Bible Society of South Africa

Bible Reading Plan – Day 272

Bible text(s)

6Then out of the storm the LORD spoke to Job once again.

The LORD

7Stand up straight now,

and answer my questions.

8Are you trying to prove that I am unjust —

to put me in the wrong and yourself in the right?

9Are you as strong as I am?

Can your voice thunder as loud as mine?

10If so, stand up in your honour and pride;

clothe yourself with majesty and glory.

11Look at those who are proud;

pour out your anger and humble them.

12Yes, look at them and bring them down;

crush the wicked where they stand.

13Bury them all in the ground;

bind them in the world of the dead.

14Then I will be the first to praise you

and admit that you won the victory yourself.

15Look at the monster Behemoth;

I created him and I created you.

He eats grass like a cow,

16but what strength there is in his body,

and what power there is in his muscles!

17His tail stands up like a cedar,

and the muscles in his legs are strong.

18His bones are as strong as bronze,

and his legs are like iron bars.

19The most amazing of all my creatures!

Only his Creator can defeat him.

20Grass to feed him grows

on the hills where wild beasts play.

21He lies down under the thorn bushes,

and hides among the reeds in the swamp.

22The thorn bushes and the willows by the stream

give him shelter in their shade.

23He is not afraid of a rushing river;

he is calm when the Jordan dashes in his face.

24Who can blind his eyes and capture him?

Or who can catch his snout in a trap?

1Can you catch Leviathan with a fish-hook

or tie his tongue down with a rope?

2Can you put a rope through his snout

or put a hook through his jaws?

3Will he beg you to let him go?

Will he plead with you for mercy?

4Will he make an agreement with you

and promise to serve you for ever?

5Will you tie him up like a pet bird,

like something to amuse your servant women?

6Will fishermen bargain over him?

Will merchants cut him up to sell?

7Can you fill his hide with fishing spears

or pierce his head with a harpoon?

8Touch him once and you'll never try it again;

you'll never forget the fight!

9Anyone who sees Leviathan

loses courage and falls to the ground.

10When he is aroused, he is fierce;

no one would dare to stand before him.

11Who can attack him and still be safe?

No one in all the world can do it.

12Let me tell you about Leviathan's legs

and describe how great and strong he is.

13No one can tear off his outer coat

or pierce the armour he wears.

14Who can make him open his jaws,

ringed with those terrifying teeth?

15His back is made of rows of shields,

fastened together and hard as stone.

16Each one is joined so tight to the next,

not even a breath can come between.

17They all are fastened so firmly together

that nothing can ever pull them apart.

18Light flashes when he sneezes,

and his eyes glow like the rising sun.

19Flames blaze from his mouth,

and streams of sparks fly out.

20Smoke comes pouring out of his nose,

like smoke from weeds burning under a pot.

21His breath starts fires burning;

flames leap out of his mouth.

22His neck is so powerful

that all who meet him are terrified.

23There is not a weak spot in his skin;

it is as hard and unyielding as iron.

24His stony heart is without fear,

as unyielding and hard as a millstone.

25When he rises up, even the strongest are frightened;

they are helpless with fear.

26There is no sword that can wound him;

no spear or arrow or lance that can harm him.

27For him iron is as flimsy as straw,

and bronze as soft as rotten wood.

28There is no arrow that can make him run;

rocks thrown at him are like bits of straw.

29To him a club is a piece of straw,

and he laughs when men throw spears.

30The scales on his belly are like jagged pieces of pottery;

they tear up the muddy ground like a threshing-sledge.

31He churns up the sea like boiling water

and makes it bubble like a pot of oil.

32He leaves a shining path behind him

and turns the sea to white foam.

33There is nothing on earth to compare with him;

he is a creature that has no fear.

34He looks down on even the proudest animals;

he is king of all wild beasts.

1Then Job answered the LORD.

Job

2I know, LORD, that you are all-powerful;

that you can do everything you want.

3You ask how I dare question your wisdom

when I am so very ignorant.

I talked about things I did not understand,

about marvels too great for me to know.

4You told me to listen while you spoke

and to try to answer your questions.

5In the past I knew only what others had told me,

but now I have seen you with my own eyes.

6So I am ashamed of all I have said

and repent in dust and ashes.

Conclusion

7After the LORD had finished speaking to Job, he said to Eliphaz, “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you did not speak the truth about me, as my servant Job did. 8Now take seven bulls and seven rams to Job and offer them as a sacrifice for yourselves. Job will pray for you, and I will answer his prayer and not disgrace you as you deserve. You did not speak the truth about me as he did.”

9Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar did what the LORD had told them to do, and the LORD answered Job's prayer.

10Then, after Job had prayed for his three friends, the LORD made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had had before. 11All Job's brothers and sisters and former friends came to visit him and feasted with him in his house. They expressed their sympathy and comforted him for all the troubles the LORD had brought on him. Each of them gave him some money and a gold ring.

12The LORD blessed the last part of Job's life even more than he had blessed the first. Job owned 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 2,000 head of cattle, and 1,000 donkeys. 13He was the father of seven sons and three daughters. 14He called the eldest daughter Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the youngest Keren Happuch. 15There were no other women in the whole world as beautiful as Job's daughters. Their father gave them a share of the inheritance along with their brothers.

16Job lived 140 years after this, long enough to see his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. 17And then he died at a very great age.

Job 40:6-42:17GNBOpen in Bible reader
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