Job 41
New Living Translation
The Lord’s Challenge Continues
41 [a]“Can you catch Leviathan[b] with a hook
or put a noose around its jaw?
2 Can you tie it with a rope through the nose
or pierce its jaw with a spike?
3 Will it beg you for mercy
or implore you for pity?
4 Will it agree to work for you,
to be your slave for life?
5 Can you make it a pet like a bird,
or give it to your little girls to play with?
6 Will merchants try to buy it
to sell it in their shops?
7 Will its hide be hurt by spears
or its head by a harpoon?
8 If you lay a hand on it,
you will certainly remember the battle that follows.
You won’t try that again!
9 [c]No, it is useless to try to capture it.
The hunter who attempts it will be knocked down.
10 And since no one dares to disturb it,
who then can stand up to me?
11 Who has given me anything that I need to pay back?
Everything under heaven is mine.
12 “I want to emphasize Leviathan’s limbs
and its enormous strength and graceful form.
13 Who can strip off its hide,
and who can penetrate its double layer of armor?[d]
14 Who could pry open its jaws?
For its teeth are terrible!
15 The scales on its back are like[e] rows of shields
tightly sealed together.
16 They are so close together
that no air can get between them.
17 Each scale sticks tight to the next.
They interlock and cannot be penetrated.
18 “When it sneezes, it flashes light!
Its eyes are like the red of dawn.
19 Lightning leaps from its mouth;
flames of fire flash out.
20 Smoke streams from its nostrils
like steam from a pot heated over burning rushes.
21 Its breath would kindle coals,
for flames shoot from its mouth.
22 “The tremendous strength in Leviathan’s neck
strikes terror wherever it goes.
23 Its flesh is hard and firm
and cannot be penetrated.
24 Its heart is hard as rock,
hard as a millstone.
25 When it rises, the mighty are afraid,
gripped by terror.
26 No sword can stop it,
no spear, dart, or javelin.
27 Iron is nothing but straw to that creature,
and bronze is like rotten wood.
28 Arrows cannot make it flee.
Stones shot from a sling are like bits of grass.
29 Clubs are like a blade of grass,
and it laughs at the swish of javelins.
30 Its belly is covered with scales as sharp as glass.
It plows up the ground as it drags through the mud.
31 “Leviathan makes the water boil with its commotion.
It stirs the depths like a pot of ointment.
32 The water glistens in its wake,
making the sea look white.
33 Nothing on earth is its equal,
no other creature so fearless.
34 Of all the creatures, it is the proudest.
It is the king of beasts.”
Footnotes
- 41:1a Verses 41:1-8 are numbered 40:25-32 in Hebrew text.
- 41:1b The identification of Leviathan is disputed, ranging from an earthly creature to a mythical sea monster in ancient literature.
- 41:9 Verses 41:9-34 are numbered 41:1-26 in Hebrew text.
- 41:13 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads its bridle?
- 41:15 As in some Greek manuscripts and Latin Vulgate; Hebrew reads Its pride is in its.
Job 41
Common English Bible
Leviathan
41 [a] Can you draw out Leviathan with a hook,
restrain his tongue with a rope?
2 Can you put a cord through his nose,
pierce his jaw with a barb?
3 Will he beg you at length
or speak gentle words to you?
4 Will he make a pact with you
so that you will take him as a permanent slave?
5 Can you play with him like a bird,
put a leash on him for your girls?
6 Will merchants sell him;
will they divide him among traders?
7 Can you fill his hide with darts,
his head with a fishing spear?
8 Should you lay your hand on him,
you would never remember the battle.
9 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.
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Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible