[The primary references to the text for the Job story/play come from Eugene Peterson’s translation -- The Message of Job. I have copied from Peterson’s translation of the whirlwind section and the epilogue in the play/story. Postings #38-#42 follow.]
38.1And now, finally, God answered Job from the eye of a violent storm. He said:
2Why do you confuse the issue? Why do you talk without knowing what you’re talking about? 3Pull yourself together, Job! Up on your feet! Stand tall! I have some questions for you, and I want some straight answers. 4Where were you when I created the earth? Tell me, since you know so much! 5Who decided on its size? Certainly you’ll know that! Who came up with the blueprints and measurements? 6How was its foundation poured, and who set the cornerstone, 7while the morning stars sang in chorus and all the angels shouted praise? 8And who took charge of the ocean when it gushed forth like a baby from the womb? That was me! 9I wrapped it in soft clouds, and tucked it in safely at night. 10Then I made a playpen for it, a strong playpen so it couldn’t run loose. 11And said, ‘Stay here, this is your place. Your wild tantrums are confined to this place.’
12And have you ever ordered Morning, ‘Get up!’ told Dawn, ‘Get to work!’ 13So you could seize Earth like a blanket and shake out the wicked like cockroaches? 14As the sun brings everything to light, brings out all the colors and shapes, 15the cover of darkness is snatched from the wicked – they’re caught in the very act! 16Have you ever gotten to the true bottom of things, explored the labyrinthine caves of deep ocean? 17Do you know the first thing about death? Do you have one clue regarding death’s dark mysteries? 18And do you have any idea how large this earth is? Speak up if you have even the beginning of an answer.
19Do you know where Light comes from and where Darkness lives 20so you can take them by the hand and lead them home when they get lost? 21Why, of course you know that. You’ve known them all your life, grown up in the same neighborhood with them! 22Have you ever traveled to where snow is made, seen the vault where hail is stockpiled, 23the arsenals of hail and snow that I keep in readiness for times of trouble and battle and war? 24Can you find your way to where lightning is launched, or to the place from which the wind blows? 25Who do you suppose carves canyons for the downpours of rain, and charts the route of thunderstorms 26that bring water to unvisited fields, deserts no one ever lays eyes on, 27drenching the useless wastelands so they’re carpeted with wildflowers and grass? 28And who do you think is the father of rain and dew, 29the mother of ice and frost? [You don’t for a minute imagine these marvels of weather just happen, do you? – No parallel in the RSV and no rendering for v. 30]
31Can you catch the eye of the beautiful Pleiades sisters, or distract Orion from his hunt? 32Can you get Venus to look your way, or get the Great Bear and her cubs to come out and play? 33Do you know the first thing about the sky’s constellations and how they affect things on Earth? 34Can you get the attention of the clouds, and commission a shower of rain? 35Can you take charge of the lightning bolts and have them report to you for orders? 36Who do you think gave weather-wisdom to the ibis, and storm-savvy to the rooster? 37Does anyone know enough to number all the clouds or tip over the rain barrels of heaven 38when the earth is cracked and dry, the ground baked hard as a brick? 39Can you teach the lioness to stalk her prey and satisfy the appetite of her cubs 40as they crouch in their den, waiting hungrily in their cave? 41And who sets out food for the ravens when their young cry to God, fluttering about because they have no food?
39.1Do you know the month when mountain goats give birth? Have you ever watched a doe bear her fawn? 2Do you know how many months she is pregnant? Do you know the season of her delivery, 3when she crouches down and drops her offspring? 4Her young ones flourish and are soon on their own; they leave and don’t come back. 5Who do you think set the wild donkey free, opened the corral gates and let him go? 6I gave him the whole wilderness to roam in, the rolling plains and wide-open places. 7He laughs at his city cousins, who are harnessed and harried. He’s oblivious to the cries of teamsters. 8He grazes freely through the hills, nibbling anything that’s green. 9Will the wild buffalo condescend to serve you, volunteer to spend the night in your barn? 10Can you imagine hitching your plow to a buffalo and getting him to till your fields? 11He’s hugely strong, yes, but could you trust him, would you dare turn the job over to him? 12You wouldn’t for a minute depend on him, would you, to do what you said when you said it?
