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Job’s Reply to God’s Challenge
40 Then the Lord answered[a] Job:
2 “Will the one who contends[b] with the Almighty correct him?[c]
Let the person who accuses God give him an answer!”
3 Then Job answered the Lord:
4 “Indeed, I am completely unworthy[d]—how could I reply to you?
I put[e] my hand over my mouth to silence myself.[f]
5 I have spoken once, but I cannot answer;
twice, but I will say no more.”[g]
The Lord’s Second Speech[h]
6 Then the Lord answered[i] Job from the whirlwind:
7 “Get ready for a difficult task[j] like a man.
I will question you and you will inform me.
8 Would you indeed annul[k] my justice?
Would you declare me guilty so that you might be right?
9 Do you have an arm as powerful as God’s,[l]
and can you thunder with a voice like his?
10 Adorn yourself, then, with majesty and excellency,
and clothe yourself with glory and honor.
11 Scatter abroad[m] the abundance[n] of your anger.
Look at every proud man[o] and bring him low;
12 Look at every proud man and abase him;
crush the wicked on the spot.[p]
13 Hide them in the dust[q] together,
imprison[r] them[s] in the grave.[t]
14 Then I myself will acknowledge[u] to you
that your own right hand can save you.[v]
The Description of Behemoth[w]
15 “Look now at Behemoth,[x] which I made as[y] I made you;
it eats grass like the ox.
16 Look[z] at its strength in its loins,
and its power in the muscles of its belly.
17 It makes its tail stiff[aa] like a cedar,
the sinews of its thighs are tightly wound.
18 Its bones are tubes of bronze,
its limbs like bars of iron.
19 It ranks first among the works of God,[ab]
the One who made it
has furnished it with a sword.[ac]
20 For the hills bring it food,[ad]
where all the wild animals play.
21 Under the lotus trees it lies,
in the secrecy of the reeds and the marsh.
22 The lotus trees conceal it in their[ae] shadow;
the poplars by the stream conceal it.
23 If the river rages,[af] it is not disturbed,
it is secure,[ag] though the Jordan
should surge up to its mouth.
24 Can anyone catch it by its eyes,[ah]
or pierce its nose with a snare?[ai]
The Description of Leviathan
41 (40:25)[aj] “Can you pull in[ak] Leviathan with a hook,
and tie down[al] its tongue with a rope?
2 Can you put a cord through its nose,
or pierce its jaw with a hook?
3 Will it make numerous supplications to you,[am]
will it speak to you with tender words?[an]
4 Will it make a pact[ao] with you,
so you could take it[ap] as your slave for life?
5 Can you play[aq] with it, like a bird,
or tie it on a leash[ar] for your girls?
6 Will partners[as] bargain[at] for it?
Will they divide it up[au] among the merchants?
7 Can you fill its hide with harpoons
or its head with fishing spears?
8 If you lay your hand on it,
you will remember[av] the fight.
Do not do it again![aw]
9 (41:1)[ax] See, his expectation is wrong,[ay]
he is laid low even at the sight of it.[az]
10 Is it not fierce[ba] when it is awakened?
Who is he, then, who can stand before it?[bb]
11 Who has confronted[bc] me that I should repay?[bd]
Everything under heaven belongs to me![be]
12 I will not keep silent about its limbs,
and the extent of its might,
and the grace of its arrangement.[bf]
13 Who can uncover its outer covering?[bg]
Who can penetrate to the inside of its armor?[bh]
14 Who can open the doors of its mouth?[bi]
Its teeth all around are fearsome.
15 Its back[bj] has rows of shields,
shut up closely[bk] together as with a seal;
16 each one is so close to the next[bl]
that no air can come between them.
17 They lock tightly together, one to the next;[bm]
they cling together and cannot be separated.
18 Its snorting throws out flashes of light;
its eyes are like the red glow[bn] of dawn.
19 Out of its mouth go flames,[bo]
sparks of fire shoot forth!
20 Smoke streams from its nostrils
as from a boiling pot over burning[bp] rushes.
21 Its breath sets coals ablaze
and a flame shoots from its mouth.
22 Strength lodges in its neck,
and despair[bq] runs before it.
23 The folds[br] of its flesh are tightly joined;
they are firm on it, immovable.[bs]
24 Its heart[bt] is hard as rock,
hard as a lower millstone.
25 When it rises up, the mighty are terrified,
at its thrashing about they withdraw.[bu]
26 Whoever strikes it with a sword[bv]
will have no effect,[bw]
nor with the spear, arrow, or dart.
27 It regards iron as straw
and bronze as rotten wood.
28 Arrows[bx] do not make it flee;
slingstones become like chaff to it.
29 A club is counted[by] as a piece of straw;
it laughs at the rattling of the lance.
30 Its underparts[bz] are the sharp points of potsherds,
it leaves its mark in the mud
like a threshing sledge.[ca]
31 It makes the deep boil like a cauldron
and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment,[cb]
32 It leaves a glistening wake behind it;
one would think the deep had a head of white hair.
33 The likes of it is not on earth,
a creature[cc] without fear.
