Job 41
1 An extrahere poteris leviathan hamo, et fune ligabis linguam eius?
“[Think also about] (crocodiles/great sea dragons). Can you catch them with a fishhook or fasten their jaws with a rope?
2 Numquid pones circulum in naribus eius, aut armilla perforabis maxillam eius?
Can you put ropes through their noses [to control them] or thrust hooks through their jaws?
3 Numquid multiplicabit ad te preces, aut loquetur tibi mollia?
Will they plead with you to act mercifully toward them or (use sweet talk/speak to you nicely) [in order that you will not harm them]?
4 Numquid feriet tecum pactum, et accipies eum servum sempiternum?
Will they make an agreement with you to work for you, to be your slaves as long as they live?
5 Numquid illudes ei quasi avi, aut ligabis eum ancillis tuis?
Can you cause them to become pets like you cause birds to become your pets? Can you put a leash/rope around their [necks] so that your servant girls [can play with them]?
6 Concident eum amici, divident illum negotiatores?
Will merchants try to buy them [in the market]? Will they cut them up into pieces and sell the meat?
7 Numquid implebis sagenas pelle eius, et gurgustium piscium capite illius?
Can you pierce their skins by throwing fishing spears at them? Can you pierce their heads with a harpoon?
8 Pone super eum manum tuam: memento belli, nec ultra addas loqui.
If you grab one of them with your hands, it will fight you in a way that you will never forget, and you will never try to do it again!
9 Ecce, spes eius frustrabitur eum, et videntibus cunctis præcipitabitur.
It is useless to try to subdue them. Anyone who tries to subdue one of them will lose his courage.
10 Non quasi crudelis suscitabo eum: quis enim resistere potest vultui meo?
No one dares/tries to (arouse them/cause them to be angry). So, [since I am much more powerful than they are, ] (who would dare to cause me to be angry?/no one would dare to cause me to be angry!) [RHQ]
11 Quis ante dedit mihi, ut reddam ei? omnia quæ sub cælo sunt, mea sunt.
Also, everything on the earth is mine. Therefore, no one [RHQ] is able to give anything to me and require me to pay [money] for it!
12 Non parcam ei, et verbis potentibus, et ad deprecandum compositis.
I will tell you about [how strong] crocodiles' legs [are] and how strong their well-formed bodies are.
13 Quis revelabit faciem indumenti eius? et in medium oris eius quis intrabit?
(Can anyone strip off their hides?/No one is able to strip off their hides.) [RHQ] (Can anyone try to put bridles on them?/No one can try to put bridles on them.) [RHQ] (OR, Can anyone pierce their very thick hides?)
14 Portas vultus eius quis aperiet? per gyrum dentium eius formido.
(Can anyone pry open their jaws, which have terrible teeth in them?/No one can pry open their jaws, which have terrible teeth in them!) [RHQ]
15 Corpus illius quasi scuta fusilia, compactum squamis se prementibus.
They have rows of scales on their back which are as hard as a rock (OR, tightly fastened together).
16 Una uni coniungitur, et ne spiraculum quidem incedit per eas:
The scales are very close together, with the result that not even air can get between them.
17 Una alteri adhærebit, et tenentes se nequaquam separabuntur.
The scales are joined very closely to each other, and they cannot be separated.
18 Sternutatio eius splendor ignis, et oculi eius, ut palpebræ diluculi.
When crocodiles sneeze, [the tiny drops of water that come out of their noses] sparkle in the sunlight. Their eyes are red like the rising sun.
19 De ore eius lampades procedunt, sicut tædæ ignis accensæ.
[It is as though] sparks of fire pour out of their mouths [DOU].
20 De naribus eius procedit fumus, sicut ollæ succensæ atque ferventis.
Smoke pours out of their nostrils/noses like steam comes out of a pot that is put over a fire made from dry reeds.
21 Halitus eius prunas ardere facit, et flamma de ore eius egreditur.
Their breath can cause coals to blaze, and flames shoot out from their mouths.
22 In collo eius morabitur fortitudo, et faciem eius præcedit egestas.
Their necks are very strong; wherever they go, they cause people to be very afraid.
23 Membra carnium eius cohærentia sibi: mittet contra eum fulmina, et ad locum alium non ferentur.
The folds in their flesh are very close together and are very hard/firm.
24 Cor eius indurabitur tamquam lapis, et stringetur quasi malleatoris incus.
[They are fearless, because] the inner parts of their bodies are as hard as a rock, as hard as the lower millstone [on which grain is ground].
25 Cum sublatus fuerit, timebunt angeli, et territi purgabuntur.
When they rise up, they cause [even] very strong people to be terrified. As a result, people (fall back/run away) when crocodiles thrash around.
26 Cum apprehenderit eum gladius, subsitere non poterit neque hasta, neque thorax:
[People] [PRS] cannot injure them with swords, and spears or darts or javelins cannot injure them, either.
27 Reputabit enim quasi paleas ferrum, et quasi lignum putridum, æs.
They [certainly are not afraid of weapons made of] straw or rotten wood, but [they are not even afraid of weapons made of] iron or bronze!
28 Non fugabit eum vir sagittarius, in stipulam versi sunt ei lapides fundæ.
[Shooting] arrows [at them] does not cause them to run away. [Hurling] stones at them from a sling is like [hurling] bits of chaff at them.
29 Quasi stipulam æstimabit malleum, et deridebit vibrantem hastam.
They are not afraid of clubs [any more than they would be afraid of men throwing] bits of straw [at them], and they laugh when they hear the whirl/sound of javelins [being thrown at them].
30 Sub ipso erunt radii solis, et sternet sibi aurum quasi lutum.
Their bellies are covered with scales that are as sharp as broken pieces of pottery. When they drag themselves through the mud, their bellies tear up the ground like a plow.
31 Fervescere faciet quasi ollam profundum mare, et ponet quasi cum unguenta bulliunt.
They stir up the water and cause it to foam [as they churn/swim through it].
32 Post eum lucebit semita, æstimabit abyssum quasi senescentem.
As they go through the water, the (wakes/trails in the water behind them) glisten. People [who see it] would think that the foam in those wakes had become white hair.
33 Non est super terram potestas, quæ comparetur ei, qui factus est ut nullum timeret.
There are no creatures on earth that are as fearless as crocodiles.
34 Omne sublime videt, ipse est rex super universos filios superbiæ.
They are the proudest of all the creatures; [it is as though] they [rule like] kings over all the other wild animals.”
