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41 Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook?
or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down?
Canst thou put an hook into his nose?
or bore his jaw through with a thorn?
Will he make many supplications unto thee?
will he speak soft words unto thee?
Will he make a covenant with thee?
wilt thou take him for a servant for ever?
Wilt thou play with him as with a bird?
or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens?
Shall the companions make a banquet of him?
shall they part him among the merchants?
Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons?
or his head with fish spears?
Lay thine hand upon him,
remember the battle, do no more.
Behold, the hope of him is in vain:
shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him?
10 None is so fierce that dare stir him up:
who then is able to stand before me?
11 Who hath prevented me, that I should repay him?
whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine.

12 I will not conceal his parts, nor his power,
nor his comely proportion.
13 Who can discover the face of his garment?
or who can come to him with his double bridle?
14 Who can open the doors of his face?
his teeth are terrible round about.
15 His scales are his pride,
shut up together as with a close seal.
16 One is so near to another, that no air can come between them.
17 They are joined one to another,
they stick together, that they cannot be sundered.
18 By his neesings a light doth shine,
and his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.
19 Out of his mouth go burning lamps,
and sparks of fire leap out.
20 Out of his nostrils goeth smoke,
as out of a seething pot or caldron.
21 His breath kindleth coals,
and a flame goeth out of his mouth.
22 In his neck remaineth strength,
and sorrow is turned into joy before him.
23 The flakes of his flesh are joined together:
they are firm in themselves; they cannot be moved.
24 His heart is as firm as a stone;
yea, as hard as a piece of the nether millstone.

25 When he raiseth up himself, the mighty are afraid:
by reason of breakings they purify themselves.
26 The sword of him that layeth at him cannot hold:
the spear, the dart, nor the habergeon.
27 He esteemeth iron as straw,
and brass as rotten wood.
28 The arrow cannot make him flee:
slingstones are turned with him into stubble.
29 Darts are counted as stubble:
he laugheth at the shaking of a spear.

30 Sharp stones are under him:
he spreadeth sharp pointed things upon the mire.
31 He maketh the deep to boil like a pot:
he maketh the sea like a pot of ointment.
32 He maketh a path to shine after him;
one would think the deep to be hoary.
33 Upon earth there is not his like,
who is made without fear.
34 He beholdeth all high things:
he is a king over all the children of pride.

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