Bible Glide

Job 40

Job 40 Summary, Context, and Full Chapter

In Job 40, the Lord answers Job again and presses the central issue: can a human question God's justice from a place of superiority? Job responds with humility and silence. God then points to Behemoth as a display of strength, reminding Job of creation's scale and the limits of human control.

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What happens in Job 40?

The Lord challenges Job to answer whether he can truly dispute the Almighty or overturn divine justice. Job responds by admitting his smallness and choosing silence. God then speaks again from the whirlwind, asking Job if he can match God's power, rule the proud, or save himself by his own strength. The chapter closes with a detailed picture of Behemoth, a massive creature whose power, security, and untamable nature highlight the Creator's greater authority.

Job 40 belongs near the end of the book's long debate over suffering, justice, and God's rule. After Job's complaints and the speeches of his friends, the Lord begins answering from the whirlwind in chapters 38 to 41. This chapter continues that divine response, moving Job from argument toward humility and showing that God's wisdom and power exceed human judgment.

Themes to notice

  • Humility before GodJob's response shows the proper posture of a person who has spoken beyond what he can fully know.
  • God's justiceThe Lord insists that human questions cannot overturn his righteous rule or put him on trial.
  • Creator's powerBehemoth stands as a vivid picture of strength that only God can make and govern.

Questions for Job 40

  • What changes in Job's tone after God speaks to him?
  • Why does God ask whether Job can match his justice and power?
  • What does the description of Behemoth teach about human limits and God's rule?

Read the full text of Job 40 below, then open it in the reader to highlight, take notes, or ask follow-up Bible questions. No account is required to read.

Job 40

Job Humbles Himself before the LORD

1And the LORD said to Job:

2“Will the faultfinder contend with the Almighty?

Let him who argues with God give an answer.”

3Then Job answered the LORD:

4“Behold, I am insignificant. How can I reply to You?

I place my hand over my mouth.

5I have spoken once, but I have no answer—

twice, but I have nothing to add.”

The LORD Challenges Job Again

6Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:

7“Now brace yourself like a man;

I will question you, and you shall inform Me.

8Would you really annul My justice?

Would you condemn Me to justify yourself?

9Do you have an arm like God’s?

Can you thunder with a voice like His?

10Then adorn yourself with majesty and splendor,

and clothe yourself with honor and glory.

11Unleash the fury of your wrath;

look on every proud man and bring him low.

12Look on every proud man and humble him;

trample the wicked where they stand.

13Bury them together in the dust;

imprison them in the grave.

14Then I will confess to you

that your own right hand can save you.

15Look at Behemoth, which I made along with you.

He feeds on grass like an ox.

16See the strength of his loins

and the power in the muscles of his belly.

17His tail sways like a cedar;

the sinews of his thighs are tightly knit.

18His bones are tubes of bronze;

his limbs are rods of iron.

19He is the foremost of God’s works;

only his Maker can draw the sword against him.

20The hills yield him their produce,

while all the beasts of the field play nearby.

21He lies under the lotus plants,

hidden among the reeds of the marsh.

22The lotus plants conceal him in their shade;

the willows of the brook surround him.

23Though the river rages, Behemoth is unafraid;

he remains secure, though the Jordan surges to his mouth.

24Can anyone capture him as he looks on,

or pierce his nose with a snare?

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