Job 41
1 Canst thou draw out leviathan with a fishhook? Or press down his tongue with a cord?
Can you pull out Leviathan with a hook? Can you tie its mouth shut?
2 Canst thou put a rope into his nose? Or pierce his jaw through with a hook?
Can you thread a rope through its nose? Can you pass a hook through its jaw?
3 Will he make many supplications unto thee? Or will he speak soft words unto thee?
Will it beg you to let it go? Or will it talk softly to you?
4 Will he make a covenant with thee, That thou shouldest take him for a servant for ever?
Will it make a contract with you? Will it agree to be your slave forever?
5 Wilt thou play with him as with a bird? Or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens?
Will you play with it like a pet bird? Will you put it on a leash for your girls?
6 Will the bands [of fishermen] make traffic of him? Will they part him among the merchants?
Will your trading partners decide on a price for him, and divide him up among the merchants?
7 Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons, Or his head with fish-spears?
Can you pierce his skin with many harpoons, its head with fishing spears?
8 Lay thy hand upon him; Remember the battle, and do so no more.
If you were to grab hold of it, imagine the battle you would have! You wouldn't do that again!
9 Behold, the hope of him is in vain: Will not one be cast down even at the sight of him?
Any hope to capture it is foolish. Anyone who tries is thrown to the ground.
10 None is so fierce that he dare stir him up; Who then is he that can stand before me?
Since no one has the courage to provoke Leviathan, who would dare to stand up against me?
11 Who hath first given unto me, that I should repay him? [Whatsoever is] under the whole heaven is mine.
Who has confronted me with any claim that I should repay? Everything under heaven belongs to me.
12 I will not keep silence concerning his limbs, Nor his mighty strength, nor his goodly frame.
Let me tell you about Leviathan: its powerful legs and graceful proportions.
13 Who can strip off his outer garment? Who shall come within his jaws?
Who can remove its hide? Who can penetrate its double coat of armor?
14 Who can open the doors of his face? Round about his teeth is terror.
Who can open its jaws? Its teeth are terrifying!
15 [His] strong scales are [his] pride, Shut up together [as with] a close seal.
Its pride is its rows of scales, closed tightly together.
16 One is so near to another, That no air can come between them.
Its scales are so close together that no air can pass between them.
17 They are joined one to another; They stick together, so that they cannot be sundered.
Each scale attaches to the next; they lock together and nothing can penetrate them.
18 His sneezings flash forth light, And his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.
When it sneezes light shines out. Its eyes are like the rising sun.
19 Out of his mouth go burning torches, And sparks of fire leap forth.
Flames pour from its mouth, sparks of fire shoot out.
20 Out of his nostrils a smoke goeth, As of a boiling pot and [burning] rushes.
Smoke comes from its nostrils, like steam from a kettle on a fire made of reeds.
21 His breath kindleth coals, And a flame goeth forth from his mouth.
Its breath sets fire to charcoal as flames shoot from its mouth.
22 In his neck abideth strength, And terror danceth before him.
Its neck is powerful, and all who face him shake with terror.
23 The flakes of his flesh are joined together: They are firm upon him; they cannot be moved.
Its body is dense and solid, as if it is made from cast metal.
24 His heart is as firm as a stone; Yea, firm as the nether millstone.
Its heart is rock-hard, like a millstone.
25 When he raiseth himself up, the mighty are afraid: By reason of consternation they are beside themselves.
When it rises, even the powerful are terrified; they retreat as it thrashes about.
26 If one lay at him with the sword, it cannot avail; Nor the spear, the dart, nor the pointed shaft.
Swords just bounce off it, as do spears, darts, and javelins.
27 He counteth iron as straw, [And] brass as rotten wood.
It brushes aside iron like straw, and bronze like rotten wood.
28 The arrow cannot make him flee: Sling-stones are turned with him into stubble.
Arrows cannot make it run away; stones from slingshots are like pieces of stubble.
29 Clubs are counted as stubble: He laugheth at the rushing of the javelin.
Clubs are also treated like stubble; it laughs at the sound made by flying spears.
30 His underparts are [like] sharp potsherds: He spreadeth [as it were] a threshing-wain upon the mire.
Its underparts are covered with points as sharp as broken pots; when it drags itself through the mud it leaves marks like a threshing sledge.
31 He maketh the deep to boil like a pot: He maketh the sea like a pot of ointment.
It churns up the sea like water in a boiling pot, like a steaming bowl when ointment is mixed.
32 He maketh a path to shine after him; One would think the deep to be hoary.
It leaves a glistening wake behind it as if the sea had white hair.
33 Upon earth there is not his like, That is made without fear.
There is nothing on earth like it: a creature that has no fear.
34 He beholdeth everything that is high: He is king over all the sons of pride.
It looks down on all other creatures. It is the proudest of all.”
