1“Can you draw out Leviathan41:1 A large sea creature, exact identity unknown with a hook,
Or snare his tongue with a line which you lower?
2Can you put a reed through his nose,
Or pierce his jaw with a 41:2 thornhook?
3Will he make many supplications to you?
Will he speak softly to you?
4Will he make a covenant with you?
Will you take him as a servant forever?
5Will you play with him as with a bird,
Or will you leash him for your maidens?
Will they apportion him among the merchants?
7Can you fill his skin with harpoons,
Or his head with fishing spears?
8Lay your hand on him;
Remember the battle—
Never do it again!
Shall one not be overwhelmed at the sight of him?
10No one is so fierce that he would dare stir him up.
Who then is able to stand against Me?
11Who has preceded Me, that I should pay him?
Everything under heaven is Mine.
12“I will not 41:12 Lit. keep silent aboutconceal his limbs,
His mighty power, or his graceful proportions.
13Who can 41:13 Lit. take off the face of his garmentremove his outer coat?
Who can approach him with a double bridle?
14Who can open the doors of his face,
With his terrible teeth all around?
Shut up tightly as with a seal;
16One is so near another
That no air can come between them;
17They are joined one to another,
They stick together and cannot be parted.
18His sneezings flash forth light,
And his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.
19Out of his mouth go burning lights;
Sparks of fire shoot out.
20Smoke goes out of his nostrils,
As from a boiling pot and burning rushes.
21His breath kindles coals,
And a flame goes out of his mouth.
22Strength dwells in his neck,
And 41:22 despairsorrow dances before him.
23The folds of his flesh are joined together;
They are firm on him and cannot be moved.
24His heart is as hard as stone,
Even as hard as the lower millstone.
25When he raises himself up, the mighty are afraid;
Because of his crashings they 41:25 Or purify themselvesare beside themselves.
26Though the sword reaches him, it cannot avail;
Nor does spear, dart, or javelin.
27He regards iron as straw,
And bronze as rotten wood.
28The arrow cannot make him flee;
Slingstones become like stubble to him.
29Darts are regarded as straw;
He laughs at the threat of javelins.
30His undersides are like sharp potsherds;
He spreads pointed marks in the mire.
31He makes the deep boil like a pot;
He makes the sea like a pot of ointment.
32He leaves a shining wake behind him;
One would think the deep had white hair.
33On earth there is nothing like him,
Which is made without fear.
34He beholds every high thing;
He is king over all the children of pride.”
New King James Version®, Copyright© 1982, Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
