Job (The Book of )

Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind:

"Gird up your loins like a man; I will question you, and you declare to me.

Will you even put me in the wrong? Will you condemn me that you may be justified?

Have you an arm like God, and can you thunder with a voice like his?

"Deck yourself with majesty and dignity; clothe yourself with glory and splendor.

Pour forth the overflowings of your anger, and look on every one that is proud, and abase him.

Look on every one that is proud, and bring him low; and tread down the wicked where they stand.

Hide them all in the dust together; bind their faces in the world below.

Then will I also acknowledge to you, that your own right hand can give you victory.

"Behold, Behemoth, which I made as I made you; he eats grass like an ox.

Behold, his strength in his loins, and his power in the muscles of his belly.

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

His bones are tubes of bronze, his limbs like bars of iron.

"He is the first of the works of God; let him who made him bring near his sword!

For the mountains yield food for him where all the wild beasts play.

Under the lotus plants he lies, in the covert of the reeds and in the marsh.

For his shade the lotus trees cover him; the willows of the brook surround him.

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

Can one take him with hooks, or pierce his nose with a snare?

"Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook, or press down his tongue with a cord?

Can you put a rope in his nose, or pierce his jaw with a hook?

Will he make many supplications to you? Will he speak to you soft words?

Will you play with him as with a bird, or will you put him on leash for your maidens?

Will traders bargain over him? Will they divide him up among the merchants?

Can you fill his skin with harpoons, or his head with fishing spears?

Lay hands on him; think of the battle; you will not do it again!

Behold, the hope of a man is disappointed; he is laid low even at the sight of him.