Job 40

2 No — pull your belt tight like a man.

I will question you, and you will answer me.

3 Do not throw out my judgment.

Do you think I have dealt with you for any reason but this — that you might be shown to be righteous?

4 Do you have an arm to match the Lord’s?

Do you thunder with a voice like his?

5 Then take up height and power;

clothe yourself in glory and honor.

6 Send messengers out in anger;

bring every insolent man low.

7 Put out the arrogant;

let the ungodly rot where they stand.

8 Hide them all together in the earth, outside;

fill their faces with disgrace.

9 Then I will admit as much myself:

that your own right hand can save you.

10 But look now at the wild animals beside you:

they eat grass the way oxen do.

11 See, its strength is in its loins,

and its power in the navel of its belly.

12 It sets its tail up like a cypress;

its sinews are woven together.

13 Its ribs are ribs of bronze;

its backbone is cast iron.

14 This is the beginning of what the Lord formed,

made to be played with by his messengers.

15 When it went up onto a sheer mountain,

it brought joy to the four-footed animals in Tartarus.

16 It sleeps under trees of every kind,

beside the papyrus and the reed and the marsh grass.

17 Great trees throw their shade over it with their branches,

and so do the boughs of the chaste tree.

18 If a flood comes, it will not notice;

it is sure that the Jordan will run straight into its mouth.

19 Will anyone take it while its eye is open?

Will anyone twist a cord through its nose?

20 And will you lead the serpent out on a hook,

and put a halter around its nose?

21 Will you fasten a ring in its nostril,

and bore its lip through with a clasp?

22 Will it talk to you, pleading,

softly, like a man begging?

23 Will it make a covenant with you?

Will you take it as a slave for good?

24 Will you play with it like a bird,

or tie it up like a sparrow for a child?

25 Do the nations feed on it?

Do the tribes of the Phoenicians share it out?

26 All the ships together could not carry off one hide from its tail,

nor its head in the fishing boats.

27 Lay your hand on it once, remembering the war

that goes on inside its body — and let it never happen again.