God’s Power in the Leviathan

41 “Can you draw out (A)Leviathan[a] with a hook,
Or snare his tongue with a line which you lower?
Can you (B)put a reed through his nose,
Or pierce his jaw with a [b]hook?
Will he make many supplications to you?
Will he speak softly to you?
Will he make a covenant with you?
Will you take him as a servant forever?
Will you play with him as with a bird,
Or will you leash him for your maidens?
Will your companions [c]make a banquet of him?
Will they apportion him among the merchants?
Can you fill his skin with harpoons,
Or his head with fishing spears?
Lay your hand on him;
Remember the battle—
Never do it again!
Indeed, any hope of overcoming him is false;
Shall one not be overwhelmed at the sight of him?
10 No one is so fierce that he would dare stir him up.
Who then is able to stand against Me?
11 (C)Who has preceded Me, that I should pay him?
(D)Everything under heaven is Mine.

12 “I will not [d]conceal his limbs,
His mighty power, or his graceful proportions.
13 Who can [e]remove his outer coat?
Who can approach him with a double bridle?
14 Who can open the doors of his face,
With his terrible teeth all around?
15 His rows of [f]scales are his pride,
Shut up tightly as with a seal;
16 One is so near another
That no air can come between them;
17 They are joined one to another,
They stick together and cannot be parted.
18 His sneezings flash forth light,
And his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.
19 Out of his mouth go burning lights;
Sparks of fire shoot out.
20 Smoke goes out of his nostrils,
As from a boiling pot and burning rushes.
21 His breath kindles coals,
And a flame goes out of his mouth.
22 Strength dwells in his neck,
And [g]sorrow dances before him.
23 The folds of his flesh are joined together;
They are firm on him and cannot be moved.
24 His heart is as hard as stone,
Even as hard as the lower millstone.
25 When he raises himself up, the mighty are afraid;
Because of his crashings they [h]are beside themselves.
26 Though the sword reaches him, it cannot avail;
Nor does spear, dart, or javelin.
27 He regards iron as straw,
And bronze as rotten wood.
28 The arrow cannot make him flee;
Slingstones become like stubble to him.
29 Darts are regarded as straw;
He laughs at the threat of javelins.
30 His undersides are like sharp potsherds;
He spreads pointed marks in the mire.
31 He makes the deep boil like a pot;
He makes the sea like a pot of ointment.
32 He leaves a shining wake behind him;
One would think the deep had white hair.
33 On earth there is nothing like him,
Which is made without fear.
34 He beholds every high thing;
He is king over all the children of pride.”

Job’s Repentance and Restoration

42 Then Job answered the Lord and said:

“I know that You (E)can do everything,
And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You.
You asked, (F)‘Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?’
Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,
(G)Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.
Listen, please, and let me speak;
You said, (H)‘I will question you, and you shall answer Me.’

“I have (I)heard of You by the hearing of the ear,
But now my eye sees You.
Therefore I (J)abhor[i] myself,
And repent in dust and ashes.”

And so it was, after the Lord had spoken these words to Job, that the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has. Now therefore, take for yourselves (K)seven bulls and seven rams, (L)go to My servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and My servant Job shall (M)pray for you. For I will accept [j]him, lest I deal with you according to your folly; because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.

So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the Lord commanded them; for the Lord had [k]accepted Job. 10 (N)And the Lord [l]restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed the Lord gave Job (O)twice as much as he had before. 11 Then (P)all his brothers, all his sisters, and all those who had been his acquaintances before, came to him and ate food with him in his house; and they consoled him and comforted him for all the adversity that the Lord had brought upon him. Each one gave him a piece of silver and each a ring of gold.

12 Now the Lord blessed (Q)the latter days of Job more than his beginning; for he had (R)fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys. 13 (S)He also had seven sons and three daughters. 14 And he called the name of the first [m]Jemimah, the name of the second [n]Keziah, and the name of the third [o]Keren-Happuch. 15 In all the land were found no women so beautiful as the daughters of Job; and their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers.

16 After this Job (T)lived one hundred and forty years, and saw his children and grandchildren for four generations. 17 So Job died, old and (U)full of days.

