40:1
Still speaking to Job, Yahweh said:
40:2
Is Yahweh's opponent going to give way? Has God's critic thought up an answer?
40:3
Job replied to Yahweh:
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My words have been frivolous: what can I reply? I had better lay my hand over my mouth.
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I have spoken once, I shall not speak again; I have spoken twice, I have nothing more to say.
40:6
Yahweh gave Job his answer from the heart of the tempest. He said:
40:7
Brace yourself like a fighter, I am going to ask the questions, and you are to inform me!
40:8
Do you really want to reverse my judgement, put me in the wrong and yourself in the right?
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Has your arm the strength of God's, can your voice thunder as loud?
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Come on, display your majesty and grandeur, robe yourself in splendour and glory.
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Let the fury of your anger burst forth, humble the haughty at a glance!
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At a glance, bring down all the proud, strike down the wicked where they stand.
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Bury the lot of them in the ground, shut them, every one, in the Dungeon.
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And I shall be the first to pay you homage, since your own right hand is strong enough to save you.
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But look at Behemoth, my creature, just as you are! He feeds on greenstuff like the ox,
40:16
but what strength he has in his loins, what power in his stomach muscles!
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His tail is as stiff as a cedar, the sinews of his thighs are tightly knit.
40:18
His bones are bronze tubes, his frame like forged iron.
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He is the first of the works of God. His Maker threatened him with the sword,
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forbidding him the mountain regions and all the wild animals that play there.
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Under the lotus he lies, he hides among the reeds in the swamps.
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The leaves of the lotus give him shade, the willows by the stream shelter him.
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If the river overflows, he does not worry: Jordan might come up to his mouth, but he would not care.
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Who is going to catch him by the eyes or put poles through his nose?
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Leviathan, too! Can you catch him with a fish-hook or hold his tongue down with a rope?
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Can you put a cane through his nostrils or pierce his jaw with a hook?
40:27
Will he plead lengthily with you, addressing you in diffident tones?
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Will he strike a bargain with you to become your slave for life?
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Will you make a pet of him, like a bird, keep him on a lead to amuse your little girls?
40:30
Is he to be sold by the fishing guild and then retailed by merchants?
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Riddle his hide with darts? Or his head with fishing spears?
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You have only to lay a finger on him never to forget the struggle or risk it again!
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