1 ① Yahweh said to Job:
2Must a faultfinder contend with the Almighty?
Let him who would correct God answer.
3Job said:
4How can I reply, unworthy as I am!
All I can do is put my hand over my mouth.
5I have spoken once, now I will not answer;
oh, yes, twice, but I will do no further.
Yahweh’s discourse continues
6Then Yahweh addressed Job out of the storm:
7Gird up your loins like a man;
I will question you, and you must answer.
8Would you deny my right
and condemn me that you may be justified?
9Have you an arm like that of God,
and can you thunder with a voice like this?
10Then adorn yourself with glory and splendor,
array yourself with grandeur and majesty.
11Unleash the fury of your wrath;
12look for every proud man and abase him;
crush the wicked where they stand.
13Bury them all in the dust,
lock them in the dungeon.
14If you can do this, I myself will praise you,
admittting that your right hand can save you.
15Just think about Behemoth,
who feeds on grass like the ox.
16What strength he has in his loins,
what power in the muscles of his belly!
17Like a cedar his tail sways,
the sinews of his thighs are like cables.
18His bones like tubes of bronze,
his limbs like iron rods.
19He is first among the works of God,
created to dominate his companions.
20The mountains give him their produce,
as do all the wild beasts who play there.
21Under the lotus trees he lies,
hidden among the reeds of the marsh.
22The lotus trees cover him with their shade;
the poplar trees on the bank surround him.
23He is not alarmed though the river rages and torrents surge against his mouth.
24Who can capture him by the eyes,
or trap him and pierce his nose?
25Can you pull in Leviathan with a hook,
or curb his tongue with a bit?
26Can you put a ring through his nose
or pierce his jaw with a hook?
27Will he keep begging you for mercy,
or speak to you with tender words?
28Will you make him your slave forever?
29Will you make a pet of him like a bird,
or put him on a leash for your maids?
30Will traders bargain for him?
Will merchants sell him retail?
31Can you fill his hide with harpoons
or his head with fish spears?
32Just try and lay a hand on him –
you will not forget the struggle,
and you will never do it again!
- Job 40,1 In questioning Job, Yahweh gets and gives us a few seconds of rest before beginning his second discourse in chapters 40-41. In chapter 40, Behemoth or the hippopotamus appears, enormous, terrible and ugly, eating only plants. Leviathan, the crocodile, whose skin resists arrows just like armor. What a pleasure to find in a few pages of the Bible a poetic expression of the beauty of creation. For centuries prophets and priests had to protect Israel from the seduction of nature. Everywhere around them, the wonders of creation gave rise to the worship of natural forces. When the Jews became firmer in their fidelity to God - the Creator of nature but not identified with it - it became possible to sing the praise of nature.
