Textorah

Moreover HaShem answered Job, and said:

And the Lord God answered Job and said,

Shall he that reproveth contend with the Almighty? He that argueth with G-d, let him answer it.

Will [anyone] pervert judgment with the Mighty One? And he that reproves God, let him return it for answer.

Then Job answered HaShem, and said:

And Job answered and said to the Lord,

Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer Thee? I lay my hand upon my mouth.

Why do I yet plead? being rebuked even while reproving the Lord: Hearing such things, whereas I am nothing: And what shall I answer to these [arguments]? I will lay my hand upon my mouth.

Once have I spoken, but I will not answer again; yea, twice, but I will proceed no further.

I have spoken once; but I will not do so a second time.

Then HaShem answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said:

And the Lord yet again answered and spoke to Job out of the cloud, [saying],

Gird up thy loins now like a man; I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto Me.

Nay, gird up now thy loins like a man; And I will ask thee, and do thou answer me.

Wilt thou even make void My judgment? Wilt thou condemn Me, that thou mayest be justified?

Do not set aside my judgment: And dost thou think that I have dealt with thee in any other way, than that thou mightest appear to be righteous?

Or hast thou an arm like G-d? And canst thou thunder with a voice like Him?

Hast thou an arm like the Lord’s? Or dost thou thunder with a voice like his?

Deck thyself now with majesty and excellency, and array thyself with glory and beauty.

Assume now a lofty bearing and power; And clothe thyself with glory and honor.

Cast abroad the rage of thy wrath; and look upon every one that is proud, and abase him.

And send forth messengers with wrath; And lay low every haughty one.

Look on every one that is proud, and bring him low; and tread down the wicked in their place.

Bring down also the proud man; And consume at once the ungodly.

Hide them in the dust together; bind their faces in the hidden place.

And hide them together in the earth; And fill their faces with shame.

Then will I also confess unto thee that thine own right hand can save thee.

[Then] will I confess that thy right hand can save [thee].

Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox.

But now look at the wild beasts with thee; They eat grass like oxen.

Lo now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the stays of his body.

Behold now, his strength is in his loins, And his force is in the navel of his belly.

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

He sets up his tail like a cypress; And his nerves are wrapped together.

His bones are as pipes of brass; his gristles are like bars of iron.

His sides are sides of brass; And his backbone is [as] cast iron.

He is the beginning of the ways of G-d; He only that made him can make His sword to approach unto him.

This is the chief of the creation of the Lord; Made to be played with by his angels.

Surely the mountains bring him forth food, and all the beasts of the field play there.

And when he has gone up to a steep mountain, He causes joy to the quadrupeds in the deep.

He lieth under the lotus-trees, in the covert of the reed, and fens.

He lies under trees of every kind, By the papyrus, and reed, and bulrush.

The lotus-trees cover him with their shadow; the willows of the brook compass him about.

And the great trees make a shadow over him with their branches, And [so do] the bushes of the field.

Behold, if a river overflow, he trembleth not; he is confident, though the Jordan rush forth to his mouth.

If there should be a flood, he will not perceive it; He trusts that Jordan will rush up into his mouth.

Shall any take him by his eyes, or pierce through his nose with a snare?

[Yet one] shall take him in his sight; [One] shall catch [him] with a cord, and pierce his nose.

Canst thou draw out leviathan with a fish-hook? or press down his tongue with a cord?

Hast thou not seen him? And hast thou not wondered at the things said [of him]?

Dost thou not fear because preparation has been made by me? For who is there that resists me?

Canst thou put a ring into his nose? or bore his jaw through with a hook?

But wilt thou catch the serpent with a hook, And put a halter about his nose?

Or wilt thou fasten a ring in his nostril, And bore his lip with a clasp?

Will he make many supplications unto thee? or will he speak soft words unto thee?

Will he address thee with a petition? Softly, with the voice of a suppliant?

Will he make a covenant with thee, that thou shouldest take him for a servant for ever?

And will he make a covenant with thee? And wilt thou take him for a perpetual servant?

Wilt thou play with him as with a bird? Or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens?

And wilt thou play with him as with a bird? Or bind him as a sparrow for a child?

Will the bands of fishermen make a banquet of him? Will they part him among the merchants?

And do the nations feed upon him, And the nations of the Phoenicians share him?

Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons? or his head with fish-spears?

And all the ships come together would not be able to bear the mere skin of his tail; Neither [shall they carry] his head in fishing vessels.

His innards are [as] brazen plates, And the texture of his [skin] as an emery stone.

Lay thy hand upon him; think upon the battle, thou wilt do so no more.

But thou shalt lay thy hand upon him [once], Remembering the war that is waged by his mouth; And let it not be done anymore.