| 1 The LORD then said to Job: | 1 Stil speaking to Job, Yahweh said: |
| 2 Will we have arguing with the Almighty by the critic? Let him who would correct God give answer! | 2 Is Yahweh's opponent going to give way? Has God's critic thought up an answer? |
| 3 Then Job answered the LORD and said: | 3 Job replied to Yahweh: |
| 4 Behold, I am of little account; what can I answer you? I put my hand over my mouth. | 4 My words have been frivolous: what can I reply? I had better lay my hand over my mouth. |
| 5 Though I have spoken once, I will not do so again; though twice, I will do so no more. | 5 I have spoken once, I shal not speak again; I have spoken twice, I have nothing more to say. |
| 6 Then the LORD addressed Job out of the storm and said: | 6 Yahweh gave Job his answer from the heart of the tempest. He said: |
| 7 Gird up your loins now, like a man. I will question you, and you tell me the answers! | 7 Brace yourself like a fighter, I am going to ask the questions, and you are to inform me! |
| 8 Would you refuse to acknowledge my right? Would you condemn me that you may be justified? | 8 Do you real y want to reverse my judgement, put me in the wrong and yourself in the right? |
| 9 Have you an arm like that of God, or can you thunder with a voice like his? | 9 Has your arm the strength of God's, can your voice thunder as loud? |
| 10 Adorn yourself with grandeur and majesty, and array yourself with glory and splendor. | 10 Come on, display your majesty and grandeur, robe yourself in splendour and glory. |
| 11 Let loose the fury of your wrath; | 11 Let the fury of your anger burst forth, humble the haughty at a glance! |
| 12 tear down the wicked and shatter them. Bring down the haughty with a glance; | 12 At a glance, bring down al the proud, strike down the wicked where they stand. |
| 13 bury them in the dust together; in the hidden world imprison them. | 13 Bury the lot of them in the ground, shut them, every one, in the Dungeon. |
| 14 Then will I too acknowledge that your own right hand can save you. | 14 And I shal be the first to pay you homage, since your own right hand is strong enough to save you. |
| 15 See, besides you I made Behemoth, that feeds on grass like an ox. | 15 But look at Behemoth, my creature, just as you are! He feeds on greenstuff like the ox, |
| 16 Behold the strength in his loins, and his vigor in the sinews of his belly. | 16 but what strength he has in his loins, what power in his stomach muscles! |
| 17 He carries his tail like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are like cables. | 17 His tail is as stiff as a cedar, the sinews of his thighs are tightly knit. |
| 18 His bones are like tubes of bronze; his frame is like iron rods. | 18 His bones are bronze tubes, his frame like forged iron. |
| 19 He came at the beginning of God's ways, and was made the taskmaster of his fellows; | 19 He is the first of the works of God. His Maker threatened him with the sword, |
| 20 For the produce of the mountains is brought to him, and of all wild animals he makes sport. | 20 forbidding him the mountain regions and al the wild animals that play there. |
| 21 Under the lotus trees he lies, in coverts of the reedy swamp. | 21 Under the lotus he lies, he hides among the reeds in the swamps. |
| 22 The lotus trees cover him with their shade; all about him are the poplars on the bank. | 22 The leaves of the lotus give him shade, the willows by the stream shelter him. |
| 23 If the river grows violent, he is not disturbed; he is tranquil though the torrent surges about his mouth. | 23 If the river overflows, he does not worry: Jordan might come up to his mouth, but he would not care. |
| 24 Who can capture him by his eyes, or pierce his nose with a trap? | 24 Who is going to catch him by the eyes or put poles through his nose? |
| 25 Can you lead about Leviathan with a hook, or curb his tongue with a bit? | 25 Leviathan, too! Can you catch him with a fish-hook or hold his tongue down with a rope? |
| 26 Can you put a rope into his nose, or pierce through his cheek with a gaff? | 26 Can you put a cane through his nostrils or pierce his jaw with a hook? |
| 27 Will he then plead with you, time after time, or address you with tender words? | 27 Will he plead lengthily with you, addressing you in diffident tones? |
| 28 Will he make an agreement with you that you may have him as a slave forever? | 28 Will he strike a bargain with you to become your slave for life? |
| 29 Can you play with him, as with a bird? Can you put him in leash for your maidens? | 29 Will you make a pet of him, like a bird, keep him on a lead to amuse your little girls? |
| 30 Will the traders bargain for him? Will the merchants divide him up? | 30 Is he to be sold by the fishing guild and then retailed by merchants? |
| 31 Can you fill his hide with barbs, or his head with fish spears? | 31 Riddle his hide with darts? Or his head with fishing spears? |
| 32 Once you but lay a hand upon him, no need to recall any other conflict! | 32 You have only to lay a finger on him never to forget the struggle or risk it again! |