Job 41
1 Canst thou draw out leviathan with a fish-hook? 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 ring into his nose? or bore 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 a banquet 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; think upon the battle, thou wilt 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; shall 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 dare stir him up; who then is able to stand before Me?
Since no one has the courage to provoke Leviathan, who would dare to stand up against me?
11 Who hath given Me anything beforehand, 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 Would I keep silence concerning his boastings, or his proud talk, or his fair array of words?
Let me tell you about Leviathan: its powerful legs and graceful proportions.
13 Who can uncover the face of his garment? Who shall come within his double bridle?
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 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, 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 goeth smoke, as out of a seething 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 out of his mouth.
Its breath sets fire to charcoal as flames shoot from its mouth.
22 In his neck abideth strength, and dismay 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 despair 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 will not hold; nor the spear, the dart, nor the pointed shaft.
Swords just bounce off it, as do spears, darts, and javelins.
27 He esteemeth 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; slingstones are turned with him into stubble.
Arrows cannot make it run away; stones from slingshots are like pieces of stubble.
29 Clubs are accounted as stubble; he laugheth at the rattling of the javelin.
Clubs are also treated like stubble; it laughs at the sound made by flying spears.
30 Sharpest potsherds are under him; he spreadeth a threshing-sledge 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 seething mixture.
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, who is made to be fearless.
There is nothing on earth like it: a creature that has no fear.
34 He looketh at all high things; he is king over all the proud beasts.
It looks down on all other creatures. It is the proudest of all.”
