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Job 40
New King James Version

### God’s Power and Wisdom

40 Moreover the Lord (A)answered Job, and said:

2 “Shall (B)the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him?
He who (C)rebukes God, let him answer it.”

### Job’s Response to God

3 Then Job answered the Lord and said:

4 “Behold,(D) I am vile;
What shall I answer You?
(E)I lay my hand over my mouth.
5 Once I have spoken, but I will not answer;
Yes, twice, but I will proceed no further.”

### God’s Challenge to Job

6 (F)Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said:

7 “Now(G) [a]prepare yourself like a man;
(H)I will question you, and you shall answer Me:

8 “Would(I) you indeed [b]annul My judgment?
Would you condemn Me that you may be justified?
9 Have you an arm like God?
Or can you thunder with (J)a voice like His?
10 (K)Then adorn yourself with majesty and splendor,
And array yourself with glory and beauty.
11 Disperse the rage of your wrath;
Look on everyone who is proud, and humble him.
12 Look on everyone who is (L)proud, and bring him low;
Tread down the wicked in their place.
13 Hide them in the dust together,
Bind their faces in hidden darkness.
14 Then I will also confess to you
That your own right hand can save you.

15 “Look now at the [c]behemoth, which I made along with you;
He eats grass like an ox.
16 See now, his strength is in his hips,
And his power is in his stomach muscles.
17 He moves his tail like a cedar;
The sinews of his thighs are tightly knit.
18 His bones are like beams of bronze,
His ribs like bars of iron.
19 He is the first of the (M)ways of God;
Only He who made him can bring near His sword.
20 Surely the mountains (N)yield food for him,
And all the beasts of the field play there.
21 He lies under the lotus trees,
In a covert of reeds and marsh.
22 The lotus trees cover him with their shade;
The willows by the brook surround him.
23 Indeed the river may rage,
Yet he is not disturbed;
He is confident, though the Jordan gushes into his mouth,
24 Though he takes it in his eyes,
Or one pierces his nose with a snare.

#### Footnotes

1. Job 40:7 Lit. gird up your loins
2. Job 40:8 nullify
3. Job 40:15 A large animal, exact identity unknown

#### Cross references

1. Job 40:1 : Job 38:1
2. Job 40:2 : Job 9:3; 10:2; 33:13
3. Job 40:2 : Job 13:3; 23:4
4. Job 40:4 : Ezra 9:6; Job 42:6
5. Job 40:4 : Job 29:9; Ps. 39:9
6. Job 40:6 : Job 38:1
7. Job 40:7 : Job 38:3
8. Job 40:7 : Job 42:4
9. Job 40:8 : Job 16:11; 19:6; [Ps. 51:4; Rom. 3:4]
10. Job 40:9 : Job 37:4; [Ps. 29:3, 4]
11. Job 40:10 : Ps. 93:1; 104:1
12. Job 40:12 : 1 Sam. 2:7; [Is. 2:12; 13:11]; Dan. 4:37
13. Job 40:19 : Job 26:14
14. Job 40:20 : Ps. 104:14

New King James Version (NKJV)

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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