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Can You Draw Out Leviathan?

41 [a]Can you draw out [b](A)Leviathan with a fishhook?
Or press down its tongue with a cord?
Can you (B)put a [c]rope in its nose
Or pierce its jaw with a [d]hook?
Will it make many supplications to you,
Or will he speak to you soft words?
Will it cut a covenant with you?
Will you take it for a slave forever?
Will you play with it as with a bird,
Or will you bind it for your young women?
Will the [e]traders bargain over it?
Will they divide it among the merchants?
Can you fill its skin with harpoons,
Or its head with fishing spears?
Place your hand on it;
Remember the battle; [f]you will not do that again!
[g]Behold, [h]his expectation is a lie;
Will [i]he be laid low even at the sight of it?
10 No one is so fierce that he dares to (C)arouse it;
Who then is he that can stand before Me?
11 Who has [j](D)given to Me that I should repay him?
Whatever is (E)under the whole heaven is Mine.

12 “I will not keep silence concerning its limbs,
Or its mighty strength or its graceful frame.
13 Who can [k]strip off its [l]outer armor?
Who can come with its doubled [m]bridle?
14 Who can open the doors of its face?
Around its teeth there is dreadful terror.
15 Its [n]strong scales are its pride,
Shut up as with a tight seal.
16 One is so near to another
That no air can come between them.
17 They cling one to another;
They are interlocked and cannot be separated.
18 Its sneezes flash forth light,
And its eyes are like the (F)eyelids of the morning.
19 Out of its mouth go burning torches;
Sparks of fire [o]leap forth.
20 Out of its nostrils smoke goes forth
As from a boiling pot and burning reeds.
21 Its breath kindles coals,
And a flame goes forth from its mouth.
22 In its neck lodges strength,
And dismay leaps before it.
23 The folds of its flesh cling together,
Hardened upon it and is not shaken.
24 Its heart is as hard as a stone,
Even as hard as a lower millstone.
25 When it raises itself up, the [p]mighty fear,
Because of the crashing they are [q]bewildered.
26 The sword that reaches it cannot avail,
Nor the spear, the dart, or the javelin.
27 It regards iron as straw,
Bronze as rotten wood.
28 The [r]arrow cannot make it flee;
Slingstones are turned into stubble for it.
29 Clubs are regarded as stubble;
It laughs at the rattling of the javelin.
30 Its underparts are like sharp potsherds;
It [s]spreads out like a threshing sledge on the mire.
31 It makes the depths boil like a pot;
It makes the sea like a jar of ointment.
32 Behind it, it makes a wake to shine;
One would think the deep to be gray-haired.
33 (G)There is nothing upon the [t]dust like it,
One made without terror.
34 [u]It looks on everything that is high;
It is king over all the (H)sons of pride.”

Footnotes

  1. Job 41:1 Ch 40:25 in Heb
  2. Job 41:1 Possibly the crocodile
  3. Job 41:2 Lit rope of rushes
  4. Job 41:2 Or thorn, ring
  5. Job 41:6 Lit partners
  6. Job 41:8 Lit do not add
  7. Job 41:9 Ch 41:1 in Heb
  8. Job 41:9 Job’s
  9. Job 41:9 Job
  10. Job 41:11 Lit anticipated
  11. Job 41:13 Lit uncover the face of its garment
  12. Job 41:13 Lit clothing
  13. Job 41:13 Gr mail
  14. Job 41:15 Lit rows of shields
  15. Job 41:19 Lit escape
  16. Job 41:25 Or gods
  17. Job 41:25 Lit as if in sin
  18. Job 41:28 Lit son of the bow
  19. Job 41:30 Or moves across
  20. Job 41:33 Or earth
  21. Job 41:34 Ch 41:26 in Heb

Leviathan

41 [a] Can you draw out Leviathan with a hook,
    restrain his tongue with a rope?
Can you put a cord through his nose,
    pierce his jaw with a barb?
Will he beg you at length
    or speak gentle words to you?
Will he make a pact with you
    so that you will take him as a permanent slave?
Can you play with him like a bird,
    put a leash on him for your girls?
Will merchants sell him;
    will they divide him among traders?
Can you fill his hide with darts,
    his head with a fishing spear?
Should you lay your hand on him,
    you would never remember the battle.
Such hopes[b] would be delusional;
    surely the sight of him makes one stumble.
10 Nobody is fierce enough to rouse him;
    who then can stand before me?
11 Who opposes me that I must repay?
    Everything under heaven is mine.
12 I’m not awed by his limbs,
    his strength, and impressive form.
13 Who can remove his outer garment;
    who can come with a bridle for him?
14 Who can open the doors of his mouth,
    surrounded by frightening teeth?
15 His matching scales are his pride,
    closely locked and sealed.
16         One touches another;
        even air can’t come between them.
17 Each clings to its pair;
    joined, they can’t be separated.
18 His sneezes emit flashes of light;
    his eyes are like dawn’s rays.
19 Shafts of fire shoot from his mouth;
    like fiery sparks they fly out.
20 Smoke pours from his nostrils
    like a boiling pot over reeds.
21 His breath lights coals;
    a flame shoots from his mouth.
22 Power resides in his neck;
    violence dances before him.
23 The folds of his flesh stick together;
    on him they are tough and unyielding.
24 His heart is solid like a rock,
    hard like a lower millstone.
25 The divine beings dread his rising;
    they withdraw before his thrashing.
26 The sword that touches him won’t prevail;
    neither will the dart, spear, nor javelin.
27 He treats iron as straw,
    bronze as rotten wood.
28 Arrows can’t make him flee;
    slingstones he turns to straw.
29 He treats a club like straw;
    he laughs at the lance’s rattle.
30 His abdomen is like jagged pottery shards;
    its sharp edges leave a trail in the mud.
31 He causes the depths to churn like a boiling pot,
    stirs up the sea like a pot of scented oils,
32         leaves a bright wake behind him;
        the frothy deep seems white-haired.
33 None on earth can compare to him;
    he is made to be without fear.
34 He looks on all the proud;
    he is king over all proud beasts.

Footnotes

  1. Job 41:1 40:25 in Heb
  2. Job 41:9 Or his hopes