13The ostrich flaps her wings futilely – all those beautiful feathers, but useless! 14She lays her eggs on the hard ground, leaves them there in the dirt, exposed to the weather, 15not caring that they might get stepped on and cracked or trampled by some wild animal. 16She’s negligent with her young, as if they weren’t even hers. She cares nothing about anything. 17She wasn’t created very smart, that’s for sure, wasn’t given her share of good sense. 18But when she runs, on, how she runs, laughing, leaving horse and rider in the dust. 19Are you the one who gave the horse his prowess and adorned him with a shimmering mane? 20Did you create him to prance proudly and strike terror with his royal snorts? 21He paws the ground fiercely, eager and spirited, then charges into the fray. 22He laughs at danger, fearless, doesn’t shy away from the sword. 23The banging and clanging of quiver and lance don’t faze him. 24He quivers with excitement, and at the trumpet blast races off at a gallop. 25At the sound of the trumpet he neighs mightily, smelling the excitement of battle from a long way off, catching the rolling thunder of the war cries.
26Was it through your know how that the hawk learned to fly, soaring effortlessly on thermal updrafts? 27Did you command the eagle’s flight, and teach her to build he nest in the heights, 28perfectly at home on the high cliff-face, invulnerable on pinnacle and crag? 29From her perch she searches for prey, spies it at a great distance. 30Her young gorge themselves on carrion; wherever there’s a road kill, you’ll see her circling.
40.1God then confronted Job directly:
2Now what do you have to say for yourself? Are you going to haul me, the Mighty One, into court and press charges?
3Job answered:
4I’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.
40.6God addressed Job next from the eye of the storm, and this is what he said:
7I have some more questions for you, and I want straight answers. 8Do 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!
15Look 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 cools 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!
41.1Or can you pull in the sea beast, Leviathan, with a fly rod and stuff him in your creel? 2Can you lasso him with a rope, or snag him with an anchor? 3Will he beg you over and over for mercy, or flatter you with flowery speech? 4Will he apply for a job with you to run errands and serve you the rest of your life? 5Will you play with him as if he were a pet goldfish? Will you make him the mascot of the neighborhood children? 6Will you put him on display in the market and have shoppers haggle over the price? 7Could you shoot him full of arrows like a pincushion, or drive harpoons into his huge head? 8If you so much as lay a hand on him, you won’t live to tell the story. 9What hope would you have with such a creature? 10Why, one look at him would do you in! If you can’t hold your own against his glowering visage, how, then, do you expect to stand up to me? Who could confront me and get by with it? I’m in charge of all this. I run this universe! [not exactly parallel in the RSV v. 11 (from ‘how, then, . . .’) and no rendering for the reference to ‘the gods’ in v.9]
12But I’ve more to say about Leviathan, the sea beast, his enormous bulk, his beautiful shape. 13Who would even dream of piercing that tough skin or putting those jaws into bit and bridle? 14And who would dare knock at the door of his mouth filled with row upon row of fierce teeth? 15His pride is invincible: nothing can make a dent in that pride. 16Nothing can get through that proud skin – 17impervious to weapons and weather, the thickest and toughest of hides, impenetrable! 18He snorts and the world lights up with fire, he blinks and the dawn breaks. 19Comets pour out of his mouth, fireworks arc and branch. 20Smoke erupts from his nostrils like steam from a boiling pot. 21He blows and fires blaze; flames of fire stream from his mouth. 22All muscle he is – sheer and seamless muscle. To meet him is to dance with death. 23Sinewy and lithe, there’s not a soft spot in his entire body – 24as tough inside as out, rock-hard invulnerable. 25Even angels run for cover when he surfaces, cowering before his tail-thrashing turbulence. 26Javelins bounce harmlessly off his hide, harpoons ricochet wildly. 27Iron bars are so much straw to him, bronze weapons beneath notice. 28Arrows don’t even make him blink; bullets make no more impression than raindrops. 29A battle-axe is nothing but a splinter of kindling; he treats a brandished harpoon as a joke. 30His belly is armor-plated, inexorable – unstoppable as a barge. 31He boils deep ocean the way you’d boil water, he whips the sea like you’d whip an egg into batter. 32With a luminous trail stretching out behind him, you might think Ocean had grown a gray beard! 33There’s nothing on this earth quite like him, not an ounce of fear in that creature! 34He surveys all the high and mighty – king of the ocean, king of the deep!
42.1Job answered God:
2I’m convinced: You can do anything and everything. Nothing and no one can upset your plans. 3You asked, ‘Who is this muddying the water, ignorantly confusing the issue, second-guessing my purposes?’ I admit it. I was the one. I babbled on about things far beyond me, made small talk about wonders way over my head. 4You told me, ‘Listen, and let me do the talking. Let me ask the questions. You give the answers.’ 5I admit I once lived by rumors of you; now I have it all firsthand – from my own eyes and ears! 6I’m sorry – forgive me. I’ll never do that again, I promise! I’ll never again live on crusts of hearsay, crumbs of rumor.
