Daily Bread

⁷ “Brace yourself like a man;
    I will question you,
    and you shall answer me.^(B)

⁸ “Would you discredit my justice?^(C)
    Would you condemn me to justify yourself?^(D)
9 Do you have an arm like God’s,^(E)
    and can your voice^(F) thunder like his?^(G)
10 Then adorn yourself with glory and splendor,
    and clothe yourself in honor and majesty.^(H)
11 Unleash the fury of your wrath,^(I)
    look at all who are proud and bring them low,^(J)
12 look at all who are proud^(K) and humble them,^(L)
    crush^(M) the wicked where they stand.
¹³ Bury them all in the dust together;^(N)
    shroud their faces in the grave.^(O)
14 Then I myself will admit to you
    that your own right hand can save you.^(P)

¹⁵ “Look at Behemoth,
    which I made^(Q) along with you
    and which feeds on grass like an ox.^(R)
16 What strength^(S) it has in its loins,
    what power in the muscles of its belly!^(T)
17 Its tail sways like a cedar;
    the sinews of its thighs are close-knit.^(U)
18 Its bones are tubes of bronze,
    its limbs^(V) like rods of iron.^(W)
19 It ranks first among the works of God,^(X)
    yet its Maker^(Y) can approach it with his sword.^(Z)
20 The hills bring it their produce,^(AA)
    and all the wild animals play^(AB) nearby.^(AC)
21 Under the lotus plants it lies,
    hidden among the reeds^(AD) in the marsh.^(AE)
22 The lotuses conceal it in their shadow;
    the poplars by the stream^(AF) surround it.
²³ A raging river^(AG) does not alarm it;
    it is secure, though the Jordan^(AH) should surge against its mouth.
²⁴ Can anyone capture it by the eyes,
    or trap it and pierce its nose?^(AI)

41 ^[a]“Can you pull in Leviathan^(AJ) with a fishhook^(AK)
    or tie down its tongue with a rope?
² Can you put a cord through its nose^(AL)
    or pierce its jaw with a hook?^(AM)
3 Will it keep begging you for mercy?^(AN)
    Will it speak to you with gentle words?
⁴ Will it make an agreement with you
    for you to take it as your slave for life?^(AO)
5 Can you make a pet of it like a bird
    or put it on a leash for the young women in your house?
⁶ Will traders barter for it?
    Will they divide it up among the merchants?
⁷ Can you fill its hide with harpoons
    or its head with fishing spears?^(AP)
8 If you lay a hand on it,
    you will remember the struggle and never do it again!^(AQ)
9 Any hope of subduing it is false;
    the mere sight of it is overpowering.^(AR)
10 No one is fierce enough to rouse it.^(AS)
    Who then is able to stand against me?^(AT)
11 Who has a claim against me that I must pay?^(AU)
    Everything under heaven belongs to me.^(AV)

¹² “I will not fail to speak of Leviathan’s limbs,^(AW)
    its strength^(AX) and its graceful form.
¹³ Who can strip off its outer coat?
    Who can penetrate its double coat of armor^[b]?^(AY)
14 Who dares open the doors of its mouth,^(AZ)
    ringed about with fearsome teeth?
¹⁵ Its back has^[c] rows of shields
    tightly sealed together;^(BA)
16 each is so close to the next
    that no air can pass between.
¹⁷ They are joined fast to one another;
    they cling together and cannot be parted.
¹⁸ Its snorting throws out flashes of light;
    its eyes are like the rays of dawn.^(BB)
19 Flames^(BC) stream from its mouth;
    sparks of fire shoot out.
²⁰ Smoke pours from its nostrils^(BD)
    as from a boiling pot over burning reeds.
²¹ Its breath^(BE) sets coals ablaze,
    and flames dart from its mouth.^(BF)
22 Strength^(BG) resides in its neck;
    dismay goes before it.
²³ The folds of its flesh are tightly joined;
    they are firm and immovable.
²⁴ Its chest is hard as rock,
    hard as a lower millstone.^(BH)
25 When it rises up, the mighty are terrified;^(BI)
    they retreat before its thrashing.^(BJ)
26 The sword that reaches it has no effect,
    nor does the spear or the dart or the javelin.^(BK)
27 Iron it treats like straw^(BL)
    and bronze like rotten wood.
²⁸ Arrows do not make it flee;^(BM)
    slingstones are like chaff to it.
²⁹ A club seems to it but a piece of straw;^(BN)
    it laughs^(BO) at the rattling of the lance.
³⁰ Its undersides are jagged potsherds,
    leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing sledge.^(BP)
31 It makes the depths churn like a boiling caldron^(BQ)
    and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment.^(BR)
32 It leaves a glistening wake behind it;
    one would think the deep had white hair.
³³ Nothing on earth is its equal^(BS)—
    a creature without fear.
³⁴ It looks down on all that are haughty;^(BT)
    it is king over all that are proud.^(BU)”