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The Lord’s Challenge Continues

41 [a]“Can you catch Leviathan[b] with a hook
    or put a noose around its jaw?
Can you tie it with a rope through the nose
    or pierce its jaw with a spike?
Will it beg you for mercy
    or implore you for pity?
Will it agree to work for you,
    to be your slave for life?
Can you make it a pet like a bird,
    or give it to your little girls to play with?
Will merchants try to buy it
    to sell it in their shops?
Will its hide be hurt by spears
    or its head by a harpoon?
If you lay a hand on it,
    you will certainly remember the battle that follows.
    You won’t try that again!
[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

  1. 41:1a Verses 41:1-8 are numbered 40:25-32 in Hebrew text.
  2. 41:1b The identification of Leviathan is disputed, ranging from an earthly creature to a mythical sea monster in ancient literature.
  3. 41:9 Verses 41:9-34 are numbered 41:1-26 in Hebrew text.
  4. 41:13 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads its bridle?
  5. 41:15 As in some Greek manuscripts and Latin Vulgate; Hebrew reads Its pride is in its.

41 “你岂能用鱼钩钓鳄鱼,
用绳索绑住它的舌头?
你岂能用绳子穿它的鼻子,
用钩子穿它的腮骨?
它岂会向你连连求饶,
对你说柔和的话?
它岂肯与你立约,
一生做你的奴隶?
你岂能拿它当小鸟玩耍,
或拴起来给幼女取乐?
渔夫们岂能把它当货物出售,
卖给商人?
你岂能在它皮上戳满长矛,
头上插满鱼叉?
你动手碰碰它,
就知道有何恶战,绝不会再碰。
企图捕捉它的都会失望,
人看到它就会心惊胆战。
10 再凶猛的人也不敢惹它。
这样,谁能在我面前站立得住?
11 谁给过我什么,要我偿还?
天下万物都是我的。

12 “论到它的四肢、大力和姣美的身体,
我不能缄默不言。
13 谁能剥去它的外皮?
谁能给它戴上辔头?
14 谁能打开它的口?
它的牙齿令人恐惧。
15 它的脊背覆着行行鳞甲,
牢牢地密封在一起,
16 紧密无间,
连气也透不进去。
17 鳞甲彼此相连相扣,
无法分开。
18 它打喷嚏时,水光四射;
它的眼睛发出晨光;
19 口中喷出火炬,
迸出火星;
20 鼻孔冒烟,
如沸腾的锅和燃烧的芦苇;
21 呼气可点燃煤炭,
口中喷出火焰;
22 颈项强而有力,
恐惧在它前面开路;
23 身上的皱褶紧密相连,
牢牢地密封在一起;
24 心坚如石,
硬如磨石。
25 它一站起来,勇士都害怕,
见它冲来,他们慌忙退缩。
26 刀剑挡不住它,
长矛、标枪、尖戟也无能为力。
27 它视铁如干草,
视铜如朽木。
28 利箭吓不跑它,
弹石在它看来只是碎秸;
29 棍棒无异于秸秆,
它嗤笑投来的标枪。
30 它腹部有锋利的瓦片,
在淤泥上留下道道耙痕。
31 它使深渊如锅翻腾,
大海如油锅滚动。
32 它游过后留下一道波光,
使深渊仿佛披上银发。
33 地上没有动物能与它相比,
像它那样无所畏惧。
34 它藐视群雄,
在高傲的百兽中称王。”