Job 40 :: English Standard Version (ESV)

Job 40:1

Job 40:1And the LORD said to Job:

Job 40:2

Job 40:2“Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty?
He who argues with God, let him answer it.”

Job Promises Silence

Job 40:3

Job 40:3Then Job answered the LORD and said:

Job 40:4

Job 40:4“Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you?
I lay my hand on my mouth.

Job 40:5

Job 40:5I have spoken once, and I will not answer;
twice, but I will proceed no further.”

The Lord Challenges Job

Job 40:6

Job 40:6Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:

Job 40:7

Job 40:7“Dress for action[fn] like a man;
I will question you, and you make it known to me.

Job 40:8

Job 40:8Will you even put me in the wrong?
Will you condemn me that you may be in the right?

Job 40:9

Job 40:9Have you an arm like God,
and can you thunder with a voice like his?

Job 40:10

Job 40:10“Adorn yourself with majesty and dignity;
clothe yourself with glory and splendor.

Job 40:11

Job 40:11Pour out the overflowings of your anger,
and look on everyone who is proud and abase him.

Job 40:12

Job 40:12Look on everyone who is proud and bring him low
and tread down the wicked where they stand.

Job 40:13

Job 40:13Hide them all in the dust together;
bind their faces in the world below.[fn]

Job 40:14

Job 40:14Then will I also acknowledge to you
that your own right hand can save you.

Job 40:15

Job 40:15“Behold, Behemoth,[fn]
which I made as I made you;
he eats grass like an ox.

Job 40:16

Job 40:16Behold, his strength in his loins,
and his power in the muscles of his belly.

Job 40:17

Job 40:17He makes his tail stiff like a cedar;
the sinews of his thighs are knit together.

Job 40:18

Job 40:18His bones are tubes of bronze,
his limbs like bars of iron.

Job 40:19

Job 40:19“He is the first of the works[fn] of God;
let him who made him bring near his sword!

Job 40:20

Job 40:20For the mountains yield food for him
where all the wild beasts play.

Job 40:21

Job 40:21Under the lotus plants he lies,
in the shelter of the reeds and in the marsh.

Job 40:22

Job 40:22For his shade the lotus trees cover him;
the willows of the brook surround him.

Job 40:23

Job 40:23Behold, if the river is turbulent he is not frightened;
he is confident though Jordan rushes against his mouth.

Job 40:24

Job 40:24Can one take him by his eyes,[fn]
or pierce his nose with a snare?

See the ESV Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).

ESV Footnotes

(40:7)

Hebrew Gird up your loins

(40:13)

Hebrew in the hidden place

(40:15)

A large animal, exact identity unknown

(40:19)

Hebrew ways

(40:24)

Or in his sight

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For more information on this translation, see the ESV Preface.