Job 41

Leviathan’s Untouchable Power

1 “Can you pull in Leviathan with a fishhook, or tie down his tongue with a rope,

2 Can you put a cord through his nose or pierce his jaw with a hook,

3 Will he keep begging you for mercy, Will he speak gentle words to you,

4 Will he make an agreement with you so you can take him as a servant for life,

5 Can you make him a pet, like a bird, or put him on a leash for your girls,

6 Will traders bargain for him, Will merchants divide him up among themselves,

7 Can you fill his skin with harpoons or his head with fishing spears,

8 If you lay a hand on him, you will remember the struggle and never try again!”

No One Can Stand Against Leviathan

9 “Any hope of subduing him is false; just the sight of him overwhelms.

10 No one is fierce enough to rouse him. Who then is able to stand against Me,

11 Who has a claim against Me that I must pay, Everything under heaven belongs to Me.”

Leviathan’s Fearsome Appearance

12 “I will not fail to speak of his limbs, his strength, and his graceful form.

13 Who can strip off his outer coat, Who can penetrate his double armor,

14 Who dares open the doors of his mouth, ringed with terrifying teeth,

15 His back has rows of shields tightly sealed together;

16 Each so close to the next that no air can pass between.

17 They are joined fast to one another, locked and inseparable.

18 His snorting throws out flashes of light; his eyes glow like the rays of dawn.

19 Firebrands stream from his mouth; sparks of fire shoot out.

20 Smoke pours from his nostrils as from a boiling pot over burning reeds.

21 His breath sets coals ablaze, flames dart from his mouth.

22 Strength resides in his neck; terror dances before him.

23 The folds of his flesh are tightly joined, firm and immovable.

24 His chest is hard as rock, hard as a lower millstone.”

Leviathan’s Invincible Power

25 “When he rises up, the mighty are terrified; they retreat before his thrashing.

26 The sword that reaches him has no effect, nor does the spear or dart or javelin.

27 Iron he treats like straw and bronze like rotten wood.

28 Arrows do not make him flee; slingstones are like chaff to him.

29 A club seems to him like a piece of straw; he laughs at the rattling of the lance.

30 His undersides are jagged potsherds, leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing sledge.

31 He makes the depths churn like a boiling caldron and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment.

32 He leaves a glistening wake behind him; one would think the deep had white hair.

33 Nothing on earth is his equal, he has made to be fearless.

34 He looks down on all the proud; he is king over all the wild beasts of pride.”