40:1  MOREOVER, THE Lord said to Job,

40:2  Shall he who would find fault with the Almighty contend with Him? He who disputes with God, let him answer it.

40:3  Then Job replied to the Lord:

40:4  Behold, I am of small account {and} vile! What shall I answer You? I lay my hand upon my mouth.

40:5  I have spoken once, but I will not reply again--indeed, twice [have I answered], but I will proceed no further.

40:6  Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, saying,

40:7  Gird up your loins now like a man; I will demand of you, and you answer Me.

40:8  Will you also annul (set aside and render void) My judgment? Will you condemn Me [your God], that you may [appear] righteous {and} justified?

40:9  Have you an arm like God? Or can you thunder with a voice like His?

40:10  [Since you question the manner of the Almighty's rule] deck yourself now with the excellency {and} dignity [of the Supreme Ruler, and yourself undertake the government of the world if you are so wise], {and} array yourself with honor and majesty.

40:11  Pour forth the overflowings of your anger, and look on everyone who is proud and abase him;

40:12  Look on everyone who is proud and bring him low, and tread down the wicked where they stand [if you are so able, Job].

40:13  [Bury and] hide them all in the dust together; [and] shut them up [in the prison house of death].

40:14  [If you can do all this, Job, proving yourself of divine might] then will I [God] praise you also [and acknowledge that] your own right hand can save you.

40:15  Behold now the behemoth (the hippopotamus), which I created as I did you; he eats grass like an ox.

40:16  See now, his strength is in his loins, and his power is in the sinews of his belly.

40:17  He moves his tail like a cedar tree; the tendons of his thighs are twisted together [like a rope].

40:18  His bones are like tubes of bronze; his limbs [or ribs] are like bars of iron.

40:19  [The hippopotamus] is the first [in magnitude and power] of the works of God [in animal life]; [only] He Who made him provides him with his [swordlike tusks, or only God Who made him can bring near His sword to master him].

40:20  Surely the mountains bring him food, where all the wild animals play.

40:21  He lies under the lotus trees, in the covert of the reeds in the marsh.

40:22  The lotus trees cover him with their shade; the willows of the brook compass him about.

40:23  Behold, if a river is violent {and} overflows, he does not tremble; he is confident, though the Jordan [River] swells and rushes against his mouth.

40:24  Can any take him when he is on the watch, or pierce through his nose with a snare?