust together;^(v) shroud their faces in the grave.^(w)

Then I myself will admit to you that your own right hand can save you.^(x)

"Look at Behemoth, which I made^(y) along with you and which feeds on grass like an ox.^(z)

What strength^(aa) it has in its loins, what power in the muscles of its belly!^(ab)

Its tail sways like a cedar; the sinews of its thighs are close-knit.^(ac)

Its bones are tubes of bronze, its limbs^(ad) like rods of iron.^(ae)

It ranks first among the works of God,^(af) yet its Maker^(ag) can approach it with his sword.^(ah)

The hills bring it their produce,^(ai) and all the wild animals play^(aj) nearby.^(ak)

Under the lotus plants it lies, hidden among the reeds^(al) in the marsh.^(am)

The lotuses conceal it in their shadow; the poplars by the stream^(an) surround it.

A raging river^(ao) does not alarm it; it is secure, though the Jordan^(ap) should surge against its mouth.

Can anyone capture it by the eyes, or trap it and pierce its nose?^(aq)

^[a]"Can you pull in Leviathan^(a) with a fishhook^(b) or tie down its tongue with a rope?

Can you put a cord through its nose^(c) or pierce its jaw with a hook?^(d)

Will it keep begging you for mercy?^(e) Will it speak to you with gentle words?

Will it make an agreement with you for you to take it as your slave for life?^(f)

Can you make a pet of it like a bird or put it on a leash for the young women in your house?

Will traders barter for it? Will they divide it up among the merchants?

Can you fill its hide with harpoons or its head with fishing spears?^(g)

If you lay a hand on it, you will remember the struggle and never do it again!^(h)

Any hope of subduing it is false; the mere sight of it is overpowering.⁽ⁱ⁾

No one is fierce enough to rouse it.^(j) Who then is able to stand against me?^(k)

Who has a claim against me that I must pay?^(l) Everything under heaven belongs to me.^(m)

"I will not fail to speak of Leviathan's limbs,⁽ⁿ⁾ its strength^(o) and its graceful form.

Who can strip off its outer coat? Who can penetrate its double coat of armor^[b]?^(p)

Who dares open the doors of its mouth,^(q) ringed about with fearsome teeth?

Its back has^[c] rows of shields tightly sealed together;^(r)

each is so close to the next that no air can pass between.

They are joined fast to one another; they cling together and cannot be parted.

Its snorting throws out flashes of light; its eyes are like the rays of dawn.^(s)

Flames^(t) stream from its mouth; sparks of fire shoot out.

Smoke pours from its nostrils^(u) as from a boiling pot over burning reeds.

Its breath^(v) sets coals ablaze, and flames dart from its mouth.^(w)

Strength^(x) resides in its neck; dismay goes before it.

The folds of its flesh are tightly joined; they are firm and immovable.

Its chest is hard as rock, hard as a lower millstone.^(y)

When it rises up, the mighty are terrified;^(z) they retreat before its thrashing.^(aa)

The sword that reaches it has no effect, nor does the spear or the dart or the javelin.^(ab)

Iron it treats like straw^(ac) and bronze like rotten wood.

Arrows do not make it flee;^(ad) slingstones are like chaff to it.

A club seems to it but a piece of straw;^(ae) it laughs^(af) at the rattling of the lance.

Its undersides are jagged potsherds, leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing sledge.^(ag)

It makes the depths churn like a boiling caldron^(ah) and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment.^(ai)

It leaves a glistening wake behind it; one would think the deep had white hair.

Nothing on earth is its equal^(aj)— a creature without fear.

It looks down on all that are haughty;^(ak) it is king over all that are proud.^(al)"

Job

Then Job replied to the Lord :

"I know that you can do all things;^(a) no purpose of yours can be thwarted.^(b)

You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?'^(c) Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.^(d)

"You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.'^(e)

My ears had heard of you^(f) but now my eyes have seen you.^(g)

Therefore I despise myself^(h) and repent⁽ⁱ⁾ in dust and ashes."^(j)

After the Lord had said these things to Job^(k), he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "I am angry with you and your two friends,^(l) because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.^(m)

So now take seven bulls and seven rams⁽ⁿ⁾ and go to my servant Job^(o) and sacrifice a burnt offering^(p) for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer^(q) and not deal with you according to your folly.^(r) You have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has."^(s)

So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite^(t) did what the Lord told them; and the Lord accepted Job's prayer.^(u)

After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes^(v) and gave him twice as much as he had before.^(w)

All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before^(x) came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the Lord had brought on him,^(y) and each one gave him a piece of silver^[a] and a gold ring.

The Lord blessed the latter part of Job's life more than the former part. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys.

And he also had seven sons and three daughters.

The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch.

Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job's daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers.

After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation.

And so Job died, an old man and full of years.^(z)