41 ^[a]“Can you pull in Leviathan^(A) with a fishhook^(B)
    or tie down its tongue with a rope?
² Can you put a cord through its nose^(C)
    or pierce its jaw with a hook?^(D)
3 Will it keep begging you for mercy?^(E)
    Will it speak to you with gentle words?
⁴ Will it make an agreement with you
    for you to take it as your slave for life?^(F)
5 Can you make a pet of it like a bird
    or put it on a leash for the young women in your house?
⁶ Will traders barter for it?
    Will they divide it up among the merchants?
⁷ Can you fill its hide with harpoons
    or its head with fishing spears?^(G)
8 If you lay a hand on it,
    you will remember the struggle and never do it again!^(H)
9 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)”

16 To humans belong the plans of the heart,
    but from the Lord comes the proper answer of the tongue.^(A)

² All a person’s ways seem pure to them,^(B)
    but motives are weighed^(C) by the Lord.^(D)

³ Commit to the Lord whatever you do,
    and he will establish your plans.^(E)

⁴ The Lord works out everything to its proper end^(F)—
    even the wicked for a day of disaster.^(G)

⁵ The Lord detests all the proud of heart.^(H)
    Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished.^(I)

⁶ Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for;
    through the fear of the Lord^(J) evil is avoided.^(K)

⁷ When the Lord takes pleasure in anyone’s way,
    he causes their enemies to make peace^(L) with them.^(M)

⁸ Better a little with righteousness
    than much gain^(N) with injustice.^(O)

⁹ In their hearts humans plan their course,
    but the Lord establishes their steps.^(P)

¹⁰ The lips of a king speak as an oracle,
    and his mouth does not betray justice.^(Q)

¹¹ Honest scales and balances belong to the Lord;
    all the weights in the bag are of his making.^(R)

¹² Kings detest wrongdoing,
    for a throne is established through righteousness.^(S)

¹³ Kings take pleasure in honest lips;
    they value the one who speaks what is right.^(T)

¹⁴ A king’s wrath is a messenger of death,^(U)
    but the wise will appease it.^(V)

¹⁵ When a king’s face brightens, it means life;^(W)
    his favor is like a rain cloud in spring.^(X)

¹⁶ How much better to get wisdom than gold,
    to get insight^(Y) rather than silver!^(Z)

¹⁷ The highway of the upright avoids evil;
    those who guard their ways preserve their lives.^(AA)

¹⁸ Pride^(AB) goes before destruction,
    a haughty spirit^(AC) before a fall.^(AD)

¹⁹ Better to be lowly in spirit along with the oppressed
    than to share plunder with the proud.

²⁰ Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers,^[a](AE)
    and blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord.^(AF)

²¹ The wise in heart are called discerning,
    and gracious words promote instruction.^[b](AG)

²² Prudence is a fountain of life to the prudent,^(AH)
    but folly brings punishment to fools.

²³ The hearts of the wise make their mouths prudent,^(AI)
    and their lips promote instruction.^[c](AJ)

²⁴ Gracious words are a honeycomb,^(AK)
    sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.^(AL)

²⁵ There is a way that appears to be right,^(AM)
    but in the end it leads to death.^(AN)

²⁶ The appetite of laborers works for them;
    their hunger drives them on.

²⁷ A scoundrel^(AO) plots evil,
    and on their lips it is like a scorching fire.^(AP)

²⁸ A perverse person stirs up conflict,^(AQ)
    and a gossip separates close friends.^(AR)

²⁹ A violent person entices their neighbor
    and leads them down a path that is not good.^(AS)

³⁰ Whoever winks^(AT) with their eye is plotting perversity;
    whoever purses their lips is bent on evil.

³¹ Gray hair is a crown of splendor;^(AU)
    it is attained in the way of righteousness.

³² Better a patient person than a warrior,
    one with self-control than one who takes a city.

³³ The lot is cast^(AV) into the lap,
    but its every decision^(AW) is from the Lord.^(AX)