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The Lord Is Speaking to Job

41 “Can you pull the crocodile out with a fish-hook? Can you tie his tongue down with a rope? Can you put a rope in his nose, or put a hook through his jaw? Will he beg you to be good to him? Will he speak soft words to you? Will he make an agreement with you to take him and make him your servant forever? Will you play with him as if he were a bird? Or will you put him on a rope for your young women? Will traders talk about buying and selling him? Will they divide him among the store-keepers? Can you fill his skin or his head with fish spears? Lay your hand on him, and remember the battle. You will not do it again! See, the hope of man is false. One is laid low even when seeing him. 10 No one is so powerful that he would wake him. Who then can stand before Me? 11 Who has given Me everything, that I should pay him back? Whatever is under the whole heaven is Mine.

12 “I will not keep quiet about his legs, or his powerful strength, or the good way he is made. 13 Who can take off his outside clothing? Who can get through his hard skin? 14 Who can open the doors of his mouth? Around his teeth is much fear. 15 His hard covering is his pride. He is shut up as with a lock. 16 One piece of his hard skin is so close to another that no air can come between them. 17 They are joined one to another. They hold on to each other and cannot be separated. 18 His breath gives out light. And his eyes are like those of the first light of day. 19 Burning light goes out of his mouth. Fire comes out. 20 Smoke goes out of his nostrils, as from a boiling pot and burning grass. 21 His breath sets fire to coals. A fire goes out of his mouth. 22 Strength is in his neck, and fear jumps in front of him. 23 The folds of his flesh are joined together. They are set in place and cannot be moved. 24 His heart is as hard as a stone, even as hard as a grinding-stone. 25 When he raises himself up, the powerful are afraid. They are troubled because of his noise. 26 The sword that hits him cannot cut. And spears are of no use. 27 He thinks of iron as straw, and brass as soft wood. 28 The arrow cannot make him run away. Stones thrown at him are like dry grass to him. 29 He thinks of heavy sticks as dry grass. He laughs at the noise of the spear. 30 The parts under him are like sharp pieces of a pot. He spreads out like a grain crusher on the mud. 31 He makes the sea boil like a pot. He makes the sea like a jar of oil. 32 He makes his way shine behind him. One would think that the sea has white hair. 33 Nothing on earth is like him, one made without fear. 34 He looks on everything that is high. He is king over all that are proud.”

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