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Job 40

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1 ἔτι δὲ ὑπολαβὼν ὁ κύριος εἶπεν τῷ Ιωβ ἐκ τοῦ νέφους 2 μή ἀλλὰ ζῶσαι ὥσπερ ἀνὴρ τὴν ὀσφύν σου ἐρωτήσω δέ σε σὺ δέ μοι ἀποκρίθητι 3 μὴ ἀποποιοῦ μου τὸ κρίμα οἴει δέ με ἄλλως σοι κεχρηματικέναι ἢ ἵνα ἀναφανῇς δίκαιος 4 ἦ βραχίων σοί ἐστιν κατὰ τοῦ κυρίου ἢ φωνῇ κα{T'} αὐτὸν βροντᾷς 5 ἀνάλαβε δὴ ὕψος καὶ δύναμιν δόξαν δὲ καὶ τιμὴν ἀμφίεσαι 6 ἀπόστειλον δὲ ἀγγέλους ὀργῇ πᾶν δὲ ὑβριστὴν ταπείνωσον 7 ὑπερήφανον δὲ σβέσον σῆψον δὲ ἀσεβεῖς παραχρῆμα 8 κρύψον δὲ εἰς γῆν ἔξω ὁμοθυμαδόν τὰ δὲ πρόσωπα αὐτῶν ἀτιμίας ἔμπλησον 9 ὁμολογήσω ἄρα ὅτι δύναται ἡ δεξιά σου σῶσαι

1 And once more, from the midst of a whirlwind, the Lord gave Job his answer: 2 Strip, then, and enter the lists; it is my turn to ask questions, thine to impart knowledge. 3 My awards thou wouldst fain reverse; wouldst prove me unjust, to prove thyself innocent; 4 why then, let us see thee shew strength like the strength of God, let us hear thee thunder as God thunders. 5 Come, deck thyself with glory, up with thee to the heights; shew all thy splendours, robe thyself in dazzling array! 6 Scatter the proud in that indignation of thine, with thy frown abase the tyrant; 7 here is an oppressor for thee to thwart; here is one that defies thee, crush him! 8 Bury them in the dust, one and all, hide them from sight, deep in the abyss; 9 then I will acknowledge thee for one whose own strength can bring him victory.

1 Respondens autem Dominus Job de turbine, dixit: 2

Accinge sicut vir lumbos tuos:
interrogabo te, et indica mihi. 3
Numquid irritum facies judicium meum,
et condemnabis me, ut tu justificeris? 4
Et si habes brachium sicut Deus?
et si voce simili tonas? 5
Circumda tibi decorem, et in sublime erigere,
et esto gloriosus, et speciosis induere vestibus. 6
Disperge superbos in furore tuo,
et respiciens omnem arrogantem humilia. 7
Respice cunctos superbos, et confunde eos,
et contere impios in loco suo. 8
Absconde eos in pulvere simul,
et facies eorum demerge in foveam. 9
Et ego confitebor
quod salvare te possit dextera tua.

10 ἀλλὰ δὴ ἰδοὺ θηρία παρὰ σοί χόρτον ἴσα βουσὶν ἐσθίει 11 ἰδοὺ δὴ ἰσχὺς αὐτοῦ ἐ{P'} ὀσφύι ἡ δὲ δύναμις ἐ{P'} ὀμφαλοῦ γαστρός 12 ἔστησεν οὐρὰν ὡς κυπάρισσον τὰ δὲ νεῦρα αὐτοῦ συμπέπλεκται 13 αἱ πλευραὶ αὐτοῦ πλευραὶ χάλκειαι ἡ δὲ ῥάχις αὐτοῦ σίδηρος χυτός 14 τοῦ{T'} ἔστιν ἀρχὴ πλάσματος κυρίου πεποιημένον ἐγκαταπαίζεσθαι ὑπὸ τῶν ἀγγέλων αὐτοῦ 15 ἐπελθὼν δὲ ἐ{P'} ὄρος ἀκρότομον ἐποίησεν χαρμονὴν τετράποσιν ἐν τῷ ταρτάρῳ 16 ὑπὸ παντοδαπὰ δένδρα κοιμᾶται παρὰ πάπυρον καὶ κάλαμον καὶ βούτομον 17 σκιάζονται δὲ ἐν αὐτῷ δένδρα μεγάλα σὺν ῥαδάμνοις καὶ κλῶνες ἄγνου 18 ἐὰν γένηται πλήμμυρα οὐ μὴ αἰσθηθῇ πέποιθεν ὅτι προσκρούσει ὁ Ιορδάνης εἰς τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ 19 ἐν τῷ ὀφθαλμῷ αὐτοῦ δέξεται αὐτόν ἐνσκολιευόμενος τρήσει ῥῖνα

10 Here is Behemoth,[1] my creature as thou art, fed on the same grass the oxen eat; 11 yet what strength in his loins, what lustihood in the navel of his belly! 12 Stiff as cedar-wood his tail, close-knit the sinews of his groin, 13 bones like pipes of bronze, gristle like plates of steel! 14 None of God’s works can vie with him, the maker of such a beast has his sword ready for use;[2] 15 whole mountain-sides, the playground of his fellow beasts, he will lay under tribute,[3] 16 as he lies there under the close covert of the marsh-reeds, 17 thick boughs for his shadow, among the willows by the stream. 18 The flooded river he drinks unconcerned; Jordan itself would have no terrors for that gaping mouth. 19 Like a lure it would charm his eye, though it should pierce his nostrils with sharp stakes.[4]

