Job 41
1 “Can you pull in Leviathan with a hook or tie down his tongue with a rope?
“[Think also about] (crocodiles/great sea dragons). Can you catch them with a fishhook or fasten their jaws with a rope?
2 Can you put a cord through his nose or pierce his jaw with a hook?
Can you put ropes through their noses [to control them] or thrust hooks through their jaws?
3 Will he beg you for mercy or speak to you softly?
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 Will he make a covenant with you to take him as a slave for life?
Will they make an agreement with you to work for you, to be your slaves as long as they live?
5 Can you pet him like a bird or put him on a leash for your maidens?
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 Will traders barter for him or divide him among the merchants?
Will merchants try to buy them [in the market]? Will they cut them up into pieces and sell the meat?
7 Can you fill his hide with harpoons or his head with fishing spears?
Can you pierce their skins by throwing fishing spears at them? Can you pierce their heads with a harpoon?
8 If you lay a hand on him, you will remember the battle and never repeat it!
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 Surely hope of overcoming him is false. Is not the sight of him overwhelming?
It is useless to try to subdue them. Anyone who tries to subdue one of them will lose his courage.
10 No one is so fierce as to rouse Leviathan. Then who is able to stand against Me?
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 Who has given to Me that I should repay him? Everything under heaven is Mine.
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 I cannot keep silent about his limbs, his power and graceful form.
I will tell you about [how strong] crocodiles' legs [are] and how strong their well-formed bodies are.
13 Who can strip off his outer coat? Who can approach him with a bridle?
(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 Who can open his jaws, ringed by his fearsome teeth?
(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 His rows of scales are his pride, tightly sealed together.
They have rows of scales on their back which are as hard as a rock (OR, tightly fastened together).
16 One scale is so near to another that no air can pass between them.
The scales are very close together, with the result that not even air can get between them.
17 They are joined to one another; they clasp and cannot be separated.
The scales are joined very closely to each other, and they cannot be separated.
18 His snorting flashes with light, and his eyes are like the rays of dawn.
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 Firebrands stream from his mouth; fiery sparks shoot forth!
[It is as though] sparks of fire pour out of their mouths [DOU].
20 Smoke billows from his nostrils as from a boiling pot over burning reeds.
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 His breath sets coals ablaze, and flames pour from his mouth.
Their breath can cause coals to blaze, and flames shoot out from their mouths.
22 Strength resides in his neck, and dismay leaps before him.
Their necks are very strong; wherever they go, they cause people to be very afraid.
23 The folds of his flesh are tightly joined; they are firm and immovable.
The folds in their flesh are very close together and are very hard/firm.
24 His chest is as hard as a rock, as hard as a lower millstone!
[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 When Leviathan rises up, the mighty are terrified; they withdraw before his thrashing.
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 The sword that reaches him has no effect, nor does the spear or dart or arrow.
[People] [PRS] cannot injure them with swords, and spears or darts or javelins cannot injure them, either.
27 He regards iron as straw and bronze as rotten wood.
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 No arrow can make him flee; slingstones become like chaff to him.
[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 A club is regarded as straw, and he laughs at the sound of the lance.
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 His undersides are jagged potsherds, spreading out the mud like a threshing sledge.
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 He makes the depths seethe like a cauldron; he makes the sea like a jar of ointment.
They stir up the water and cause it to foam [as they churn/swim through it].
32 He leaves a glistening wake behind him; one would think the deep had white hair!
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 Nothing on earth is his equal— a creature devoid of fear!
There are no creatures on earth that are as fearless as crocodiles.
34 He looks down on all the haughty; he is king over all the proud.”
They are the proudest of all the creatures; [it is as though] they [rule like] kings over all the other wild animals.”
