The Lord speaks to Job again
1The Lord said to Job:
2‘You wanted to accuse
the Almighty God,
and you wanted to say that I have done wrong.
Now you must answer Me.’
Job says he will keep quiet
3Then Job answered the Lord and said:
4‘Now I know that I am not important.
I am not worthy, and I can not answer You.
I will say nothing.
5I have tried to answer You,
and I have spoken again and again,
but I will keep quiet now,
and I will not say anything.’
6The Lord was in a storm wind
and He said:
7‘Job, prepare yourself,
and do not be afraid.
I will ask you questions
and you must answer Me.
8Do you really want to say that I am wrong?
Do you want to say that I am guilty
and that you are innocent?
9Are you as strong as I am?
Can you do the same as I can
and make thunder roar?
10If you can, show Me
that you are like a king,
that you are great
and that everyone must respect you.
11Show Me how angry you can get.
Judge everyone who is proud
and humiliate him.
12Look for everyone
who is proud and humiliate him.
Trample all those who do wrong,
and destroy them where they are.
13Bury them all in the ground
and cover them in the underworld.
14If you can do that, I will praise you,
because then you are
strong enough to save yourself.’
The hippopotamus
15‘Look at the monster, Behemoth.
When I made you,
I also made the hippopotamus.
He eats grass like an ox.
16He is a strong animal,
and his body is full of muscles.
17His tail is as straight as a cedar tree,
and he has strong muscles in his legs.
18The bones in his body are
as strong as bronze pipes,
as strong as iron.
19He is the most important animal
that God has made,
and only God can defeat him.
20He gets his food on the hills
where all the animals play.
21He lies down under the water plants,
and hides among the reeds in the rivers.
22The water plants cover him,
and their shade protects him near the
poplar trees that grow in the valleys.
23He does not become afraid
when the rivers are full.
He stands still when the water from
the Jordan River flows into his mouth.
24No one can close his eyes
or catch him by his nose.’
