1 ויען יהוה את איוב ויאמר | 1 Stil speaking to Job, Yahweh said: |
2 הרב עם שדי יסור מוכיח אלוה יעננה | 2 Is Yahweh's opponent going to give way? Has God's critic thought up an answer? |
3 ויען איוב את יהוה ויאמר | 3 Job replied to Yahweh: |
4 הן קלתי מה אשיבך ידי שמתי למו פי | 4 My words have been frivolous: what can I reply? I had better lay my hand over my mouth. |
5 אחת דברתי ולא אענה ושתים ולא אוסיף | 5 I have spoken once, I shal not speak again; I have spoken twice, I have nothing more to say. |
6 ויען יהוה את איוב מן סערה ויאמר | 6 Yahweh gave Job his answer from the heart of the tempest. He said: |
7 אזר נא כגבר חלציך אשאלך והודיעני | 7 Brace yourself like a fighter, I am going to ask the questions, and you are to inform me! |
8 האף תפר משפטי תרשיעני למען תצדק | 8 Do you real y want to reverse my judgement, put me in the wrong and yourself in the right? |
9 ואם זרוע כאל לך ובקול כמהו תרעם | 9 Has your arm the strength of God's, can your voice thunder as loud? |
10 עדה נא גאון וגבה והוד והדר תלבש | 10 Come on, display your majesty and grandeur, robe yourself in splendour and glory. |
11 הפץ עברות אפך וראה כל גאה והשפילהו | 11 Let the fury of your anger burst forth, humble the haughty at a glance! |
12 ראה כל גאה הכניעהו והדך רשעים תחתם | 12 At a glance, bring down al the proud, strike down the wicked where they stand. |
13 טמנם בעפר יחד פניהם חבש בטמון | 13 Bury the lot of them in the ground, shut them, every one, in the Dungeon. |
14 וגם אני אודך כי תושע לך ימינך | 14 And I shal be the first to pay you homage, since your own right hand is strong enough to save you. |
15 הנה נא בהמות אשר עשיתי עמך חציר כבקר יאכל | 15 But look at Behemoth, my creature, just as you are! He feeds on greenstuff like the ox, |
16 הנה נא כחו במתניו ואנו בשרירי בטנו | 16 but what strength he has in his loins, what power in his stomach muscles! |
17 יחפץ זנבו כמו ארז גידי פחדו ישרגו | 17 His tail is as stiff as a cedar, the sinews of his thighs are tightly knit. |
18 עצמיו אפיקי נחושה גרמיו כמטיל ברזל | 18 His bones are bronze tubes, his frame like forged iron. |
19 הוא ראשית דרכי אל העשו יגש חרבו | 19 He is the first of the works of God. His Maker threatened him with the sword, |
20 כי בול הרים ישאו לו וכל חית השדה ישחקו שם | 20 forbidding him the mountain regions and al the wild animals that play there. |
21 תחת צאלים ישכב בסתר קנה ובצה | 21 Under the lotus he lies, he hides among the reeds in the swamps. |
22 יסכהו צאלים צללו יסבוהו ערבי נחל | 22 The leaves of the lotus give him shade, the willows by the stream shelter him. |
23 הן יעשק נהר לא יחפוז יבטח כי יגיח ירדן אל פיהו | 23 If the river overflows, he does not worry: Jordan might come up to his mouth, but he would not care. |
24 בעיניו יקחנו במוקשים ינקב אף | 24 Who is going to catch him by the eyes or put poles through his nose? |
| 25 Leviathan, too! Can you catch him with a fish-hook or hold his tongue down with a rope? |
| 26 Can you put a cane through his nostrils or pierce his jaw with a hook? |
| 27 Will he plead lengthily with you, addressing you in diffident tones? |
| 28 Will he strike a bargain with you to become your slave for life? |
| 29 Will you make a pet of him, like a bird, keep him on a lead to amuse your little girls? |
| 30 Is he to be sold by the fishing guild and then retailed by merchants? |
| 31 Riddle his hide with darts? Or his head with fishing spears? |
| 32 You have only to lay a finger on him never to forget the struggle or risk it again! |