1God then confronted Job directly:
2"Now what do you have to say for yourself? Are you going to haul me, the Mighty One, into court and press charges?"
3Job answered:
4"I'm speechless, in awe—words fail me. I should never have opened my mouth!
5I've talked too much, way too much. I'm ready to shut up and listen."
6God addressed Job next from the eye of the storm, and this is what he said:
7"I have some more questions for you, and I want straight answers.
8"Do you presume to tell me what I'm doing wrong? Are you calling me a sinner so you can be a saint?
9Do you have an arm like my arm? Can you shout in thunder the way I can?
10Go ahead, show your stuff. Let's see what you're made of, what you can do.
11Unleash your outrage. Target the arrogant and lay them flat.
12Target the arrogant and bring them to their knees. Stop the wicked in their tracks—make mincemeat of them!
13Dig a mass grave and dump them in it— faceless corpses in an unmarked grave.
14I'll gladly step aside and hand things over to you— you can surely save yourself with no help from me!
15"Look at the land beast, Behemoth. I created him as well as you. Grazing on grass, docile as a cow—
16Just look at the strength of his back, the powerful muscles of his belly.
17His tail sways like a cedar in the wind; his huge legs are like beech trees.
18His skeleton is made of steel, every bone in his body hard as steel.
19Most magnificent of all my creatures, but I still lead him around like a lamb!
20The grass-covered hills serve him meals, while field mice frolic in his shadow.
21He takes afternoon naps under shade trees, cools himself in the reedy swamps,
22Lazily cool in the leafy shadows as the breeze moves through the willows.
23And when the river rages he doesn't budge, stolid and unperturbed even when the Jordan goes wild.
24But you'd never want him for a pet— you'd never be able to housebreak him!