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41 “See, his hope is wrong,
    he is laid low, even the sight of him.
Is he not fierce when he is roused?
    Who then is able to stand before Me?
Who has confronted Me that I should repay?[a]
Everything under heaven belongs to Me.

“I will not keep silent about his limbs,
    or his might or the grace of his arrangement.
Who can strip off his outer garment?
    Who can penetrate his double armor?
Who can open the doors of his face,
    ringed with fearsome teeth?
His rows of shields are his pride,
    shut up closely as with tight seal;
each so close to the next,
    that no air can pass between.
They are joined one to another;
    they clasp each other and cannot be separated.

10 “He sneezes out flashes of light;
    his eyes are like the eyelids of dawn.
11 Out of his mouth go flames,
    sparks of fire shoot out.
12 Smoke pours from his nostrils,
    as a boiling pot over burning reeds.
13 His breath sets coals ablaze
    and flames dart from his mouth.

14 “Strength resides in his neck;
    dismay runs before him.
15 The folds of his flesh are tightly joined;
    they are firm on him, immovable.
16 His heart is hard as rock,
    hard as a lower millstone.

17 “When he rises up, the mighty are afraid;
    at his crashing they retreat.
18 A sword that reaches him has no effect—
    nor with a spear, dart, or javelin.
19 He regards iron as straw,
    bronze as rotten wood.
20 Arrows do not make him flee;
    sling stones become like chaff to him.
21 A club is regarded as stubble;
    he laughs at the rattling of a lance.

22 “His undersides are jagged potsherds,
    leaving a trail like a threshing sledge in mud.
23 He makes the deep boil like a cauldron
    and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment.
24 He leaves a shining wake behind him;
    one would think the deep had white hair.
25 Nothing on dry land is his equal—
    a creature without fear.
26 He sees every haughty thing;
    he is king over all who are proud.”

Footnotes

  1. Job 41:3 cf. Rom. 11:35.

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.