Job 41
Names of God Bible
The Lord Continues: Can You Conquer Leviathan, Job?
41 [a]“Can you pull Leviathan[b] out of the water with a fishhook
or tie its tongue down with a rope?
2 Can you put a ring through its nose
or pierce its jaw with a hook?
3 Will it plead with you for mercy
or speak tenderly to you?
4 Will it make an agreement with you
so that you can take it as your permanent slave?
5 Can you play with it like a bird
or keep it on a leash for your girls?
6 Will traders bargain over it
and divide it among the merchants?
7 Can you fill its hide with harpoons
or its head with fishing spears?
8 Lay your hand on it.
Think of the struggle!
Don’t do it again!
9 Certainly, any hope of defeating it is a false hope.
Doesn’t the sight of it overwhelm you?
10 No one is brave enough to provoke Leviathan.
Then who can stand in front of me?[c]
11 Who can confront me that I should repay him?
Everything under heaven belongs to me!
12 “I will not be silent about Leviathan’s limbs,
its strength, or its graceful form.
13 Who can skin its hide?
Who can approach it with a harness?
14 Who can open its closed mouth?
Its teeth are surrounded by terror.
15 Its back has rows of scales that are tightly sealed.
16 One is so close to the other
that there is no space between them.
17 Each is joined to the other.
They are locked together and inseparable.
18 When Leviathan sneezes, it gives out a flash of light.
Its eyes are like the first rays of the dawn.
19 Flames shoot from its mouth.
Sparks of fire fly from it.
20 Smoke comes from its nostrils
like a boiling pot heated over brushwood.
21 Its breath sets coals on fire,
and a flame pours from its mouth.
22 Strength resides in its neck,
and power dances in front of it.
23 The folds of its flesh stick to each other.
They are solid and cannot be moved.
24 Its chest is solid like a rock,
solid like a millstone.
25 “The mighty are afraid when Leviathan rises.
Broken down, they draw back.
26 A sword may strike it but not pierce it.
Neither will a spear, lance, or dart.
27 It considers iron to be like straw
and bronze to be like rotten wood.
28 An arrow won’t make it run away.
Stones from a sling turn to dust against it.
29 It considers clubs to be like stubble,
and it laughs at a rattling javelin.
30 Its underside is like sharp pieces of broken pottery.
It stretches out like a threshing[d] sledge on the mud.
31 It makes the deep sea boil like a pot.
It stirs up the ocean like a boiling kettle.
32 It leaves a shining path behind it
so that the sea appears to have silvery hair.
33 Nothing on land can compare to it.
It was made fearless.
34 It looks down on all high things.
It is king of everyone who is arrogant.”
Job 41
Holman Christian Standard Bible
41 [a]Can you pull in Leviathan(A) with a hook(B)
or tie his tongue down with a rope?
2 Can you put a cord[b] through his nose
or pierce his jaw with a hook?(C)
3 Will he beg you for mercy
or speak softly to you?
4 Will he make a covenant with you
so that you can take him as a slave forever?(D)
5 Can you play with him like a bird
or put him on a leash[c] for your girls?
6 Will traders bargain for him
or divide him among the merchants?
7 Can you fill his hide with harpoons
or his head with fishing spears?
8 Lay a[d] hand on him.
You will remember the battle
and never repeat it!
9 [e]Any hope of capturing him proves false.
Does a person not collapse at the very sight of him?
10 No one is ferocious enough to rouse Leviathan;(E)
who then can stand against Me?
11 Who confronted Me, that I should repay him?
Everything under heaven belongs to Me.(F)
12 I cannot be silent about his limbs,
his power, and his graceful proportions.
13 Who can strip off his outer covering?
Who can penetrate his double layer of armor?[f](G)
14 Who can open his jaws,[g]
surrounded by those terrifying teeth?
15 His pride is in his rows of scales,
closely sealed together.
16 One scale is so close to another[h]
that no air can pass between them.
17 They are joined to one another,
so closely connected[i] they cannot be separated.
18 His snorting[j] flashes with light,
while his eyes are like the rays[k] of dawn.
19 Flaming torches shoot from his mouth;
fiery sparks fly out!
20 Smoke billows from his nostrils(H)
as from a boiling pot or burning reeds.
21 His breath sets coals ablaze,
and flames pour out of his mouth.
22 Strength resides in his neck,
and dismay dances before him.
23 The folds of his flesh are joined together,
solid as metal[l] and immovable.
24 His heart is as hard as a rock,
as hard as a lower millstone!
25 When Leviathan rises, the mighty[m] are terrified;
they withdraw because of his thrashing.
26 The sword that reaches him will have no effect,
nor will a spear, dart, or arrow.
27 He regards iron as straw,
and bronze as rotten wood.
28 No arrow can make him flee;
slingstones become like stubble to him.
29 A club is regarded as stubble,
and he laughs(I) at the sound of a javelin.
30 His undersides are jagged potsherds,
spreading the mud like a threshing sledge.(J)
31 He makes the depths seethe like a cauldron;
he makes the sea like an ointment jar.
32 He leaves a shining wake behind him;[n]
one would think the deep had gray hair!
33 He has no equal on earth—
a creature devoid of fear!
34 He surveys everything that is haughty;
he is king over all the proud beasts.[o]
Footnotes
- Job 41:1 Jb 40:25 in Hb
- Job 41:2 Lit reed
- Job 41:5 Lit or bind him
- Job 41:8 Lit your
- Job 41:9 Jb 41:1 in Hb
- Job 41:13 LXX; MT reads double bridle
- Job 41:14 Lit open the doors of his face
- Job 41:16 Lit One by one they approach
- Job 41:17 Lit another; they cling together and
- Job 41:18 Or sneezing
- Job 41:18 Lit eyelids
- Job 41:23 Lit together, hard on him
- Job 41:25 Or the divine beings
- Job 41:32 Lit a path
- Job 41:34 Lit the children of pride
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.
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