Job 41

1 Can you draw out Leviathan with a hook, Or snare his tongue with a line which you lower?2 Can you put a reed through his nose, Or pierce his jaw with a hook?3 Will he make many supplications to you? Will he speak softly to you?4 Will he make a covenant with you? Will you take him as a servant forever?5 Will you play with him as with a bird, Or will you leash him for your maidens?6 Will your companions make a banquet of him? Will they apportion him among the merchants?7 Can you fill his skin with harpoons, Or his head with fishing spears?8 Lay your hand on him; Remember the battle Never do it again!9 Indeed, any hope of overcoming him is false; Shall one not be overwhelmed at the sight of him?10 No one is so fierce that he would dare stir him up. Who then is able to stand against Me?11 Who has preceded Me, that I should pay him? Everything under heaven is Mine.12 I will not conceal his limbs, His mighty power, or his graceful proportions.13 Who can remove his outer coat? Who can approach him with a double bridle?14 Who can open the doors of his face, With his terrible teeth all around?15  His rows of scales are his pride, Shut up tightly as with a seal;16 One is so near another That no air can come between them;17 They are joined one to another, They stick together and cannot be parted.18 His sneezings flash forth light, And his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.19 Out of his mouth go burning lights; Sparks of fire shoot out.20 Smoke goes out of his nostrils, As from a boiling pot and burning rushes.21 His breath kindles coals, And a flame goes out of his mouth.22 Strength dwells in his neck, And sorrow dances before him.23 The folds of his flesh are joined together; They are firm on him and cannot be moved.24 His heart is as hard as stone, Even as hard as the lower millstone. 25 When he raises himself up, the mighty are afraid; Because of his crashings they are beside themselves.26  Though the sword reaches him, it cannot avail; Nor does spear, dart, or javelin.27 He regards iron as straw, And bronze as rotten wood.28 The arrow cannot make him flee; Slingstones become like stubble to him.29 Darts are regarded as straw; He laughs at the threat of javelins.30 His undersides are like sharp potsherds; He spreads pointed marks in the mire.31 He makes the deep boil like a pot; He makes the sea like a pot of ointment.32 He leaves a shining wake behind him; One would think the deep had white hair.33 On earth there is nothing like him, Which is made without fear.34 He beholds every high thing; He is king over all the children of pride.

JOB 41

The [Lord] Continues

Can You Catch //a Sea Monster?

1  t Can you catch a sea monstert
by using a fishhook?
Can you tie its mouth shut
with a rope?

2 Can it be led around
by a ring in its nose
or a hook in its jaw?

3 Will it beg for mercy?

4 Will it surrender
as a slave for life?

5 Can it be tied by the leg
like a pet bird
for little girls?

6 Is it ever chopped up
and its pieces bargained for
in the fish-market?

7 Can it be killed
with harpoons or spears?

8 Wrestle it just once—
that will be the end.

9 Merely a glimpse of this monster
makes all courage melt.

10 And if it is too fierce
for anyone to attack,
who would dare oppose me?

11 I am in command of the world
and in debt to no one.

12 What powerful legs,
what a stout body
this monster possesses!

13 Who could strip off its armor
or bring it under control
with a harness?

14 Who would try to open its jaws,
full of fearsome teeth?
*

15 Its backt is covered
with shield after shield,

16 firmly bound and closer together

17 than breath to breath.

When This Monster Sneezes

18 When this monster sneezes,
lightning flashes, and its eyes
glow like the dawn.

19 Sparks and fiery flames
explode from its mouth.

20 And smoke spews from its nose
like steam
from a boiling pot,

21 while its blazing breath
scorches everything in sight.

22 Its neck is so tremendous
that everyone trembles,

23 the weakest parts of its body
are harder than iron,

24 and its heart is stone.

25 When this noisy monster appears,
even the most powerfult
turn and run in fear.

26 No sword or spear can harm it,

27 and weapons of bronze or iron
are as useless as straw
or rotten wood.

28 Rocks thrown from a sling
cause it no more harm
than husks of grain.
This monster fears no arrows,

29 it simply smiles at spears,
and striking it with a stick
is like slapping it with straw.

30 As it crawls through the mud,
its sharp and spiny hide
tears the ground apart.

31 And when it swims down deep,
the sea starts churning
like boiling oil,

32 and it leaves behind a trail
of shining white foam.

33 No other creature on earth
is so fearless.

34 It is king of all proud creatures,
and it looks upon the others
as nothing.