Footnotes

  1. Job 41:1 A large sea creature, exact identity unknown
  2. Job 41:2 thorn
  3. Job 41:6 Or bargain over him
  4. Job 41:12 Lit. keep silent about
  5. Job 41:13 Lit. take off the face of his garment
  6. Job 41:15 Lit. shields
  7. Job 41:22 despair
  8. Job 41:25 Or purify themselves
  9. Job 42:6 despise
  10. Job 42:8 Lit. his face
  11. Job 42:9 Lit. lifted up the face of Job
  12. Job 42:10 Lit. turned the captivity of Job, what was captured from Job
  13. Job 42:14 Lit. Handsome as the Day
  14. Job 42:14 Cassia, a fragrance
  15. Job 42:14 Lit. The Horn of Color or The Colorful Ray

41 [a]“Can you pull in Leviathan(A) with a fishhook(B)
    or tie down its tongue with a rope?
Can you put a cord through its nose(C)
    or pierce its jaw with a hook?(D)
Will it keep begging you for mercy?(E)
    Will it speak to you with gentle words?
Will it make an agreement with you
    for you to take it as your slave for life?(F)
Can you make a pet of it like a bird
    or put it on a leash for the young women in your house?
Will traders barter for it?
    Will they divide it up among the merchants?
Can you fill its hide with harpoons
    or its head with fishing spears?(G)
If you lay a hand on it,
    you will remember the struggle and never do it again!(H)
Any hope of subduing it is false;
    the mere sight of it is overpowering.(I)
10 No one is fierce enough to rouse it.(J)
    Who then is able to stand against me?(K)
11 Who has a claim against me that I must pay?(L)
    Everything under heaven belongs to me.(M)

12 “I will not fail to speak of Leviathan’s limbs,(N)
    its strength(O) and its graceful form.
13 Who can strip off its outer coat?
    Who can penetrate its double coat of armor[b]?(P)
14 Who dares open the doors of its mouth,(Q)
    ringed about with fearsome teeth?
15 Its back has[c] rows of shields
    tightly sealed together;(R)
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.(S)
19 Flames(T) stream from its mouth;
    sparks of fire shoot out.
20 Smoke pours from its nostrils(U)
    as from a boiling pot over burning reeds.
21 Its breath(V) sets coals ablaze,
    and flames dart from its mouth.(W)
22 Strength(X) 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.(Y)
25 When it rises up, the mighty are terrified;(Z)
    they retreat before its thrashing.(AA)
26 The sword that reaches it has no effect,
    nor does the spear or the dart or the javelin.(AB)
27 Iron it treats like straw(AC)
    and bronze like rotten wood.
28 Arrows do not make it flee;(AD)
    slingstones are like chaff to it.
29 A club seems to it but a piece of straw;(AE)
    it laughs(AF) at the rattling of the lance.
30 Its undersides are jagged potsherds,
    leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing sledge.(AG)
31 It makes the depths churn like a boiling caldron(AH)
    and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment.(AI)
32 It leaves a glistening wake behind it;
    one would think the deep had white hair.
33 Nothing on earth is its equal(AJ)
    a creature without fear.
34 It looks down on all that are haughty;(AK)
    it is king over all that are proud.(AL)

Job

42 Then Job replied to the Lord:

“I know that you can do all things;(AM)
    no purpose of yours can be thwarted.(AN)
You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’(AO)
    Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,
    things too wonderful for me to know.(AP)

“You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak;
    I will question you,
    and you shall answer me.’(AQ)
My ears had heard of you(AR)
    but now my eyes have seen you.(AS)
Therefore I despise myself(AT)
    and repent(AU) in dust and ashes.”(AV)

Epilogue

After the Lord had said these things to Job(AW), he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “I am angry with you and your two friends,(AX) because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.(AY) So now take seven bulls and seven rams(AZ) and go to my servant Job(BA) and sacrifice a burnt offering(BB) for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer(BC) and not deal with you according to your folly.(BD) You have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.”(BE) So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite(BF) did what the Lord told them; and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer.(BG)

10 After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes(BH) and gave him twice as much as he had before.(BI) 11 All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before(BJ) came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the Lord had brought on him,(BK) and each one gave him a piece of silver[d] and a gold ring.

12 The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. 13 And he also had seven sons and three daughters. 14 The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch. 15 Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job’s daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers.

16 After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. 17 And so Job died, an old man and full of years.(BL)

Footnotes

  1. Job 41:1 In Hebrew texts 41:1-8 is numbered 40:25-32, and 41:9-34 is numbered 41:1-26.
  2. Job 41:13 Septuagint; Hebrew double bridle
  3. Job 41:15 Or Its pride is its
  4. Job 42:11 Hebrew him a kesitah; a kesitah was a unit of money of unknown weight and value.