1 The Lord continued to respond to Job:
2 Will the one who disputes with the Almighty correct him?God’s instructor must answer him.
3 Job responded to the Lord:
4 Look, I’m of little worth. What can I answer you?I’ll put my hand over my mouth.
5 I have spoken once, I won’t answer;twice, I won’t do it again.
6 The Lord answered Job from the whirlwind:
7 Prepare yourself like a man;I will interrogate you, and you will respond to me.
8 Would you question my justice,deem me guilty so you can be innocent?
9 Or do you have an arm like God;can you thunder with a voice like him?
10 Adorn yourself with splendor and majesty;clothe yourself with honor and esteem.
11 Unleash your raging anger;look on all the proud and humble them.
12 Look on all the proud and debase them;trample the wicked in their place.
13 Hide them together in the dust;bind their faces in a hidden place.
14 Then I, even I, will praise you,for your strong hand has delivered you.
15 Look at Behemoth, whom I made along with you;he eats grass like cattle.
16 Look, his strength is in his thighs,his power in stomach muscles.
17 He stiffens his tail like a cedar;the tendons in his thighs are tightly woven.
18 His bones are like bronze tubes,his limbs like iron bars.
19 He is the first of God’s acts;only his maker can come near him with a sword.
20 Indeed, the hills bring him tribute,places where all the wild animals play.
21 He lies under the lotuses,under the cover of reed and marsh.
22 The lotuses screen him with shade;poplars of the stream surround him.
23 If the river surges, he doesn’t hurry;he is confident even though the Jordan gushes into his mouth.
24 Can he be seized by his eyes?Can anyone pierce his nose by hooks?