10
Ecce behemoth quem feci tecum,
fœnum quasi bos comedet. 11
Fortitudo ejus in lumbis ejus,
et virtus illius in umbilico ventris ejus. 12
Stringit caudam suam quasi cedrum;
nervi testiculorum ejus perplexi sunt. 13
Ossa ejus velut fistulæ æris;
cartilago illius quasi laminæ ferreæ. 14
Ipse est principium viarum Dei:
qui fecit eum applicabit gladium ejus. 15
Huic montes herbas ferunt:
omnes bestiæ agri ludent ibi. 16
Sub umbra dormit in secreto calami,
et in locis humentibus. 17
Protegunt umbræ umbram ejus:
circumdabunt eum salices torrentis. 18
Ecce absorbebit fluvium, et non mirabitur,
et habet fiduciam quod influat Jordanis in os ejus. 19
In oculis ejus quasi hamo capiet eum,
et in sudibus perforabit nares ejus.

20 ἄξεις δὲ δράκοντα ἐν ἀγκίστρῳ περιθήσεις δὲ φορβεὰν περὶ ῥῖνα αὐτοῦ 21 εἰ δήσεις κρίκον ἐν τῷ μυκτῆρι αὐτοῦ ψελίῳ δὲ τρυπήσεις τὸ χεῖλος αὐτοῦ 22 λαλήσει δέ σοι δεήσει ἱκετηρίᾳ μαλακῶς 23 θήσεται δὲ διαθήκην μετὰ σοῦ λήμψῃ δὲ αὐτὸν δοῦλον αἰώνιον 24 παίξῃ δὲ ἐν αὐτῷ ὥσπερ ὀρνέῳ ἢ δήσεις αὐτὸν ὥσπερ στρουθίον παιδίῳ 25 ἐνσιτοῦνται δὲ ἐν αὐτῷ ἔθνη μεριτεύονται δὲ αὐτὸν φοινίκων γένη 26 πᾶν δὲ πλωτὸν συνελθὸν οὐ μὴ ἐνέγκωσιν βύρσαν μίαν οὐρᾶς αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐν πλοίοις ἁλιέων κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ 27 ἐπιθήσεις δὲ αὐτῷ χεῖρα μνησθεὶς πόλεμον τὸν γινόμενον ἐν σώματι αὐτοῦ καὶ μηκέτι γινέσθω 28 οὐχ ἑόρακας αὐτὸν οὐδὲ ἐπὶ τοῖς λεγομένοις τεθαύμακας

20 Or Leviathan, wilt thou find a hook that will draw him to land, a line that will hold his tongue fast? 21 Canst thou ring him, or pierce his jaw with a clasp? 22 Will he importune thee with entreaties, or cajole thee with blandishments, 23 till thou makest a covenant that binds him to be thy servant for ever? 24 Wilt thou make a plaything of him, as if he were a tame bird, chain him up to make sport for thy maid-servants? 25 Is he to be divided up among fellow fishermen, sold piece-meal to the merchants? 26 Is that skin a spoil for the net, that head for the fishermen’s cabins? 27 Do but try conclusions with him, and see if the memory of the combat does not keep thee dumb! 28 Fond hope, that must be dashed to the ground for all to see it!

20
An extrahere poteris Leviathan hamo,
et fune ligabis linguam ejus? 21
Numquid pones circulum in naribus ejus,
aut armilla perforabis maxillam ejus? 22
Numquid multiplicabit ad te preces,
aut loquetur tibi mollia? 23
Numquid feriet tecum pactum,
et accipies eum servum sempiternum? 24
Numquid illudes ei quasi avi,
aut ligabis eum ancillis tuis? 25
Concident eum amici?
divident illum negotiatores? 26
Numquid implebis sagenas pelle ejus,
et gurgustium piscium capite illius? 27
Pone super eum manum tuam:
memento belli, nec ultra addas loqui. 28
Ecce spes ejus frustrabitur eum,
et videntibus cunctis præcipitabitur.

[1] Behemoth is usually identified with the hippopotamus, sometimes with the elephant; Leviathan with the crocodile, sometimes with the whale. But both may be allegorical representations of the hostile powers overcome by the Creator.

[2] Literally, ‘He is the beginning of the works of God; he who made him will bring near his sword’, a phrase variously interpreted by commentators.

[3] The Latin version represents the mountains as giving Behemoth grass, but the word used in the Hebrew text means produce of any kind, and it seems possible, in view of what follows, that mountain streams are referred to.

[4] This seems to be the best way of taking the Latin; exactly the same expression is used in Judith 10.17, and the river forms the natural subject of the sentence. The Hebrew text runs: ‘By his eyes he captures him, by snares he pierces his nostrils’; and the words are commonly taken, not without hesitation, as alluding to the difficulty, or perhaps the ease, with which the animal is caught.

Knox Translation Copyright © 2013 Westminster Diocese
Nihil Obstat. Father Anton Cowan, Censor.
Imprimatur. +Most Rev. Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster. 8th January 2012.
Re-typeset and published in 2012 by Baronius Press Ltd