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41 (A)Can you catch Leviathan[a] with a fishhook
    or tie his tongue down with a rope?
Can you put a rope through his snout
    or put a hook through his jaws?
Will he beg you to let him go?
    Will he plead with you for mercy?
Will he make an agreement with you
    and promise to serve you forever?
Will you tie him like a pet bird,
    like something to amuse your servant women?
Will fishermen bargain over him?
    Will merchants cut him up to sell?
Can you fill his hide with fishing spears
    or pierce his head with a harpoon?
Touch him once and you'll never try it again;
    you'll never forget the fight!

Anyone who sees Leviathan
    loses courage and falls to the ground.
10 When he is aroused, he is fierce;
    no one would dare to stand before him.
11 Who can attack him and still be safe?
    No one in all the world can do it.[b]

12 Let me tell you about Leviathan's legs
    and describe how great and strong he is.
13 No one can tear off his outer coat
    or pierce the armor[c] he wears.
14 Who can make him open his jaws,
    ringed with those terrifying teeth?
15 His back[d] is made of rows of shields,
    fastened together and hard as stone.
16 Each one is joined so tight to the next,
    not even a breath can come between.
17 They all are fastened so firmly together
    that nothing can ever pull them apart.
18 Light flashes when he sneezes,
    and his eyes glow like the rising sun.
19 Flames blaze from his mouth,
    and streams of sparks fly out.
20 Smoke comes pouring out of his nose,
    like smoke from weeds burning under a pot.
21 His breath starts fires burning;
    flames leap out of his mouth.
22 His neck is so powerful
    that all who meet him are terrified.
23 There is not a weak spot in his skin;
    it is as hard and unyielding as iron.
24 His stony heart is without fear,
    as unyielding and hard as a millstone.
25 When he rises up, even the strongest[e] are frightened;
    they are helpless with fear.
26 There is no sword that can wound him;
    no spear or arrow or lance that can harm him.
27 For him iron is as flimsy as straw,
    and bronze as soft as rotten wood.
28 There is no arrow that can make him run;
    rocks thrown at him are like bits of straw.
29 To him a club is a piece of straw,
    and he laughs when men throw spears.
30 The scales on his belly are like jagged pieces of pottery;
    they tear up the muddy ground like a threshing sledge.[f]
31 He churns up the sea like boiling water
    and makes it bubble like a pot of oil.
32 He leaves a shining path behind him
    and turns the sea to white foam.
33 There is nothing on earth to compare with him;
    he is a creature that has no fear.
34 He looks down on even the proudest animals;
    he is king of all wild beasts.

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Footnotes

  1. Job 41:1 See 3.8.
  2. Job 41:11 Verse 11 in Hebrew is unclear.
  3. Job 41:13 One ancient translation armor; Hebrew bridle.
  4. Job 41:15 Some ancient translations back; Hebrew pride.
  5. Job 41:25 strongest; or gods.
  6. Job 41:30 These had sharp pieces of iron or stone fastened beneath them.

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)

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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