Immerse: Poets Full Volume - Flipbook - Page 336
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IMMERSE
•
POETS
Humiliate the proud with a glance;
walk on the wicked where they stand.
Bury them in the dust.
Imprison them in the world of the dead.
Then even I would praise you,
for your own strength would save you.
“Take a look at Behemoth,
which I made, just as I made you.
It eats grass like an ox.
See its powerful loins
and the muscles of its belly.
Its tail is as strong as a cedar.
The sinews of its thighs are knit tightly together.
Its bones are tubes of bronze.
Its limbs are bars of iron.
It is a prime example of God’s handiwork,
and only its Creator can threaten it.
The mountains offer it their best food,
where all the wild animals play.
It lies under the lotus plants,
hidden by the reeds in the marsh.
The lotus plants give it shade
among the willows beside the stream.
It is not disturbed by the raging river,
not concerned when the swelling Jordan rushes around it.
No one can catch it off guard
or put a ring in its nose and lead it away.
“Can you catch Leviathan with a hook
or put a noose around its jaw?
Can you tie it with a rope through the nose
or pierce its jaw with a spike?
Will it beg you for mercy
or implore you for pity?
Will it agree to work for you,
to be your slave for life?
Can you make it a pet like a bird,
or give it to your little girls to play with?
Will merchants try to buy it
to sell it in their shops?
Will its hide be hurt by spears
or its head by a harpoon?
40:12–41:7
