41:1 “Can you pull in the leviathan with a fishhook or tie down his tongue with a rope?
41:2 Can you put a cord through his nose or pierce his jaw with a hook?
41:3 Will he keep begging you for mercy? Will he speak to you with gentle words?
41:4 Will he make an agreement with you for you to take him as your slave for life?
41:5 Can you make a pet of him like a bird or put him on a leash for your girls?
41:6 Will traders barter for him? Will they divide him up among the merchants?
41:7 Can you fill his hide with harpoons or his head with fishing spears?
41:8 If you lay a hand on him, you will remember the struggle and never do it again!
41:9 Any hope of subduing him is false; the mere sight of him is overpowering.
41:10 No one is fierce enough to rouse him. Who then is able to stand against me?
41:11 Who has a claim against me that I must pay? Everything under heaven belongs to me.
41:12 “I will not fail to speak of his limbs, his strength and his graceful form.
41:13 Who can strip off his outer coat? Who would approach him with a bridle?
41:14 Who dares open the doors of his mouth, ringed about with his fearsome teeth?
41:15 His back has rows of shields tightly sealed together;
41:16 each is so close to the next that no air can pass between.
41:17 They are joined fast to one another; they cling together and cannot be parted.
41:18 His snorting throws out flashes of light; his eyes are like the rays of dawn.
41:19 Firebrands stream from his mouth; sparks of fire shoot out.
41:20 Smoke pours from his nostrils as from a boiling pot over a fire of reeds.
41:21 His breath sets coals ablaze, and flames dart from his mouth.
41:22 Strength resides in his neck; dismay goes before him.
41:23 The folds of his flesh are tightly joined; they are firm and immovable.
41:24 His chest is hard as rock, hard as a lower millstone.
41:25 When he rises up, the mighty are terrified; they retreat before his thrashing.
41:26 The sword that reaches him has no effect, nor does the spear or the dart or the javelin.
41:27 Iron he treats like straw and bronze like rotten wood.
41:28 Arrows do not make him flee; slingstones are like chaff to him.
41:29 A club seems to him but a piece of straw; he laughs at the rattling of the lance.
41:30 His undersides are jagged potsherds, leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing sledge.
41:31 He makes the depths churn like a boiling caldron and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment.
41:32 Behind him he leaves a glistening wake; one would think the deep had white hair.
41:33 Nothing on earth is his equal–a creature without fear.
41:34 He looks down on all that are haughty; he is king over all that are proud.”
41:1 Can you draw out leviathan with a hook, / Or press down his tongue with a cord?
41:2 Can you put a rope in his nose, / Or pierce his jaw with a hook?
41:3 Will he make many supplications unto you, / Or speak soft words to you?
41:4 Will he make a covenant with you / That you would take him as a servant forever?
41:5 Will you play with him as with a bird, / Or bind him for your maidens?
41:6 Will the traders bargain over him? / Will they divide him up among merchants?
41:7 Can you fill his skin with harpoons, / Or his head with fishing spears?
41:8 Lay your hand on him, / And remember the battle ? you will never do it again!
41:9 Indeed, any hope for him is vain; / Will not one be even cast down at the sight of him?
41:10 No one is so fierce as to stir him up; / Who then is he who would stand before Me?
41:11 Who has first given to Me that I should repay him? / Whatever is under the whole heaven is Mine.
41:12 I will not be silent about his limbs / Or about the account of his mighty deeds or about the beauty of his frame.
41:13 Who can strip off his outer garment? / Who can go within his double jaws?
41:14 Who can open the doors of his face? / Around his teeth is terror.
41:15 His pride is his rows of scales, / Shut up as with a tight seal.
41:16 One is so near the other / That the air cannot pass between them.
41:17 Each is joined to the other; / They stick together and cannot be separated.
41:18 His sneezes flash forth light, / And his eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn.
41:19 Out of his mouth go forth flaming torches; / Sparks of fire leap out.
41:20 Out of his nostrils comes smoke, / As from a boiling pot and burning rushes.
41:21 His breath kindles coals, / And a flame comes from his mouth.
41:22 In his neck abides strength, / And terror dances before him.
41:23 The folds of his flesh are joined together; / They are firm upon him and immovable.
41:24 His heart is as firm as stone, / Indeed as firm as the lower millstone.
41:25 At his rising up, the mighty fear; / They are beside themselves with consternation.
41:26 The sword that reaches him cannot avail, / Nor the spear, the dart, or the javelin.
41:27 He considers iron shafts as straw, / And bronze ones as rotted wood.
41:28 The arrow does not make him flee; / With him slingstones turn to stubble.
41:29 Clubs are considered as stubble; / He laughs at the quivering javelin.
41:30 His underparts are like sharp potsherds; / He spreads himself like a threshing sledge upon the mire.
41:31 He makes the deep boil like a cauldron; / He makes the sea like a pot of ointment.
41:32 Behind him he makes a shining wake; / One would think the deep to be white-haired.
41:33 On earth there is none his equal, / Who is made without fear.
41:34 He beholds everything that is high; / He is king over all the sons of pride.