Job 41
World English Bible
41 “Can you draw out Leviathan[a] with a fish hook,
or press down his tongue with a cord?
2 Can you put a rope into his nose,
or pierce his jaw through with a hook?
3 Will he make many petitions to you,
or will he speak soft words to you?
4 Will he make a covenant with you,
that you should take him for a servant forever?
5 Will you play with him as with a bird?
Or will you bind him for your girls?
6 Will traders barter for him?
Will they part him among the merchants?
7 Can you fill his skin with barbed irons,
or his head with fish spears?
8 Lay your hand on him.
Remember the battle, and do so no more.
9 Behold, the hope of him is in vain.
Won’t one be cast down even at the sight of him?
10 None is so fierce that he dare stir him up.
Who then is he who can stand before me?
11 Who has first given to me, that I should repay him?
Everything under the heavens is mine.
12 “I will not keep silence concerning his limbs,
nor his mighty strength, nor his goodly frame.
13 Who can strip off his outer garment?
Who will come within his jaws?
14 Who can open the doors of his face?
Around his teeth is terror.
15 Strong scales are his pride,
shut up together with a close seal.
16 One is so near to another,
that no air can come between them.
17 They are joined to one another.
They stick together, so that they can’t be pulled apart.
18 His sneezing flashes out light.
His eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.
19 Out of his mouth go burning torches.
Sparks of fire leap out.
20 Out of his nostrils a smoke goes,
as of a boiling pot over a fire of reeds.
21 His breath kindles coals.
A flame goes out of his mouth.
22 There is strength in his neck.
Terror dances before him.
23 The flakes of his flesh are joined together.
They are firm on him.
They can’t be moved.
24 His heart is as firm as a stone,
yes, firm as the lower millstone.
25 When he raises himself up, the mighty are afraid.
They retreat before his thrashing.
26 If one attacks him with the sword, it can’t prevail;
nor the spear, the dart, nor the pointed shaft.
27 He counts iron as straw;
and bronze as rotten wood.
28 The arrow can’t make him flee.
Sling stones are like chaff to him.
29 Clubs are counted as stubble.
He laughs at the rushing of the javelin.
30 His undersides are like sharp potsherds,
leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing sledge.
31 He makes the deep to boil like a pot.
He makes the sea like a pot of ointment.
32 He makes a path shine after him.
One would think the deep had white hair.
33 On earth there is not his equal,
that is made without fear.
34 He sees everything that is high.
He is king over all the sons of pride.”
Footnotes
- 41:1 Leviathan is a name for a crocodile or similar creature.
Job 41
Holman Christian Standard Bible
41 [a]Can you pull in Leviathan(A) with a hook(B)
or tie his tongue down with a rope?
2 Can you put a cord[b] through his nose
or pierce his jaw with a hook?(C)
3 Will he beg you for mercy
or speak softly to you?
4 Will he make a covenant with you
so that you can take him as a slave forever?(D)
5 Can you play with him like a bird
or put him on a leash[c] for your girls?
6 Will traders bargain for him
or divide him among the merchants?
7 Can you fill his hide with harpoons
or his head with fishing spears?
8 Lay a[d] hand on him.
You will remember the battle
and never repeat it!
9 [e]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?[f](G)
14 Who can open his jaws,[g]
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[h]
that no air can pass between them.
17 They are joined to one another,
so closely connected[i] they cannot be separated.
18 His snorting[j] flashes with light,
while his eyes are like the rays[k] 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[l] and immovable.
24 His heart is as hard as a rock,
as hard as a lower millstone!
25 When Leviathan rises, the mighty[m] 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;[n]
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.[o]
Footnotes
- Job 41:1 Jb 40:25 in Hb
- Job 41:2 Lit reed
- Job 41:5 Lit or bind him
- Job 41:8 Lit your
- Job 41:9 Jb 41:1 in Hb
- Job 41:13 LXX; MT reads double bridle
- Job 41:14 Lit open the doors of his face
- Job 41:16 Lit One by one they approach
- Job 41:17 Lit another; they cling together and
- Job 41:18 Or sneezing
- Job 41:18 Lit eyelids
- Job 41:23 Lit together, hard on him
- Job 41:25 Or the divine beings
- Job 41:32 Lit a path
- Job 41:34 Lit the children of pride
by Public Domain. The name "World English Bible" is trademarked.
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.