Job 38-41 | ESV | STEP | Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said :

1 Then the Lord ^aanswered Job out of the whirlwind and said:

2 “Who is this that ^bdarkens counsel by words ^cwithout knowledge?
3 ^dDress for action ^{▼▼Hebrew Gird up your loins} like a man;
I will question you, and you make it known to me.
4 “Where were you when I ^flaid the foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding.
5 Who determined its measurements—surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?
6 On what were its bases sunk,
or who laid its cornerstone,
7 when the morning stars ^gsang together
and all ^hthe sons of God ⁱshouted for joy?
8 “Or who ^jshut in the sea with doors
when it burst out from the womb,
9 when I made clouds its garment
and ^kthick darkness its swaddling band,
10 and prescribed ^llimits for it
and set bars and doors,
11 and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther,
and here shall your ^mproud waves be stayed’?
12 “Have you ⁿcommanded the morning since your days began,
and caused the dawn to know its place,
13 that it might take hold of ^othe skirts of the earth,
and the wicked be ^pshaken out of it?
14 It is changed like clay under the seal,
and its features stand out like a garment.
15 From the wicked their ^qlight is withheld,
and ^rtheir uplifted arm is broken.
16 “Have you ^sentered into the springs of the sea,
or walked in the recesses of the deep?
17 Have ^tthe gates of death been revealed to you,
or have you seen the gates of ^udeep darkness?
18 Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth?
Declare, if you know all this.
19 “Where is the way to the dwelling of light,
and where is the place of darkness,
20 that you may take it to its territory
and that you may discern ^vthe paths to its home?
21 You know, for ^wyou were born then,
and the number of your days is great!
22 “Have you entered ^xthe storehouses of the snow,
or have you seen ^ythe storehouses of the hail,
23 which I have reserved ^zfor the time of trouble,
^aafor the day of battle and war?
24 What is the way to the place where the light is distributed,
or where the east wind is scattered upon the earth?
25 “Who has cleft a channel for the torrents of rain
and ^aba way for the thunderbolt,
26 to bring rain on ^aca land where no man is,
on ^adthe desert in which there is no man,
27 to satisfy the waste and desolate land,
and to make the ground sprout with ^aegrass?
28 “Has ^afthe rain a father,
or who has begotten the drops of dew?
29 From whose womb did ^agthe ice come forth,
and who has given birth to ^ahthe frost of heaven?
30 The waters become hard like stone,
and the face of the deep is ^aifrozen.
31 “Can you bind the chains of ^ajthe Pleiades
or loose the cords of ^akOrion?
32 Can you lead forth the Mazzaroth ^{▼▼Probably the name of a constellation} in their season,
or can you guide ^amthe Bear with its children?
33 Do you know ^anthe ordinances of the heavens?
Can you establish their rule on the earth?
34 “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,
that ^aoa flood of waters may cover you?
35 Can you send forth lightnings, that they may go
and say to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 Who has ^apput wisdom in ^aqthe inward parts ^{▼▼Or in the ibis}
or given understanding to the mind? ^{▼▼Or rooster}
37 Who can number the clouds by wisdom?
Or who can tilt the waterskins of the heavens,
38 when the dust runs into a mass
and ^atthe clods stick fast together?
39 “Can you hunt the prey for the lion,
or ^ausatisfy the appetite of the young lions,
40 when they crouch in their ^avdens
or lie in wait ^awin their thicket?
41 Who provides for ^axthe raven its prey,
when its young ones cry to God for help,
and wander about for lack of food?

Job 39

1 “Do you know when ^aythe mountain goats give birth?
Do you observe ^azthe calving of the does?
2 Can you number the months that they fulfill,
and do you know the time when they give birth,
3 when they ^bacrouch, bring forth their offspring,
and are delivered of their young?
4 Their young ones become strong; they grow up in the open;
they go out and ^bbdo not return to them.
5 “Who has let the wild donkey go free?
Who has ^bcloosed the bonds of the swift donkey,
6 to whom I have given ^bdthe arid plain for his home
and ^bethe salt land for his dwelling place?
7 He scorns the tumult of the city;
he hears not the shouts of the driver.
8 He ranges the mountains as his pasture,
and he searches after every green thing.
9 “Is ^bfthe wild ox willing to serve you?
Will he spend the night at your ^bgmanger?
10 Can you bind ^bhhim in the furrow with ropes,
or will he harrow the valleys after you?
11 Will you depend on him because his strength is great,
and will you leave to him your labor?
12 Do you have faith in him that he will return your grain
and gather it to your threshing floor?
13 “The wings of the ostrich wave proudly,
but are they the pinions and plumage of love? ^{▼▼The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain}
14 For she leaves her eggs to the earth
and lets them be warmed on the ground,
15 forgetting that a foot may crush them
and that the wild beast may trample them.
16 She ^bjdeals cruelly with her young, as if they were not hers;
though her ^bklabor be in vain, yet she has no fear,
17 because God has made her forget wisdom
and ^blgiven her no share in understanding.
18 When she rouses herself to flee, ^{▼▼The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain}
she laughs at the horse and his rider.
19 “Do you give the horse his might?
Do you clothe his neck with a mane?
20 Do you make him leap like the locust?
His majestic ^bnsnorting is terrifying.
21 He paws ^{▼▼Hebrew They paw} in the valley and exults in his strength;
he ^bpgoes out to meet the weapons.
22 He laughs at fear and is not dismayed;
he does not turn back from the sword.
23 Upon him rattle the quiver,
the flashing spear, and the javelin.
24 With fierceness and rage he swallows the ground;
he cannot stand still at ^bqthe sound of the trumpet.
25 When the trumpet sounds, he says ‘Aha!’
He smells the battle from afar,
the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.
26 “Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars
and spreads his wings toward the south?
27 Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up
and makes his ^brnest on high?
28 On the rock he dwells and makes his home,
on ^bsthe rocky crag and stronghold.
29 From there he spies out the prey;
his eyes behold it from far away.
30 His young ones suck up blood,
and ^btwhere the slain are, there is he.”

Job 40

1 And the Lord ^busaid to Job:

2 “Shall a faultfinder ^bvcontend with the Almighty?
He who argues with God, let him answer it.”

Job Promises Silence

3 Then Job answered the Lord and said:

4 “Behold, I am ^bwof small account; what shall I answer you?
^bxI lay my hand on my mouth.
5 I have spoken ^byonce, and I will not answer;
^bztwice, but I will proceed no further.”

The Lord Challenges Job

6 Then the Lord ^caanswered Job out of the whirlwind and said:

7 ^cb“Dress for action ^{▼▼Hebrew Gird up your loins} like a man;
^cdI will question you, and you make it known to me.
8 Will you even put me in the wrong?
Will you condemn me that ^ceyou may be in the right?
9 Have you ^cfan arm like God,
and can you thunder with ^cga voice like his?
10 “Adorn yourself with majesty and dignity;
^chclothe yourself with glory and splendor.
11 Pour out the overflowings of your anger,
and look on everyone who is ^ciproud and abase him.
12 Look on everyone who is proud and bring him low
and ^cjtread down the wicked ^ckwhere they stand.
13 ^clHide them all in ^cmthe dust together;
bind their faces in the world below. ^{▼▼Hebrew in the hidden place}
14 Then will I also acknowledge to you
that your own ^coright hand can save you.
15 “Behold, Behemoth, ^{▼▼A large animal, exact identity unknown}
which I made as I made you;
he eats ^cqgrass like an ox.
16 Behold, his strength in his loins,
and his power in the muscles of his belly.
17 He makes his tail stiff like a cedar;
the sinews of his thighs are knit together.
18 His bones are tubes of bronze,
his limbs like bars of iron.
19 “He is ^crthe first of ^csthe works ^{▼▼Hebrew ways} of God;
let him who made him bring near his sword!
20 For the mountains yield food for him
where all the wild beasts play.
21 Under the lotus plants he lies,
in the shelter of ^cuthe reeds and in the marsh.
22 For his shade the lotus trees cover him;
the willows of the brook surround him.
23 Behold, if the river is turbulent he is not frightened;
he is confident though Jordan rushes against his mouth.
24 Can one take him by his eyes, ^{▼▼Or in his sight}
or pierce his nose with a snare?

Job 41

1 ^{▼▼Ch 40:25 in Hebrew} “Can you draw out ^cxLeviathan ^{▼▼A large sea animal, exact identity unknown} with a fishhook
or press down his tongue with a cord?
2 Can you put ^cza rope in his nose
or pierce his jaw with ^daa hook?
3 Will he make many pleas to you?
Will he speak to you soft words?
4 Will he make a covenant with you
to take him for ^dbyour servant forever?
5 Will you play with him as with a bird,
or will you put him on a leash for your girls?
6 Will traders bargain over him?
Will they divide him up among the merchants?
7 Can you fill his skin with harpoons
or his head with fishing spears?
8 Lay your hands on him;
remember the battle—you will not do it again!
9 ^{▼▼Ch 41:1 in Hebrew} Behold, the hope of a man is false;
he is laid low even at the sight of him.
10 No one is so fierce that he dares to stir him up.
Who then is he who can stand before me?
11 ^ddWho has first given to me, that I should repay him?
^deWhatever is under the whole heaven is mine.
12 “I will not keep silence concerning his limbs,
or his mighty strength, or his goodly frame.
13 Who can strip off his outer garment?
Who would come near him with a bridle?
14 Who can open the doors of his face?
Around his teeth is terror.
15 His back is made of ^{▼▼Or His pride is in his} rows of shields,
shut up closely as with a seal.
16 One is so near to another
that no air can come between them.
17 They are ^dgjoined one to another;
they clasp each other and cannot be separated.
18 His sneezings flash forth light,
and his eyes are like ^dhthe eyelids of the dawn.
19 Out of his mouth go flaming torches;
sparks of fire leap forth.
20 Out of his nostrils comes forth smoke,
as from a boiling pot and burning rushes.
21 His breath ^dikindles coals,
and a flame comes forth from his mouth.
22 In his neck abides strength,
and terror dances before him.
23 The folds of his flesh ^djstick together,
firmly cast on him and immovable.
24 His heart is hard as a stone,
hard as the lower millstone.
25 When he raises himself up, the mighty ^{▼▼Or gods} are afraid;
at the crashing they are beside themselves.
26 Though the sword reaches him, it does not avail,
nor the spear, the dart, or the javelin.
27 He counts iron as straw,
and bronze as rotten wood.
28 The arrow cannot make him flee;
for him ,sling stones are turned to stubble.
29 Clubs are counted as stubble;
he laughs at the rattle of javelins.
30 His underparts are like sharp ^dlpotsherds;
he spreads himself like ^dma threshing sledge on the mire.
31 He makes the deep boil like a pot;
he makes the sea like a pot of ointment.
32 Behind him he leaves a shining wake;
one would think the deep to be white-haired.
33 ^dnOn earth there is not his like,
a creature without fear.
34 He sees everything that is high;
he is king over all the ^dosons of pride.”