Add parallel Print Page Options

Chapter 41

“Any hope you have in this regard would be futile;
    just the mere sight of it would convince you to retreat.
How ferocious it is when aroused!
    No one could ever stand up to confront it.[a]
Who has attacked it and remained unscathed?
    There has never been anyone under the heavens.
“Nor will I keep silence about its limbs,
    or its strength, or its magnificent frame.
Who can strip off its outer garment
    or pierce the reinforced armor of its breastplate?
Who has ever managed to force open the doors of its mouth
    and beheld the teeth that leave one in terror?
“Rows of shields adorn its back
    and are tightly sealed together.
One presses so close to the next
    that no air can pass between them.
Each is so joined, one to another,
    that they hold fast and cannot be separated.
10 “When it sneezes, sprays of light[b] flash forth,
    and its eyes are like the rays of the dawn.
11 Fiery torches emerge from its mouth
    and sparks come flying out.
12 Smoke issues forth from its nostrils
    as from a boiling pot on the fire.
13 Its breath sets coals ablaze,
    and flames pour forth from its mouth.
14 “Strength resides in its neck,
    causing terror to all who behold it.
15 The folds of its flesh are joined together,
    firmly set in place and immovable.
16 Its heart is as hard as stone,
    as unyielding as the lower millstone.
17 When it rears up, strong men become terrified,
    and the waves of the sea retreat.
18 “Even though the sword reaches it, there is no penetration,
    nor is there with the spear, the dart, or the javelin.
19 It regards iron as straw
    and bronze as rotting wood.
20 No arrow can force it to flee;
    slingstones it regards as nothing but chaff.
21 To it a club is like a splinter,
    and it laughs at the javelins that are hurled at it.
22 “Its lower parts are protected with jagged potsherds,
    and it moves across the mire like a threshing sledge.
23 It causes the depths to boil like a cauldron;
    it churns the sea like a pot of ointment.
24 Behind it there is left a shining trail,
    and in its wake the deep appears to be white-haired.
25 It has no equal upon the earth;
    it is a creature that is utterly fearless.
26 It looks down upon all, even the highest;
    it is king over all wild beasts.”

Footnotes

  1. Job 41:2 Confront it: some translate: “confront me.”
  2. Job 41:10 Light: a vapor that gleams in the light of the sun. Its eyes: in Egyptian hieroglyphics, the irridescent red in the eye of the crocodile symbolizes the dawn.

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

Footnotes

  1. Job 41:1 In Hebrew texts 41:1-8 is numbered 40:25-32, and 41:9-34 is numbered 41:1-26.
  2. Job 41:13 Septuagint; Hebrew double bridle
  3. Job 41:15 Or Its pride is its