Respondens autem Dominus Job de turbine, dixit:

And the Lord answering Job out of the whirlwind, said:

And once more, from the midst of a whirlwind, the Lord gave Job his answer:

Accinge sicut vir lumbos tuos: interrogabo te, et indica mihi.

Gird up thy loins like a man: I will ask thee, and do thou tell me.

Strip, then, and enter the lists; it is my turn to ask questions, thine to impart knowledge.

Numquid irritum facies judicium meum, et condemnabis me, ut tu justificeris?

Wilt thou make void my judgment: and condemn me, that thou mayst be justified?

My awards thou wouldst fain reverse; wouldst prove me unjust, to prove thyself innocent;

Et si habes brachium sicut Deus? et si voce simili tonas?

And hast thou an arm like God, and canst thou thunder with a voice like him?

why then, let us see thee shew strength like the strength of God, let us hear thee thunder as God thunders.

Circumda tibi decorem, et in sublime erigere, et esto gloriosus, et speciosis induere vestibus.

Clothe thyself with beauty, and set thyself up on high, and be glorious, and put on goodly garments.

Come, deck thyself with glory, up with thee to the heights; shew all thy splendours, robe thyself in dazzling array!

Disperge superbos in furore tuo, et respiciens omnem arrogantem humilia.

Scatter the proud in thy indignation, and behold every arrogant man, and humble him.

Scatter the proud in that indignation of thine, with thy frown abase the tyrant;

Respice cunctos superbos, et confunde eos, et contere impios in loco suo.

Look on all that are proud, and confound them, and crush the wicked in their place.

here is an oppressor for thee to thwart; here is one that defies thee, crush him!

Absconde eos in pulvere simul, et facies eorum demerge in foveam.

Hide them in the dust together, and plunge their faces into the pit.

Bury them in the dust, one and all, hide them from sight, deep in the abyss;

Et ego confitebor quod salvare te possit dextera tua.

Then I will confess that thy right hand is able to save thee.

then I will acknowledge thee for one whose own strength can bring him victory.

Ecce behemoth quem feci tecum, fœnum quasi bos comedet.

Behold behemoth whom I made with thee, he eateth grass like an ox.

Here is Behemoth, my creature as thou art, fed on the same grass the oxen eat;

Fortitudo ejus in lumbis ejus, et virtus illius in umbilico ventris ejus.

His strength is in his loins, and his force in the navel of his belly.

yet what strength in his loins, what lustihood in the navel of his belly!

Stringit caudam suam quasi cedrum; nervi testiculorum ejus perplexi sunt.

He setteth up his tail like a cedar, the sinews of his testicles are wrapped together.

Stiff as cedar-wood his tail, close-knit the sinews of his groin,

Ossa ejus velut fistulæ æris; cartilago illius quasi laminæ ferreæ.

His bones are like pipes of brass, his gristle like plates of iron.

bones like pipes of bronze, gristle like plates of steel!

Ipse est principium viarum Dei: qui fecit eum applicabit gladium ejus.

He is the beginning of the ways of God, who made him, he will apply his sword.

None of God’s works can vie with him, the maker of such a beast has his sword ready for use;

Huic montes herbas ferunt: omnes bestiæ agri ludent ibi.

To him the mountains bring forth grass: there all the beasts of the field shall play.

whole mountain-sides, the playground of his fellow beasts, he will lay under tribute,

Sub umbra dormit in secreto calami, et in locis humentibus.

He sleepeth under the shadow, in the covert of the reed, and in moist places.

as he lies there under the close covert of the marsh-reeds,

Protegunt umbræ umbram ejus: circumdabunt eum salices torrentis.

The shades cover his shadow, the willows of the brook shall compass him about.

thick boughs for his shadow, among the willows by the stream.

Ecce absorbebit fluvium, et non mirabitur, et habet fiduciam quod influat Jordanis in os ejus.

Behold, he will drink up a river, and not wonder: and he trusteth that the Jordan may run into his mouth.

The flooded river he drinks unconcerned; Jordan itself would have no terrors for that gaping mouth.

In oculis ejus quasi hamo capiet eum, et in sudibus perforabit nares ejus.

In his eyes as with a hook he shall take him, and bore through his nostrils with stakes.

Like a lure it would charm his eye, though it should pierce his nostrils with sharp stakes.

An extrahere poteris Leviathan hamo, et fune ligabis linguam ejus?

Canst thou draw out the leviathan with a hook, or canst thou tie his tongue with a cord?

Or Leviathan, wilt thou find a hook that will draw him to land, a line that will hold his tongue fast?

Numquid pones circulum in naribus ejus, aut armilla perforabis maxillam ejus?

Canst thou put a ring in his nose, or bore through his jaw with a buckle?

Canst thou ring him, or pierce his jaw with a clasp?

Numquid multiplicabit ad te preces, aut loquetur tibi mollia?

Will he make many supplications to thee, or speak soft words to thee?

Will he importune thee with entreaties, or cajole thee with blandishments,

Numquid feriet tecum pactum, et accipies eum servum sempiternum?

Will he make a covenant with thee, and wilt thou take him to be a servant for ever.

till thou makest a covenant that binds him to be thy servant for ever?

Numquid illudes ei quasi avi, aut ligabis eum ancillis tuis?

Shalt thou play with him as with a bird, or tie him up for thy handmaids?

Wilt thou make a plaything of him, as if he were a tame bird, chain him up to make sport for thy maid-servants?

Concident eum amici? divident illum negotiatores?

Shall friends cut him in pieces, shall merchants divide him?

Is he to be divided up among fellow fishermen, sold piece-meal to the merchants?

Numquid implebis sagenas pelle ejus, et gurgustium piscium capite illius?

Wilt thou fill nets with his skin, and the cabins of fishes with his head?

Is that skin a spoil for the net, that head for the fishermen’s cabins?

Pone super eum manum tuam: memento belli, nec ultra addas loqui.

Lay thy hand upon him: remember the battle, and speak no more.

Do but try conclusions with him, and see if the memory of the combat does not keep thee dumb!

Ecce spes ejus frustrabitur eum, et videntibus cunctis præcipitabitur.

Behold his hope shall fail him, and in the sight of all he shall be cast down.

Fond hope, that must be dashed to the ground for all to see it!