1Then the LORD said to Job,

2“Do you still want to argue with the Almighty?

You are God’s critic, but do you have the answers?”

Job Responds to the LORD

3Then Job replied to the LORD,

4“I am nothing—how could I ever find the answers?

I will cover my mouth with my hand.

5I have said too much already.

I have nothing more to say.”

The LORD Challenges Job Again

6Then the LORD answered Job from the whirlwind:

7“Brace yourself like a man,

because I have some questions for you,

and you must answer them.

8“Will you discredit my justice

and condemn me just to prove you are right?

9Are you as strong as God?

Can you thunder with a voice like his?

10All right, put on your glory and splendor,

your honor and majesty.

11Give vent to your anger.

Let it overflow against the proud.

12Humiliate the proud with a glance;

walk on the wicked where they stand.

13Bury them in the dust.

Imprison them in the world of the dead.

14Then even I would praise you,

for your own strength would save you.

15“Take a look at Behemoth,a

which I made, just as I made you.

It eats grass like an ox.

16See its powerful loins

and the muscles of its belly.

17Its tail is as strong as a cedar.

The sinews of its thighs are knit tightly together.

18Its bones are tubes of bronze.

Its limbs are bars of iron.

19It is a prime example of God’s handiwork,

and only its Creator can threaten it.

20The mountains offer it their best food,

where all the wild animals play.

21It lies under the lotus plants,b

hidden by the reeds in the marsh.

22The lotus plants give it shade

among the willows beside the stream.

23It is not disturbed by the raging river,

not concerned when the swelling Jordan rushes around it.

24No one can catch it off guard

or put a ring in its nose and lead it away.