34 It looks on every haughty being;
it is king over all that are proud.”[cd]
Job’s Confession
42 Then Job answered the Lord:
2 “I know that you can do all things;
no purpose of yours can be thwarted;
3 you asked,[ce] ‘Who is this who darkens counsel without knowledge?’
But[cf] I have declared without understanding[cg]
things too wonderful for me to know.[ch]
4 You said,[ci] ‘Pay attention, and I will speak;
I will question you, and you will answer me.’
5 I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,
but now my eye has seen you.[cj]
6 Therefore I despise myself,[ck]
and I repent in dust and ashes!”
VII. The Epilogue (42:7-17)
Job’s Restoration
7 After the Lord had spoken these things to Job, he[cl] said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My anger is stirred up[cm] against you and your two friends, because you have not spoken about me what is right,[cn] as my servant Job has. 8 So now take[co] seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer a burnt offering for yourselves. And my servant Job will intercede[cp] for you, and I will respect him,[cq] so that I do not deal with you[cr] according to your folly,[cs] because you have not spoken about me what is right, as my servant Job has.”[ct]
9 So they went, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite, and did just as the Lord had told them; and the Lord had respect for Job.[cu]
10 So the Lord[cv] restored what Job had lost[cw] after he prayed for his friends,[cx] and the Lord doubled[cy] all that had belonged to Job. 11 So they came to him, all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and they dined[cz] with him in his house. They comforted him and consoled him for all the trouble the Lord had brought on him, and each one gave him a piece of silver[da] and a gold ring.[db]
12 So the Lord blessed the second part of Job’s life more than the first. He had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. 13 And he also had seven sons[dc] and three daughters. 14 The first daughter he named Jemimah,[dd] the second Keziah,[de] and the third Keren-Happuch.[df] 15 Nowhere in all the land could women be found who were as beautiful as Job’s daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance alongside their brothers.
16 After this Job lived 140 years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. 17 And so Job died, old and full of days.
The Message of Reconciliation
11 Therefore, because we know the fear of the Lord,[a] we try to persuade[b] people,[c] but we are well known[d] to God, and I hope we are well known to your consciences too. 12 We are not trying to commend[e] ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to be proud of us,[f] so that you may be able to answer those who take pride[g] in outward appearance[h] and not in what is in the heart. 13 For if we are out of our minds, it is for God; if we are of sound mind, it is for you. 14 For the love of Christ[i] controls us, since we have concluded this, that Christ[j] died for all; therefore all have died. 15 And he died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised.[k] 16 So then from now on we acknowledge[l] no one from an outward human point of view.[m] Even though we have known Christ from such a human point of view,[n] now we do not know him in that way any longer. 17 So then, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; what is old has passed away[o]—look, what is new[p] has come![q] 18 And all these things are from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and who has given us the ministry of reconciliation. 19 In other words, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting people’s trespasses against them, and he has given us[r] the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making his plea[s] through us. We plead with you[t] on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God!” 21 God[u] made the one who did not know sin[v] to be sin for us, so that in him[w] we would become the righteousness of God.
Psalm 45[a]
For the music director, according to the tune of “Lilies”;[b] by the Korahites, a well-written poem,[c] a love song.
45 My heart is stirred by a beautiful song.[d]
I say, “I have composed this special song[e] for the king;
my tongue is as skilled as the stylus of an experienced scribe.”[f]
2 You are the most handsome of all men.[g]
You speak in an impressive and fitting manner.[h]
For this reason[i] God grants you continual blessings.[j]
3 Strap your sword to your thigh, O warrior.[k]
Appear in your majestic splendor.[l]
4 Appear in your majesty and be victorious.[m]
Ride forth for the sake of what is right,[n]
on behalf of justice.[o]
Then your right hand will accomplish mighty acts.[p]
5 Your arrows are sharp
and penetrate the hearts of the king’s enemies.
Nations fall at your feet.[q]
6 Your throne,[r] O God, is permanent.[s]
The scepter[t] of your kingdom is a scepter of justice.
7 You love[u] justice and hate evil.[v]
For this reason God, your God,[w] has anointed you[x]
with the oil of joy,[y] elevating you above your companions.[z]
8 All your garments are perfumed with[aa] myrrh, aloes, and cassia.
From the luxurious palaces[ab] comes the music of stringed instruments that makes you happy.[ac]
9 Princesses[ad] are among your honored women.[ae]
Your bride[af] stands at your right hand, wearing jewelry made with gold from Ophir.[ag]
10 Listen, O princess.[ah]
Observe and pay attention![ai]
Forget your homeland[aj] and your family.[ak]
11 Then[al] the king will be attracted by[am] your beauty.
After all, he is your master. Submit[an] to him.[ao]
12 Rich people from Tyre
will seek your favor by bringing a gift.[ap]
13 The princess[aq] looks absolutely magnificent,[ar]
decked out in pearls and clothed in a brocade trimmed with gold.[as]
14 In embroidered robes she is escorted to the king.
Her attendants, the maidens of honor who follow her,
are led before you.[at]
15 They are bubbling with joy as they walk in procession
and enter the royal palace.[au]
16 Your[av] sons will carry on[aw] the dynasty of your ancestors;[ax]
you will make them princes throughout the land.
17 I will proclaim your greatness through the coming years,[ay]
then the nations will praise you[az] forever.
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