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41 “Can you draw out Leviathan[a] with a fish hook,
    or press down his tongue with a cord?
Can you put a rope into his nose,
    or pierce his jaw through with a hook?
Will he make many petitions to you,
    or will he speak soft words to you?
Will he make a covenant with you,
    that you should take him for a servant forever?
Will you play with him as with a bird?
    Or will you bind him for your girls?
Will traders barter for him?
    Will they part him among the merchants?
Can you fill his skin with barbed irons,
    or his head with fish spears?
Lay your hand on him.
    Remember the battle, and do so no more.
Behold, the hope of him is in vain.
    Won’t one be cast down even at the sight of him?

10 None is so fierce that he dare stir him up.
    Who then is he who can stand before me?
11 Who has first given to me, that I should repay him?
    Everything under the heavens is mine.

12 “I will not keep silence concerning his limbs,
    nor his mighty strength, nor his goodly frame.
13 Who can strip off his outer garment?
    Who will come within his jaws?
14 Who can open the doors of his face?
    Around his teeth is terror.
15 Strong scales are his pride,
    shut up together with a close seal.

16 One is so near to another,
    that no air can come between them.
17 They are joined to one another.
    They stick together, so that they can’t be pulled apart.
18 His sneezing flashes out light.
    His eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.
19 Out of his mouth go burning torches.
    Sparks of fire leap out.
20 Out of his nostrils a smoke goes,
    as of a boiling pot over a fire of reeds.
21 His breath kindles coals.
    A flame goes out of his mouth.
22 There is strength in his neck.
    Terror dances before him.
23 The flakes of his flesh are joined together.
    They are firm on him.
    They can’t be moved.
24 His heart is as firm as a stone,
    yes, firm as the lower millstone.
25 When he raises himself up, the mighty are afraid.
    They retreat before his thrashing.
26 If one attacks him with the sword, it can’t prevail;
    nor the spear, the dart, nor the pointed shaft.
27 He counts iron as straw;
    and bronze as rotten wood.
28 The arrow can’t make him flee.
    Sling stones are like chaff to him.
29 Clubs are counted as stubble.
    He laughs at the rushing of the javelin.
30 His undersides are like sharp potsherds,
    leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing sledge.
31 He makes the deep to boil like a pot.
    He makes the sea like a pot of ointment.
32 He makes a path shine after him.
    One would think the deep had white hair.
33 On earth there is not his equal,
    that is made without fear.
34 He sees everything that is high.
    He is king over all the sons of pride.”

Footnotes

  1. 41:1 Leviathan is a name for a crocodile or similar creature.

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