¹And the Lord xsaid to Job:

²“Shall a faultfinder ycontend with the Almighty?

He who argues with God, let him answer it.”

Job Promises Silence

³Then Job answered the Lord and said:

⁴“Behold, I am zof small account; what shall I answer you?

aI lay my hand on my mouth.

⁵I have spoken bonce, and I will not answer;

btwice, but I will proceed no further.”

The Lord Challenges Job

⁶Then the Lord canswered Job out of the whirlwind and said:

⁷d“Dress for action1 like a man;

eI will question you, and you make it known to me.

⁸Will you even put me in the wrong?

Will you condemn me that fyou may be in the right?

⁹Have you gan arm like God,

and can you thunder with ha voice like his?

¹⁰“Adorn yourself with majesty and dignity;

iclothe yourself with glory and splendor.

¹¹Pour out the overflowings of your anger,

and look on everyone who is jproud and abase him.

¹²Look on everyone who is proud and bring him low

and ktread down the wicked lwhere they stand.

¹³mHide them all in nthe dust together;

bind their faces in the world below.2

¹⁴Then will I also acknowledge to you

that your own oright hand can save you.

¹⁵“Behold, Behemoth,3

which I made as I made you;

he eats pgrass like an ox.

¹⁶Behold, his strength in his loins,

and his power in the muscles of his belly.

¹⁷He makes his tail stiff like a cedar;

the sinews of his thighs are knit together.

¹⁸His bones are tubes of bronze,

his limbs like bars of iron.

¹⁹“He is qthe first of rthe works4 of God;

let him who made him bring near his sword!

²⁰For the mountains yield food for him

where all the wild beasts play.

²¹Under the lotus plants he lies,

in the shelter of sthe reeds and in the marsh.

²²For his shade the lotus trees cover him;

the willows of the brook surround him.

²³Behold, if the river is turbulent he is not frightened;

he is confident though Jordan rushes against his mouth.

²⁴Can one take him by his eyes,5

or pierce his nose with a snare?