7 After God had finished addressing Job, he turned to Eliphaz the Temanite and said, “I’ve had it with you and your two friends. I’m fed up! You haven’t been honest either with me or about me – not the way my friend Job has. . . .
38.1And now, finally, God answered Job from the eye of a violent storm. He said:
2Why do you confuse the issue? Why do you talk without knowing what you’re talking about? 3Pull yourself together, Job! Up on your feet! Stand tall! I have some questions for you, and I want some straight answers. 4Where were you when I created the earth? Tell me, since you know so much! 5Who decided on its size? Certainly you’ll know that! Who came up with the blueprints and measurements? 6How was its foundation poured, and who set the cornerstone, 7while the morning stars sang in chorus and all the angels shouted praise? 8And who took charge of the ocean when it gushed forth like a baby from the womb? That was me! 9I wrapped it in soft clouds, and tucked it in safely at night. 10Then I made a playpen for it, a strong playpen so it couldn’t run loose. 11And said, ‘Stay here, this is your place. Your wild tantrums are confined to this place.’
12And have you ever ordered Morning, ‘Get up!’ told Dawn, ‘Get to work!’ 13So you could seize Earth like a blanket and shake out the wicked like cockroaches? 14As the sun brings everything to light, brings out all the colors and shapes, 15the cover of darkness is snatched from the wicked – they’re caught in the very act! 16Have you ever gotten to the true bottom of things, explored the labyrinthine caves of deep ocean? 17Do you know the first thing about death? Do you have one clue regarding death’s dark mysteries? 18And do you have any idea how large this earth is? Speak up if you have even the beginning of an answer.
19Do you know where Light comes from and where Darkness lives 20so you can take them by the hand and lead them home when they get lost? 21Why, of course you know that. You’ve known them all your life, grown up in the same neighborhood with them! 22Have you ever traveled to where snow is made, seen the vault where hail is stockpiled, 23the arsenals of hail and snow that I keep in readiness for times of trouble and battle and war? 24Can you find your way to where lightning is launched, or to the place from which the wind blows? 25Who do you suppose carves canyons for the downpours of rain, and charts the route of thunderstorms 26that bring water to unvisited fields, deserts no one ever lays eyes on, 27drenching the useless wastelands so they’re carpeted with wildflowers and grass? 28And who do you think is the father of rain and dew, 29the mother of ice and frost? [You don’t for a minute imagine these marvels of weather just happen, do you? – No parallel in the RSV and no rendering for v. 30]
31Can you catch the eye of the beautiful Pleiades sisters, or distract Orion from his hunt? 32Can you get Venus to look your way, or get the Great Bear and her cubs to come out and play? 33Do you know the first thing about the sky’s constellations and how they affect things on Earth? 34Can you get the attention of the clouds, and commission a shower of rain? 35Can you take charge of the lightning bolts and have them report to you for orders? 36Who do you think gave weather-wisdom to the ibis, and storm-savvy to the rooster? 37Does anyone know enough to number all the clouds or tip over the rain barrels of heaven 38when the earth is cracked and dry, the ground baked hard as a brick? 39Can you teach the lioness to stalk her prey and satisfy the appetite of her cubs 40as they crouch in their den, waiting hungrily in their cave? 41And who sets out food for the ravens when their young cry to God, fluttering about because they have no food?
39.1Do you know the month when mountain goats give birth? Have you ever watched a doe bear her fawn? 2Do you know how many months she is pregnant? Do you know the season of her delivery, 3when she crouches down and drops her offspring? 4Her young ones flourish and are soon on their own; they leave and don’t come back. 5Who do you think set the wild donkey free, opened the corral gates and let him go? 6I gave him the whole wilderness to roam in, the rolling plains and wide-open places. 7He laughs at his city cousins, who are harnessed and harried. He’s oblivious to the cries of teamsters. 8He grazes freely through the hills, nibbling anything that’s green. 9Will the wild buffalo condescend to serve you, volunteer to spend the night in your barn? 10Can you imagine hitching your plow to a buffalo and getting him to till your fields? 11He’s hugely strong, yes, but could you trust him, would you dare turn the job over to him? 12You wouldn’t for a minute depend on him, would you, to do what you said when you said it?
13The ostrich flaps her wings futilely – all those beautiful feathers, but useless! 14She lays her eggs on the hard ground, leaves them there in the dirt, exposed to the weather, 15not caring that they might get stepped on and cracked or trampled by some wild animal. 16She’s negligent with her young, as if they weren’t even hers. She cares nothing about anything. 17She wasn’t created very smart, that’s for sure, wasn’t given her share of good sense. 18But when she runs, on, how she runs, laughing, leaving horse and rider in the dust. 19Are you the one who gave the horse his prowess and adorned him with a shimmering mane? 20Did you create him to prance proudly and strike terror with his royal snorts? 21He paws the ground fiercely, eager and spirited, then charges into the fray. 22He laughs at danger, fearless, doesn’t shy away from the sword. 23The banging and clanging of quiver and lance don’t faze him. 24He quivers with excitement, and at the trumpet blast races off at a gallop. 25At the sound of the trumpet he neighs mightily, smelling the excitement of battle from a long way off, catching the rolling thunder of the war cries.
