Add parallel Print Page Options

41 ¶ Canst thou draw out leviathan with a hook or with the cord which thou lettest down on his tongue?

Canst thou put a hook into his nose or bore his jaw through with a thorn?

Will he make many supplications unto thee? Will he speak soft words unto thee?

Will he make a covenant with thee that thou shall take him for a slave for ever?

Wilt thou play with him as with a bird, or wilt thou tie him up for thy maidens?

Shall the companions make a banquet of him? Shall they part him among the merchants?

Canst thou cut his skin with knives or his head with a fish spear?

Lay thine hand upon him; thou shalt remember the battle and do no more.

Behold, your hope regarding him shall fail; for even at the sight of him they shall faint.

10 No one is so bold as to dare stir him up; who then shall be able to stand before me?

11 ¶ Who has preceded me, that I should repay him? All that is under the whole heaven is mine.

12 I will not conceal his lies, nor his might, nor the beauty of his order.

13 Who shall uncover the face of his garment? Or who shall come to him with a double bridle?

14 Who shall open the doors of his face? The orders of his teeth are terrible.

15 His scales {Heb. shields} are his pride, shut up together as with a close seal.

16 One is so near to another, that no air can come between them.

17 They are joined one to another; they stick together, that they cannot be separated.

18 By his sneezings lights are lit, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.

19 Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out.

20 Out of his nostrils goes forth smoke, as out of a seething pot or caldron.

21 His breath kindles coals, and a flame goes out of his mouth.

22 In his neck dwells strength, and before him the work is undone.

23 The failings of his flesh are joined together; his flesh is firm in him and does not move.

24 His heart is as firm as a stone; as hard as a piece of the lower millstone.

25 Of his greatness, the mighty are afraid; by reason of breakings they remove sin from themselves.

26 When one catches up to him, no sword or spear or dart or coat of mail shall endure against him.

27 He esteems iron as straw and bronze as rotten wood.

28 The arrow cannot make him flee; with him, slingstones are turned into stubble.

29 He counts any weapon as stubble; he laughs at the shaking of a spear.

30 Broken clay vessels are under him; he carves his imprint upon the mire.

31 He makes the deep to boil like a pot; he makes the sea like a pot of ointment.

32 He makes the path shine after him; one would think the deep to be hoary.

33 Upon earth there is not his like, who behaves without fear.

34 He despises all exalted things; he is king over all the sons of pride.

41 [a]“Can you pull in Leviathan(A) with a fishhook(B)
    or tie down its tongue with a rope?
Can you put a cord through its nose(C)
    or pierce its jaw with a hook?(D)
Will it keep begging you for mercy?(E)
    Will it speak to you with gentle words?
Will it make an agreement with you
    for you to take it as your slave for life?(F)
Can you make a pet of it like a bird
    or put it on a leash for the young women in your house?
Will traders barter for it?
    Will they divide it up among the merchants?
Can you fill its hide with harpoons
    or its head with fishing spears?(G)
If you lay a hand on it,
    you will remember the struggle and never do it again!(H)
Any hope of subduing it is false;
    the mere sight of it is overpowering.(I)
10 No one is fierce enough to rouse it.(J)
    Who then is able to stand against me?(K)
11 Who has a claim against me that I must pay?(L)
    Everything under heaven belongs to me.(M)

12 “I will not fail to speak of Leviathan’s limbs,(N)
    its strength(O) and its graceful form.
13 Who can strip off its outer coat?
    Who can penetrate its double coat of armor[b]?(P)
14 Who dares open the doors of its mouth,(Q)
    ringed about with fearsome teeth?
15 Its back has[c] rows of shields
    tightly sealed together;(R)
16 each is so close to the next
    that no air can pass between.
17 They are joined fast to one another;
    they cling together and cannot be parted.
18 Its snorting throws out flashes of light;
    its eyes are like the rays of dawn.(S)
19 Flames(T) stream from its mouth;
    sparks of fire shoot out.
20 Smoke pours from its nostrils(U)
    as from a boiling pot over burning reeds.
21 Its breath(V) sets coals ablaze,
    and flames dart from its mouth.(W)
22 Strength(X) resides in its neck;
    dismay goes before it.
23 The folds of its flesh are tightly joined;
    they are firm and immovable.
24 Its chest is hard as rock,
    hard as a lower millstone.(Y)
25 When it rises up, the mighty are terrified;(Z)
    they retreat before its thrashing.(AA)
26 The sword that reaches it has no effect,
    nor does the spear or the dart or the javelin.(AB)
27 Iron it treats like straw(AC)
    and bronze like rotten wood.
28 Arrows do not make it flee;(AD)
    slingstones are like chaff to it.
29 A club seems to it but a piece of straw;(AE)
    it laughs(AF) at the rattling of the lance.
30 Its undersides are jagged potsherds,
    leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing sledge.(AG)
31 It makes the depths churn like a boiling caldron(AH)
    and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment.(AI)
32 It leaves a glistening wake behind it;
    one would think the deep had white hair.
33 Nothing on earth is its equal(AJ)
    a creature without fear.
34 It looks down on all that are haughty;(AK)
    it is king over all that are proud.(AL)

Footnotes

  1. Job 41:1 In Hebrew texts 41:1-8 is numbered 40:25-32, and 41:9-34 is numbered 41:1-26.
  2. Job 41:13 Septuagint; Hebrew double bridle
  3. Job 41:15 Or Its pride is its