1[1] ‘Can you pull in Leviathan with a fishhook or tie down its tongue with a rope?2Can you put a cord through its nose or pierce its jaw with a hook?3Will it keep begging you for mercy? Will it speak to you with gentle words?4Will it make an agreement with you for you to take it as your slave for life?5Can you make a pet of it like a bird or put it on a leash for the young women in your house?6Will traders barter for it? Will they divide it up among the merchants?7Can you fill its hide with harpoons or its head with fishing spears?8If you lay a hand on it, you will remember the struggle and never do it again!9Any hope of subduing it is false; the mere sight of it is overpowering.10No-one is fierce enough to rouse it. Who then is able to stand against me?11Who has a claim against me that I must pay? Everything under heaven belongs to me.12‘I will not fail to speak of Leviathan’s limbs, its strength and its graceful form.13Who can strip off its outer coat? Who can penetrate its double coat of armour[2]?14Who dares open the doors of its mouth, ringed about with its fearsome teeth?15Its back has[3] rows of shields tightly sealed together;16each is so close to the next that no air can pass between.17They are joined fast to one another; they cling together and cannot be parted.18Its snorting throws out flashes of light; its eyes are like the rays of dawn.19Flames stream from its mouth; sparks of fire shoot out.20Smoke pours from its nostrils as from a boiling pot over burning reeds.21Its breath sets coals ablaze, and flames dart from its mouth.22Strength resides in its neck; dismay goes before it.23The folds of its flesh are tightly joined; they are firm and immovable.24Its chest is hard as rock, hard as a lower millstone.25When it rises up, the mighty are terrified; they retreat before its thrashing.26The sword that reaches it has no effect, nor does the spear or the dart or the javelin.27Iron it treats like straw and bronze like rotten wood.28Arrows do not make it flee; slingstones are like chaff to it.29A club seems to it but a piece of straw; it laughs at the rattling of the lance.30Its undersides are jagged potsherds, leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing-sledge.31It makes the depths churn like a boiling cauldron and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment.32It leaves a glistening wake behind it; one would think the deep had white hair.33Nothing on earth is its equal – a creature without fear.34It looks down on all that are haughty; it is king over all that are proud.’
Job 41
English Standard Version
1[1] “Can you draw out Leviathan[2] with a fishhook or press down his tongue with a cord? (Job 3:8; Ps 74:14; Ps 104:26; Isa 27:1)2Can you put a rope in his nose or pierce his jaw with a hook? (2Ki 19:28; Isa 37:29)3Will he make many pleas to you? Will he speak to you soft words?4Will he make a covenant with you to take him for your servant forever? (Ex 21:6; De 15:17)5Will you play with him as with a bird, or will you put him on a leash for your girls?6Will traders bargain over him? Will they divide him up among the merchants?7Can you fill his skin with harpoons or his head with fishing spears?8Lay your hands on him; remember the battle—you will not do it again!9[3] Behold, the hope of a man is false; he is laid low even at the sight of him.10No one is so fierce that he dares to stir him up. Who then is he who can stand before me?11Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine. (Job 35:7; Ps 24:1; Ro 11:35)12“I will not keep silence concerning his limbs, or his mighty strength, or his goodly frame.13Who can strip off his outer garment? Who would come near him with a bridle?14Who can open the doors of his face? Around his teeth is terror.15His back is made of[4] rows of shields, shut up closely as with a seal.16One is so near to another that no air can come between them.17They are joined one to another; they clasp each other and cannot be separated. (Job 41:23)18His sneezings flash forth light, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn. (Job 3:9)19Out of his mouth go flaming torches; sparks of fire leap forth.20Out of his nostrils comes forth smoke, as from a boiling pot and burning rushes.21His breath kindles coals, and a flame comes forth from his mouth. (2Sa 22:13; Ps 18:8)22In his neck abides strength, and terror dances before him.23The folds of his flesh stick together, firmly cast on him and immovable. (Job 41:17)24His heart is hard as a stone, hard as the lower millstone.25When he raises himself up, the mighty[5] are afraid; at the crashing they are beside themselves.26Though the sword reaches him, it does not avail, nor the spear, the dart, or the javelin.27He counts iron as straw, and bronze as rotten wood.28The arrow cannot make him flee; for him, sling stones are turned to stubble.29Clubs are counted as stubble; he laughs at the rattle of javelins.30His underparts are like sharp potsherds; he spreads himself like a threshing sledge on the mire. (Job 2:8; Isa 28:27; Isa 41:15)31He makes the deep boil like a pot; he makes the sea like a pot of ointment.32Behind him he leaves a shining wake; one would think the deep to be white-haired.33On earth there is not his like, a creature without fear. (Job 19:25)34He sees everything that is high; he is king over all the sons of pride.” (Job 28:8)