WEB

Job 40

God pauses to demand a reply, and Job gives his first: "I am of small account... I lay my hand on my mouth" (v.4). It is silence, not confession. So God presses again from the whirlwind with a sharper challenge: would Job annul God's judgment to justify himself, and can his arm bring the proud low? Then comes behemoth (v.15), an enormous grass-eating creature with bones like bronze tubes and a tail that moves like a cedar, "the chief of the ways of God." The argument shifts from courtroom to a single overwhelming animal.

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Job 40 (WEB)

1
Moreover the LORD answered Job,
2
“Shall he who argues contend with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer it.”
3
Then Job answered the LORD,
4
“Behold, I am of small account. What will I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth.
5
I have spoken once, and I will not answer; Yes, twice, but I will proceed no further.”
6
Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind:
7
“Now brace yourself like a man. I will question you, and you will answer me.
8
Will you even annul my judgment? Will you condemn me, that you may be justified?
9
Or do you have an arm like God? Can you thunder with a voice like him?
10
“Now deck yourself with excellency and dignity. Array yourself with honor and majesty.
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Pour out the fury of your anger. Look at everyone who is proud, and bring him low.
12
Look at everyone who is proud, and humble him. Crush the wicked in their place.
13
Hide them in the dust together. Bind their faces in the hidden place.
14
Then I will also admit to you that your own right hand can save you.
15
“See now behemoth, which I made as well as you. He eats grass as an ox.
16
Look now, his strength is in his thighs. His force is in the muscles of his belly.
17
He moves his tail like a cedar. The sinews of his thighs are knit together.
18
His bones are like tubes of bronze. His limbs are like bars of iron.
19
He is the chief of the ways of God. He who made him gives him his sword.
20
Surely the mountains produce food for him, where all the animals of the field play.
21
He lies under the lotus trees, in the covert of the reed, and the marsh.
22
The lotuses cover him with their shade. The willows of the brook surround him.
23
Behold, if a river overflows, he doesn’t tremble. He is confident, though the Jordan swells even to his mouth.
24
Shall any take him when he is on the watch, or pierce through his nose with a snare?

Jó 40 (WPB)

1
Além disso, o SENHOR respondeu a Jó:
2
“Acaso quem argumenta contenderá com o Todo-Poderoso? Quem discute com Deus, que responda a isso.”
3
Então Jó respondeu ao SENHOR:
4
“Eis que sou insignificante. O que lhe responderei? Ponho a mão sobre a minha boca.
5
Falei uma vez, e não responderei; sim, duas vezes, mas não irei além disso.”
6
Então o SENHOR respondeu a Jó do meio do redemoinho:
7
“Agora, prepare-se como homem. Eu lhe farei perguntas, e você me responderá.
8
Você vai mesmo anular o meu juízo? Você me condenará, para se justificar?
9
Ou você tem um braço como o de Deus? Pode trovejar com uma voz como a dele?
10
“Adorne-se agora com excelência e dignidade. Vista-se de honra e majestade.
11
Derrame a fúria da sua ira. Olhe para todo aquele que é orgulhoso, e rebaixe-o.
12
Olhe para todo aquele que é orgulhoso, e humilhe-o. Esmague os ímpios em seu lugar.
13
Esconda-os juntos no pó. Prenda os seus rostos no lugar oculto.
14
Então eu também admitirei a você que a sua própria mão direita pode salvá-lo.
15
“Veja agora o beemote, que eu fiz assim como fiz a você. Ele come capim como um boi.
16
Veja agora, a sua força está em suas coxas. O seu poder está nos músculos do seu ventre.
17
Ele move a sua cauda como um cedro. Os tendões das suas coxas são entrelaçados.
18
Os seus ossos são como tubos de bronze. Os seus membros são como barras de ferro.
19
Ele é o principal dos caminhos de Deus. Aquele que o fez lhe dá a sua espada.
20
Certamente as montanhas produzem alimento para ele, onde todos os animais do campo brincam.
21
Ele se deita debaixo das árvores de lótus, no esconderijo dos juncos e do pântano.
22
Os lótus o cobrem com a sua sombra. Os salgueiros do ribeiro o cercam.
23
Eis que, se um rio transborda, ele não treme. Ele está confiante, ainda que o Jordão suba até a sua boca.
24
Acaso alguém o capturará quando ele está alerta, ou furará o seu nariz com um laço?”

If you cannot govern, can you judge?

Verses 9-14 set the real test. God dares Job to take the throne for a moment: pour out wrath, humble every proud person, crush the wicked. If Job could do that, God says, then "your own right hand can save you" (v.14). The challenge exposes how much moral governance Job's complaint quietly assumed he could manage.

Behemoth answers the dare in flesh. A creature unafraid even when the Jordan swells to its mouth, that no one can capture by the watch, shows Job a single beast he cannot master, let alone the justice of the cosmos he wanted to put on trial.

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