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.
Job 41
New American Standard Bible
God’s Power Shown in Creatures
41 “[a]Can you drag out [b](A)Leviathan with a fishhook,
And press down his tongue with a rope?
2 Can you (B)put a [c]rope in his nose,
And pierce his jaw with a [d]hook?
3 Will he make many pleas to you,
Or will he speak to you gentle words?
4 Will he make a covenant with you?
Will you take him as a servant forever?
5 Will you play with him as with a bird,
And tie him down for your young girls?
6 Will the [e]traders bargain for him?
Will they divide him among the merchants?
7 Can you fill his skin with harpoons,
Or his head with fishing spears?
8 Lay your hand on him.
Remember the battle; [f]you will not do it again!
9 [g]Behold, [h]your expectation is false;
Will [i]you be hurled down even at the sight of him?
10 No one is so reckless that he dares to (C)stir him;
Who then is he who opposes Me?
11 Who has (D)been first to give to Me, that I should repay him?
Whatever is (E)under the entire heaven is Mine.
12 “I will not be silent about his limbs,
Or his mighty strength, or his graceful frame.
13 Who can [j]strip off his outer covering?
Who can [k]pierce his double [l]armor?
14 Who can open the doors of his face?
Around his teeth there is terror.
15 His [m]strong scales are his pride,
Locked as with a tight seal.
16 One is so close to another
That no air can come between them.
17 They are joined one to another;
They clasp each other and cannot be separated.
18 His sneezes flash forth light,
And his eyes are like the (F)eye of dawn.
19 From his mouth go burning torches;
Sparks of fire leap forth.
20 From his nostrils smoke goes out
As from a boiling pot and burning reeds.
21 His breath sets coals aglow,
And a flame goes forth from his mouth.
22 In his neck dwells strength,
And dismay leaps before him.
23 The folds of his flesh are joined together,
Firm and immovable on him.
24 His heart is as firm as a stone,
And as firm as a lower millstone.
25 When he rises up, the [n]mighty are afraid;
Because of the crashing they are bewildered.
26 The sword that reaches him cannot [o]prevail,
Nor the spear, the dart, or the javelin.
27 He regards iron as straw,
Bronze as rotten wood.
28 The [p]arrow cannot make him flee;
Slingstones are turned into stubble for him.
29 Clubs are regarded as stubble;
He laughs at the rattling of the javelin.
30 His underparts are like sharp pieces of pottery;
He [q]spreads out like a threshing sledge on the mud.
31 He makes the depths boil like a pot;
He makes the sea like a jar of ointment.
32 Behind him he illuminates a pathway;
One would think the deep to be gray-haired.
33 (G)Nothing on [r]earth is like him,
One made without fear.
34 [s]He looks on everything that is high;
He is king over all the (H)sons of pride.”
Footnotes
- Job 41:1 Ch 40:25 in Heb
- Job 41:1 I.e., a sea monster or crocodile
- Job 41:2 Lit rope of rushes
- Job 41:2 Or thorn; or ring
- Job 41:6 Lit partners
- Job 41:8 Lit do not add
- Job 41:9 Ch 41:1 in Heb
- Job 41:9 Lit his
- Job 41:9 Lit he
- Job 41:13 Lit uncover the face of his garment
- Job 41:13 Lit come into
- Job 41:13 As in LXX; Heb bridle
- Job 41:15 Lit rows of shields
- Job 41:25 Or gods
- Job 41:26 Lit rise
- Job 41:28 Lit son of the bow
- Job 41:30 Or moves across
- Job 41:33 Lit dust
- Job 41:34 Ch 41:26 in Heb
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