Job 41
1 “[Think also about] (crocodiles/great sea dragons). Can you catch them with a fishhook or fasten their jaws with a rope?
Can you draw out the leviathan with a hook, and can you bind his tongue with a cord?
2 Can you put ropes through their noses [to control them] or thrust hooks through their jaws?
Can you place a ring in his nose, or bore through his jaw with an arm band?
3 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]?
Will he offer many prayers to you, or speak to you quietly?
4 Will they make an agreement with you to work for you, to be your slaves as long as they live?
Will he form a covenant with you, and will you accept him as a servant forever?
5 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]?
Will you play with him as with a bird, or tether him for your handmaids?
6 Will merchants try to buy them [in the market]? Will they cut them up into pieces and sell the meat?
Will your friends cut him into pieces, will dealers distribute him?
7 Can you pierce their skins by throwing fishing spears at them? Can you pierce their heads with a harpoon?
Will you fill up bags with his hide, and let his head be used as a home for fishes?
8 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!
Place your hand upon him; remember the battle and speak no more.
9 It is useless to try to subdue them. Anyone who tries to subdue one of them will lose his courage.
Behold, his hope will fail him, and in the sight of all, he will be thrown down.
10 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]
I will not rouse him, as the cruel would do, for who is able to withstand my countenance?
11 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!
Who has given to me beforehand, so that I should repay him? All things that are under heaven are mine.
12 I will tell you about [how strong] crocodiles' legs [are] and how strong their well-formed bodies are.
I will not spare him, nor his powerful words and counterfeit attempts at supplication.
13 (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?)
Who can reveal the beauty of his garment? And who can enter the middle of his mouth?
14 (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]
Who can open the doors of his face? I gave fear to the circle of his teeth.
15 They have rows of scales on their back which are as hard as a rock (OR, tightly fastened together).
His body is like shields fused together, like dense scales pressed over one another.
16 The scales are very close together, with the result that not even air can get between them.
One is joined to another, and not even air can pass between them.
17 The scales are joined very closely to each other, and they cannot be separated.
They adhere to one another, and they hold themselves in place and will not be separated.
18 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.
His sneezing has the brilliance of fire, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.
19 [It is as though] sparks of fire pour out of their mouths [DOU].
Lamps proceed from his mouth, like torches of fire burning brightly.
20 Smoke pours out of their nostrils/noses like steam comes out of a pot that is put over a fire made from dry reeds.
Smoke passes out of his nostrils, like a pot that is heated and boiling.
21 Their breath can cause coals to blaze, and flames shoot out from their mouths.
His breath causes coal to burn, and a flame comes forth from his mouth.
22 Their necks are very strong; wherever they go, they cause people to be very afraid.
Strength dwells in his neck, and destitution goes before his presence.
23 The folds in their flesh are very close together and are very hard/firm.
The parts of his body work in harmony together. He will send lightning bolts against him, and they will not be carried to another place.
24 [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].
His heart will be as hard as a stone and as dense as a blacksmith’s anvil.
25 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.
When he will be raised up, the angels will be afraid, and, because they are terrified, they will purify themselves.
26 [People] [PRS] cannot injure them with swords, and spears or darts or javelins cannot injure them, either.
When a sword catches up with him, it will not be able to settle in, nor a spear, nor a breastplate.
27 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!
For he will consider iron as if it were chaff, and brass as if it were rotten wood.
28 [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.
The archer will not cause him to flee; the stones of the sling have been turned into stubble for him.
29 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].
He will treat the hammer as if it were stubble, and he will ridicule those who brandish the spear.
30 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.
The beams of the sun will be under him, and he will dispense gold to them as if it were clay.
31 They stir up the water and cause it to foam [as they churn/swim through it].
He will make the depths of the sea boil like a pot, and he will set it to bubble just as ointments do.
32 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.
A path will shine after him; he will esteem the abyss as if it were weakening with age.
33 There are no creatures on earth that are as fearless as crocodiles.
There is no power on the earth that is being compared to him, who has been made so that he fears no one.
34 They are the proudest of all the creatures; [it is as though] they [rule like] kings over all the other wild animals.”
He sees every prominent thing; he is king over all the sons of arrogance.
