41 “Can you catch Leviathan^[a] with a fishhook?
    Can you tie his tongue with a rope?
² Can you put a rope through his nose
    or a hook through his jaw?
³ Will he beg you to let him go free?
    Will he speak to you with gentle words?
⁴ Will he make an agreement with you
    and promise to serve you forever?
⁵ Will you play with Leviathan as you would play with a bird?
    Will you put a rope on him so that your girls can play with him?
⁶ Will fishermen try to buy him from you?
    Will they cut him into pieces and sell him to the merchants?
⁷ Can you throw spears into his skin or head?

⁸ “If you ever lay a hand on Leviathan, you will never do it again!
    Just think about the battle that would be!
⁹ Do you think you can defeat him?
    Well, forget it! There is no hope.
    Just looking at him will scare you!
¹⁰ No one is brave enough to wake him up
    and make him angry.

“Well, no one can challenge me either!^[b]
11 I owe nothing to anyone.
    Everything under heaven belongs to me.^[c]

¹² “I will tell you about Leviathan’s legs,
    his strength, and his graceful shape.
¹³ No one can pierce his skin.
    It is like armor!^[d]
14 No one can force him to open his jaws.
    The teeth in his mouth scare people.
¹⁵ His back has rows of shields
    tightly sealed together.
¹⁶ They are so close to each other
    that no air can pass between them.
¹⁷ The shields are joined to each other.
    They hold together so tightly that they cannot be pulled apart.
¹⁸ When Leviathan sneezes, it is like lightning flashing out.
    His eyes shine like the light of dawn.
¹⁹ Burning torches come from his mouth.
    Sparks of fire shoot out.
²⁰ Smoke pours from his nose
    like burning weeds under a boiling pot.
²¹ His breath sets coals on fire,
    and flames shoot from his mouth.
²² His neck is very powerful.
    People are afraid and run away from him.
²³ There is no soft spot in his skin.
    It is as hard as iron.
²⁴ His heart is like a rock; he has no fear.
    It is as hard as a millstone.
²⁵ When he gets up, even the strongest people^[e] are afraid.
    They run away when he swings his tail.
²⁶ Swords, spears, and darts only bounce off when they hit him.
    These weapons don’t hurt him at all!
²⁷ He breaks iron as easily as straw.
    He breaks bronze like rotten wood.
²⁸ Arrows don’t make him run away.
    Rocks thrown at him seem as light as chaff.
²⁹ When a wood club hits him, it feels to him like a piece of straw.
    He laughs when anyone throws a spear at him.
³⁰ The skin on his belly is like sharp pieces of broken pottery.
    He leaves tracks in the mud like a threshing board.
³¹ He stirs up the water like a boiling pot.
    He makes it bubble like a pot of boiling oil.
³² When he swims, he leaves a sparkling path behind him.
    He stirs up the water and makes it white with foam.
³³ No animal on earth is like him.
    He is an animal made without fear.
³⁴ He looks down on the proudest of creatures.
    He is king over all the wild animals.”