Job 41
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 41
1 “Any hope you have in this regard would be futile;
just the mere sight of it would convince you to retreat.
2 How ferocious it is when aroused!
No one could ever stand up to confront it.[a]
3 Who has attacked it and remained unscathed?
There has never been anyone under the heavens.
4 “Nor will I keep silence about its limbs,
or its strength, or its magnificent frame.
5 Who can strip off its outer garment
or pierce the reinforced armor of its breastplate?
6 Who has ever managed to force open the doors of its mouth
and beheld the teeth that leave one in terror?
7 “Rows of shields adorn its back
and are tightly sealed together.
8 One presses so close to the next
that no air can pass between them.
9 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.”
Job 41
Complete Jewish Bible
41 (9) “Look, any hope [of capturing him] is futile —
one would fall prostrate at the very sight of him.
2 (10) No one is fierce enough to rouse him,
so who can stand up to me?
3 (11) Who has given me anything
and made me pay it back?
Everything belongs to me
under all of heaven.
4 (12) “I have more to say about his limbs,
his strong talk, and his matchless strength.
5 (13) Who can strip off his [scaly] garment?
Who can enter his jaws?
6 (14) Who can pry open the doors of his face,
so close to his terrible teeth?
7 (15) “His pride is his rows of scales,
tightly sealed together —
8 (16) one is so close to the next
that no air can come between them;
9 (17) they are stuck one to another,
interlocked and impervious.
10 (18) “When he sneezes, light flashes out;
his eyes are like the shimmer of dawn.
11 (19) From his mouth go fiery torches,
and sparks come flying out.
12 (20) His nostrils belch steam
like a caldron boiling on the fire.
13 (21) His breath sets coals ablaze;
flames pour from his mouth.
14 (22) “Strength resides in his neck,
and dismay dances ahead of him [as he goes].
15 (23) The layers of his flesh stick together;
they are firm on him, immovable.
16 (24) His heart is as hard as a stone,
yes, hard as a lower millstone.
17 (25) When he rears himself up, the gods are afraid,
beside themselves in despair.
18 (26) “If a sword touches him, it won’t stick;
neither will a spear, or a dart, or a lance.
19 (27) He regards iron as straw
and bronze as rotten wood.
20 (28) An arrow can’t make him flee;
for him, slingstones are so much chaff.
21 (29) Clubs count as hay,
and he laughs at a quivering javelin.
22 (30) His belly is as sharp as fragments of pottery,
so he moves across the mud like a threshing-sledge.
23 (31) “He makes the depths seethe like a pot,
he makes the sea [boil] like a perfume kettle.
24 (32) He leaves a shining wake behind him,
making the deep seem to have white hair.
25 (33) “On earth there is nothing like him,
a creature without fear.
26 (34) He looks straight at all high things.
He is king over all proud beasts.”
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.