| 1 Stil speaking to Job, Yahweh said: | 1 ויען יהוה את איוב ויאמר |
| 2 Is Yahweh's opponent going to give way? Has God's critic thought up an answer? | 2 הרב עם שדי יסור מוכיח אלוה יעננה |
| 3 Job replied to Yahweh: | 3 ויען איוב את יהוה ויאמר |
| 4 My words have been frivolous: what can I reply? I had better lay my hand over my mouth. | 4 הן קלתי מה אשיבך ידי שמתי למו פי |
| 5 I have spoken once, I shal not speak again; I have spoken twice, I have nothing more to say. | 5 אחת דברתי ולא אענה ושתים ולא אוסיף |
| 6 Yahweh gave Job his answer from the heart of the tempest. He said: | 6 ויען יהוה את איוב מן סערה ויאמר |
| 7 Brace yourself like a fighter, I am going to ask the questions, and you are to inform me! | 7 אזר נא כגבר חלציך אשאלך והודיעני |
| 8 Do you real y want to reverse my judgement, put me in the wrong and yourself in the right? | 8 האף תפר משפטי תרשיעני למען תצדק |
| 9 Has your arm the strength of God's, can your voice thunder as loud? | 9 ואם זרוע כאל לך ובקול כמהו תרעם |
| 10 Come on, display your majesty and grandeur, robe yourself in splendour and glory. | 10 עדה נא גאון וגבה והוד והדר תלבש |
| 11 Let the fury of your anger burst forth, humble the haughty at a glance! | 11 הפץ עברות אפך וראה כל גאה והשפילהו |
| 12 At a glance, bring down al the proud, strike down the wicked where they stand. | 12 ראה כל גאה הכניעהו והדך רשעים תחתם |
| 13 Bury the lot of them in the ground, shut them, every one, in the Dungeon. | 13 טמנם בעפר יחד פניהם חבש בטמון |
| 14 And I shal be the first to pay you homage, since your own right hand is strong enough to save you. | 14 וגם אני אודך כי תושע לך ימינך |
| 15 But look at Behemoth, my creature, just as you are! He feeds on greenstuff like the ox, | 15 הנה נא בהמות אשר עשיתי עמך חציר כבקר יאכל |
| 16 but what strength he has in his loins, what power in his stomach muscles! | 16 הנה נא כחו במתניו ואנו בשרירי בטנו |
| 17 His tail is as stiff as a cedar, the sinews of his thighs are tightly knit. | 17 יחפץ זנבו כמו ארז גידי פחדו ישרגו |
| 18 His bones are bronze tubes, his frame like forged iron. | 18 עצמיו אפיקי נחושה גרמיו כמטיל ברזל |
| 19 He is the first of the works of God. His Maker threatened him with the sword, | 19 הוא ראשית דרכי אל העשו יגש חרבו |
| 20 forbidding him the mountain regions and al the wild animals that play there. | 20 כי בול הרים ישאו לו וכל חית השדה ישחקו שם |
| 21 Under the lotus he lies, he hides among the reeds in the swamps. | 21 תחת צאלים ישכב בסתר קנה ובצה |
| 22 The leaves of the lotus give him shade, the willows by the stream shelter him. | 22 יסכהו צאלים צללו יסבוהו ערבי נחל |
| 23 If the river overflows, he does not worry: Jordan might come up to his mouth, but he would not care. | 23 הן יעשק נהר לא יחפוז יבטח כי יגיח ירדן אל פיהו |
| 24 Who is going to catch him by the eyes or put poles through his nose? | 24 בעיניו יקחנו במוקשים ינקב אף |
| 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! | |