Job 41
1 But will you catch the serpent with a hook, and put a halter about his nose?
“[Think also about] (crocodiles/great sea dragons). Can you catch them with a fishhook or fasten their jaws with a rope?
2 Or will you fasten a ring in his nostril, and bore his lip with a clasp?
Can you put ropes through their noses [to control them] or thrust hooks through their jaws?
3 Will he address you with a petition? softly, with the voice of a suppliant?
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 And will he make a covenant with you? and will you take him for a perpetual servant?
Will they make an agreement with you to work for you, to be your slaves as long as they live?
5 And will you play with him as with a bird? or bind him as a sparrow for a child?
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 And do the nations feed upon him, and the nations of the Phoenicians share him?
Will merchants try to buy them [in the market]? Will they cut them up into pieces and sell the meat?
7 And all the ships come together would not be able to bear the mere skin of his tail; neither [shall they carry] his head in fishing vessels.
Can you pierce their skins by throwing fishing spears at them? Can you pierce their heads with a harpoon?
8 But you shall lay your hand upon him [once], remembering the war that is waged by his mouth; and let it not be done any more.
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 Hast you not seen him? and have you not wondered at the things said [of him]?
It is useless to try to subdue them. Anyone who tries to subdue one of them will lose his courage.
10 Do you not fear because preparation has been made by me? for who is there that resists 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 Or who will resist me, and abide, since the whole [world] 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 will not be silent because of him: though because of his power [one] shall pity his antagonist.
I will tell you about [how strong] crocodiles' legs [are] and how strong their well-formed bodies are.
13 Who will open the face of his garment? and who can enter within the fold of his breastplate?
(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 will open the doors of his face? terror is round about his 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 inwards are as brazen plates, and the texture of his [skin] as a smyrite stone.
They have rows of scales on their back which are as hard as a rock (OR, tightly fastened together).
16 One [part] cleaves fast to another, and the air can’t come between them.
The scales are very close together, with the result that not even air can get between them.
17 They will remain united each to the other: they are closely joined, and can’t be separated.
The scales are joined very closely to each other, and they cannot be separated.
18 At his sneezing a light shines, and his eyes are [as] the appearance of the morning star.
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 Out of his mouth proceed as it were burning lamps, and as it were hearths of fire are cast abroad.
[It is as though] sparks of fire pour out of their mouths [DOU].
20 Out of his nostrils proceeds smoke of a furnace burning with fire of coals.
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 is [as] live coals, and a flame goes out of his mouth.
Their breath can cause coals to blaze, and flames shoot out from their mouths.
22 And power is lodged in his neck, before him destruction runs.
Their necks are very strong; wherever they go, they cause people to be very afraid.
23 The flesh also of his body is joined together: [if one] pours [violence] upon him, he shall not be moved.
The folds in their flesh are very close together and are very hard/firm.
24 His heart is firm as a stone, and it stands like an unyielding anvil.
[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 And when he turns, [he is] a terror to the four-footed wild beasts which leap upon the earth.
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 If spears should come against him, [men] will effect nothing, [either with] the spear or the breast-plate.
[People] [PRS] cannot injure them with swords, and spears or darts or javelins cannot injure them, either.
27 For he considers iron as chaff, and brass 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 The bow of brass shall not would him, he deems a slinger as grass.
[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 Mauls are counted as stubble; and he laughs to scorn the waving of the firebrand.
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 lair is [formed of] sharp points; and all the gold of the sea under him is an immense [quantity of] clay.
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 deep boil like a brazen cauldron; and he regards the sea as a pot of ointment,
They stir up the water and cause it to foam [as they churn/swim through it].
32 and the lowest part of the deep as a captive: he reckons the deep as [his] range.
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 There is nothing upon the earth like to him, formed to be sported with by my angels.
There are no creatures on earth that are as fearless as crocodiles.
34 He beholds every high thing: and he is king of all that are in the waters.
They are the proudest of all the creatures; [it is as though] they [rule like] kings over all the other wild animals.”
