Add parallel Print Page Options

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

41 Can you pull in Leviathan(A) with a hook(B)
or tie his tongue down with a rope?
Can you put a cord[a] through his nose
or pierce his jaw with a hook?(C)
Will he beg you for mercy
or speak softly to you?
Will he make a covenant with you
so that you can take him as a slave forever?(D)
Can you play with him like a bird
or put him on a leash[b] for your girls?
Will traders bargain for him
or divide him among the merchants?
Can you fill his hide with harpoons
or his head with fishing spears?
Lay a[c] hand on him.
You will remember the battle
and never repeat it!
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?[d](G)
14 Who can open his jaws,[e]
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[f]
that no air can pass between them.
17 They are joined to one another,
so closely connected[g] they cannot be separated.
18 His snorting[h] flashes with light,
while his eyes are like the rays[i] 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[j] and immovable.
24 His heart is as hard as a rock,
as hard as a lower millstone!
25 When Leviathan rises, the mighty[k] 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;[l]
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.[m]

Footnotes

  1. 41:2 Lit reed
  2. 41:5 Lit or bind him
  3. 41:8 Lit your
  4. 41:13 LXX; MT reads double bridle
  5. 41:14 Lit open the doors of his face
  6. 41:16 Lit One by one they approach
  7. 41:17 Lit another; they cling together and
  8. 41:18 Or sneezing
  9. 41:18 Lit eyelids
  10. 41:23 Lit together, hard on him
  11. 41:25 Or the divine beings
  12. 41:32 Lit a path
  13. 41:34 Lit the children of pride