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The Lord Continues: Can You Conquer Leviathan, Job?

41 [a]“Can you pull Leviathan[b] out of the water with a fishhook
    or tie its tongue down with a rope?
Can you put a ring through its nose
    or pierce its jaw with a hook?
Will it plead with you for mercy
    or speak tenderly to you?
Will it make an agreement with you
    so that you can take it as your permanent slave?
Can you play with it like a bird
    or keep it on a leash for your girls?
Will traders bargain over it
    and divide it among the merchants?
Can you fill its hide with harpoons
    or its head with fishing spears?
Lay your hand on it.
    Think of the struggle!
        Don’t do it again!
            Certainly, any hope of defeating it is a false hope.
            Doesn’t the sight of it overwhelm you?
10 No one is brave enough to provoke Leviathan.
    Then who can stand in front of me?[c]
11 Who can confront me that I should repay him?
    Everything under heaven belongs to me!

12 “I will not be silent about Leviathan’s limbs,
    its strength, or its graceful form.
13 Who can skin its hide?
    Who can approach it with a harness?
14 Who can open its closed mouth?
    Its teeth are surrounded by terror.
15 Its back has rows of scales that are tightly sealed.
16 One is so close to the other
    that there is no space between them.
17 Each is joined to the other.
    They are locked together and inseparable.
18 When Leviathan sneezes, it gives out a flash of light.
    Its eyes are like the first rays of the dawn.
19 Flames shoot from its mouth.
    Sparks of fire fly from it.
20 Smoke comes from its nostrils
    like a boiling pot heated over brushwood.
21 Its breath sets coals on fire,
    and a flame pours from its mouth.
22 Strength resides in its neck,
    and power dances in front of it.
23 The folds of its flesh stick to each other.
    They are solid and cannot be moved.
24 Its chest is solid like a rock,
    solid like a millstone.

25 “The mighty are afraid when Leviathan rises.
    Broken down, they draw back.
26 A sword may strike it but not pierce it.
    Neither will a spear, lance, or dart.
27 It considers iron to be like straw
    and bronze to be like rotten wood.
28 An arrow won’t make it run away.
    Stones from a sling turn to dust against it.
29 It considers clubs to be like stubble,
    and it laughs at a rattling javelin.
30 Its underside is like sharp pieces of broken pottery.
    It stretches out like a threshing[d] sledge on the mud.
31 It makes the deep sea boil like a pot.
    It stirs up the ocean like a boiling kettle.
32 It leaves a shining path behind it
    so that the sea appears to have silvery hair.
33 Nothing on land can compare to it.
    It was made fearless.
34 It looks down on all high things.
    It is king of everyone who is arrogant.”

Footnotes

  1. Job 41:1 Job 41:1–34 in English Bibles is Job 40:25–41:26 in the Hebrew Bible.
  2. Job 41:1 Hebrew meaning uncertain.
  3. Job 41:10 Some Hebrew manuscripts; many Hebrew manuscripts “it.”
  4. Job 41:30 Threshing is the process of beating stalks to separate them from the grain.

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