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Job 41
Easy-to-Read Version
Job 41
Easy-to-Read Version
41 “Can you catch Leviathan[a] with a fishhook?
Can you tie his tongue with a rope?
2 Can you put a rope through his nose
or a hook through his jaw?
3 Will he beg you to let him go free?
Will he speak to you with gentle words?
4 Will he make an agreement with you
and promise to serve you forever?
5 Will you play with Leviathan as you would play with a bird?
Will you put a rope on him so that your girls can play with him?
6 Will fishermen try to buy him from you?
Will they cut him into pieces and sell him to the merchants?
7 Can you throw spears into his skin or head?
8 “If you ever lay a hand on Leviathan, you will never do it again!
Just think about the battle that would be!
9 Do you think you can defeat him?
Well, forget it! There is no hope.
Just looking at him will scare you!
10 No one is brave enough to wake him up
and make him angry.
“Well, no one can challenge me either![b]
11 I owe nothing to anyone.
Everything under heaven belongs to me.[c]
12 “I will tell you about Leviathan’s legs,
his strength, and his graceful shape.
13 No one can pierce his skin.
It is like armor![d]
14 No one can force him to open his jaws.
The teeth in his mouth scare people.
15 His back has rows of shields
tightly sealed together.
16 They are so close to each other
that no air can pass between them.
17 The shields are joined to each other.
They hold together so tightly that they cannot be pulled apart.
18 When Leviathan sneezes, it is like lightning flashing out.
His eyes shine like the light of dawn.
19 Burning torches come from his mouth.
Sparks of fire shoot out.
20 Smoke pours from his nose
like burning weeds under a boiling pot.
21 His breath sets coals on fire,
and flames shoot from his mouth.
22 His neck is very powerful.
People are afraid and run away from him.
23 There is no soft spot in his skin.
It is as hard as iron.
24 His heart is like a rock; he has no fear.
It is as hard as a millstone.
25 When he gets up, even the strongest people[e] are afraid.
They run away when he swings his tail.
26 Swords, spears, and darts only bounce off when they hit him.
These weapons don’t hurt him at all!
27 He breaks iron as easily as straw.
He breaks bronze like rotten wood.
28 Arrows don’t make him run away.
Rocks thrown at him seem as light as chaff.
29 When a wood club hits him, it feels to him like a piece of straw.
He laughs when anyone throws a spear at him.
30 The skin on his belly is like sharp pieces of broken pottery.
He leaves tracks in the mud like a threshing board.
31 He stirs up the water like a boiling pot.
He makes it bubble like a pot of boiling oil.
32 When he swims, he leaves a sparkling path behind him.
He stirs up the water and makes it white with foam.
33 No animal on earth is like him.
He is an animal made without fear.
34 He looks down on the proudest of creatures.
He is king over all the wild animals.”
Footnotes
- Job 41:1 Leviathan This animal might be a crocodile or a giant sea monster.
- Job 41:10 Well, no one … either Or “No one can stand and fight him.”
- Job 41:11 Or “No one has come near to Leviathan and survived—no one under heaven!”
- Job 41:13 It is like armor Or “No one can approach him with a bridle.”
- Job 41:25 strongest people Or “gods.”
Job 41
New International Version
Job 41
New International Version
41 [a]“Can you pull in Leviathan(A) with a fishhook(B)
or tie down its tongue with a rope?
2 Can you put a cord through its nose(C)
or pierce its jaw with a hook?(D)
3 Will it keep begging you for mercy?(E)
Will it speak to you with gentle words?
4 Will it make an agreement with you
for you to take it as your slave for life?(F)
5 Can you make a pet of it like a bird
or put it on a leash for the young women in your house?
6 Will traders barter for it?
Will they divide it up among the merchants?
7 Can you fill its hide with harpoons
or its head with fishing spears?(G)
8 If you lay a hand on it,
you will remember the struggle and never do it again!(H)
9 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)”
Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
New International Version (NIV) 
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