26Was it through your know how that the hawk learned to fly, soaring effortlessly on thermal updrafts? 27Did you command the eagle’s flight, and teach her to build he nest in the heights, 28perfectly at home on the high cliff-face, invulnerable on pinnacle and crag? 29From her perch she searches for prey, spies it at a great distance. 30Her young gorge themselves on carrion; wherever there’s a road kill, you’ll see her circling.
40.1God then confronted Job directly:
2Now what do you have to say for yourself? Are you going to haul me, the Mighty One, into court and press charges?
3Job answered:
4I’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.
40.6God addressed Job next from the eye of the storm, and this is what he said:
7I have some more questions for you, and I want straight answers. 8Do 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!
15Look 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 cools 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!
41.1Or can you pull in the sea beast, Leviathan, with a fly rod and stuff him in your creel? 2Can you lasso him with a rope, or snag him with an anchor? 3Will he beg you over and over for mercy, or flatter you with flowery speech? 4Will he apply for a job with you to run errands and serve you the rest of your life? 5Will you play with him as if he were a pet goldfish? Will you make him the mascot of the neighborhood children? 6Will you put him on display in the market and have shoppers haggle over the price? 7Could you shoot him full of arrows like a pincushion, or drive harpoons into his huge head? 8If you so much as lay a hand on him, you won’t live to tell the story. 9What hope would you have with such a creature? 10Why, one look at him would do you in! If you can’t hold your own against his glowering visage, how, then, do you expect to stand up to me? Who could confront me and get by with it? I’m in charge of all this. I run this universe! [not exactly parallel in the RSV v. 11 (from ‘how, then, . . .’) and no rendering for the reference to ‘the gods’ in v.9]
12But I’ve more to say about Leviathan, the sea beast, his enormous bulk, his beautiful shape. 13Who would even dream of piercing that tough skin or putting those jaws into bit and bridle? 14And who would dare knock at the door of his mouth filled with row upon row of fierce teeth? 15His pride is invincible: nothing can make a dent in that pride. 16Nothing can get through that proud skin – 17impervious to weapons and weather, the thickest and toughest of hides, impenetrable! 18He snorts and the world lights up with fire, he blinks and the dawn breaks. 19Comets pour out of his mouth, fireworks arc and branch. 20Smoke erupts from his nostrils like steam from a boiling pot. 21He blows and fires blaze; flames of fire stream from his mouth. 22All muscle he is – sheer and seamless muscle. To meet him is to dance with death. 23Sinewy and lithe, there’s not a soft spot in his entire body – 24as tough inside as out, rock-hard invulnerable. 25Even angels run for cover when he surfaces, cowering before his tail-thrashing turbulence. 26Javelins bounce harmlessly off his hide, harpoons ricochet wildly. 27Iron bars are so much straw to him, bronze weapons beneath notice. 28Arrows don’t even make him blink; bullets make no more impression than raindrops. 29A battle-axe is nothing but a splinter of kindling; he treats a brandished harpoon as a joke. 30His belly is armor-plated, inexorable – unstoppable as a barge. 31He boils deep ocean the way you’d boil water, he whips the sea like you’d whip an egg into batter. 32With a luminous trail stretching out behind him, you might think Ocean had grown a gray beard! 33There’s nothing on this earth quite like him, not an ounce of fear in that creature! 34He surveys all the high and mighty – king of the ocean, king of the deep!
42.1Job answered God:
2I’m convinced: You can do anything and everything. Nothing and no one can upset your plans. 3You asked, ‘Who is this muddying the water, ignorantly confusing the issue, second-guessing my purposes?’ I admit it. I was the one. I babbled on about things far beyond me, made small talk about wonders way over my head. 4You told me, ‘Listen, and let me do the talking. Let me ask the questions. You give the answers.’ 5I admit I once lived by rumors of you; now I have it all firsthand – from my own eyes and ears! 6I’m sorry – forgive me. I’ll never do that again, I promise! I’ll never again live on crusts of hearsay, crumbs of rumor.
7 After God had finished addressing Job, he turned to Eliphaz the Temanite and said, “I’ve had it with you and your two friends. I’m fed up! You haven’t been honest either with me or about me – not the way my friend Job has. . . .