40
Yahweh continued his reply to Job
1 Then Yahweh said to Job,
2 “Do you still want to argue with me, the Almighty One?
Since you criticize me, ◄you should be able to answer my questions!/why are you not able to answer my questions?► [RHQ]”
Job replied to Yahweh
3 Then Job replied to Yahweh,
4 “ Now I realize that I am completely worthless. So ◄how could I answer those questions?/I could not possibly answer those questions!► [RHQ]
I will put my hand over my mouth and not say anything.
5 I have already said more than I should have said,
so now I will say nothing more.”
Yahweh challenged Job
6 Then Yahweh again spoke to Job from inside the great windstorm. He said,
7 “I want to ask you some more questions.
So as men prepare themselves for a difficult task [MET],
prepare yourself again to answer some more questions.
8 Are you going to accuse me and say that I am unjust?
Are you going to say that what I have done is wrong, in order that you can say that what you have done is right?
9 Do you have the same amount of power [MTY] as I do?
Can your voice sound as loud as thunder, as mine can?
10 If you can do that, put on the robes
that show that you are glorious and are greatly honored!
11 Show that you are very angry;
show that you have the right/authority to humble people who are very proud!
12 Humble those proud people just by looking at them angrily!
Crush wicked people quickly!
13 Bury them in the ground!
Send them to the place where dead people are,
where they will not be able to get out!
14 After you do that, I will congratulate/praise you
and say that truly you can save yourself by your own ability/power.
15 Think also about hippopotamuses/behemoths.
I made you, and I made them also.
They eat grass, like oxen do.
16 Their legs/thighs are very strong,
and the muscles of their bellies are very powerful.
17 Their tails are stiff (OR, bend down) like the branches of a cedar tree.
The sinews/muscles of their thighs are close together.
18 Their thigh bones are like tubes made of bronze,
and the bones of their legs are like bars made of iron.
19 Hippopotamuses/Behemoths are among the strongest of the animals that I made,
and I, who created them, am the only one who can kill them.
20 On the hills grows food [PRS] for them to eat
while many [HYP] other wild animals play nearby.
21 They lie down in the water under the lotus plants;
they hide in tall reeds in the swamps.
22 The hippopotamuses/behemoths find shade under the lotus plants,
and they are surrounded by poplar trees.
23 They are not disturbed by raging/swiftly-flowing rivers;
they are not even disturbed/frightened when rivers like the Jordan River rush over them.
24 No one can [RHQ] catch them by blinding their eyes
or by piercing their noses with the teeth of a trap!”
Note: The Old Testament in this translation is still being worked on, and is in draft form. Updates will be posted at eBible.org/t4t/.