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41 <1> "Can you catch Leviathan[109] with a fishhook?
Can you tie his tongue with a rope?
<2> Can you put a rope through his nose,
or a hook through his jaw?
<3> Will Leviathan beg you to let him go free?
Will he speak to you with gentle words?
<4> Will he make an agreement with you
and promise to serve you forever?
<5> Will you play with Leviathan
as you would play with a bird?
Will you put a rope on him
so your servant girls can play with him?
<6> Will fishermen try to buy
him from you?
Will they cut him into pieces
and sell him to the merchants[110]?
<7> Can you throw spears
into his skin or head?
<8> "If you ever lay a hand on Leviathan,
you will never do it again!
Just think about the battle that would be!
<9> Do you think you can defeat him?
Well, forget it!
There is no hope!
Just looking at him will scare you!
<10> No one is brave enough to wake him up
and make him angry.
"Well, no one can challenge me either![111]
<11> I owe nothing to anyone.
Everything under heaven belongs to me.[112]
<12> "I will tell you about Leviathan's legs,
his strength and graceful shape.
<13> No one can pierce his skin.
His skin is like armor![113]
<14> No one can force him to open his jaws.
The teeth in his mouth scare people.
<15> His back has rows of shields
tightly sealed together.
<16> The shields are so close to each other
that no air can pass between them.
<17> The shields are joined to each other.
They hold together so tightly
that they cannot be pulled apart.
<18> When Leviathan sneezes,
it is like lightning flashing out.
His eyes shine like the light of dawn.
<19> Burning torches come out from his mouth.
Sparks of fire shoot out.
<20> Smoke pours from his nose
like burning weeds under a boiling pot.
<21> His breath makes coals burn,
and flames shoot from his mouth.
<22> His neck is very powerful.
People are afraid and run away from him.
<23> There is no soft spot in his skin.
It is hard like iron.
<24> His heart is like a rock;
he has no fear.
It is hard like a lower millstone.[114]
<25> When he gets up,
strong people[115] are afraid.
They run away
when he swings his tail.
<26> Swords, spears, and darts hit him,
but they only bounce off.
These weapons don't hurt him at all!
<27> He breaks iron as easily as straw.
He breaks bronze like rotten wood.
<28> Arrows don't make him run away.
Rocks bounce off him like straw.
<29> When a wood club hits him,
it feels like a piece of straw to him.
He laughs when men throw spears at him.
<30> The skin on his belly
is like sharp pieces of broken pottery.
He leaves tracks in the mud
like a threshing[116] board.
<31> He stirs up the water like a boiling pot.
He makes it bubble like a pot of boiling oil.
<32> When he swims,
he leaves a path behind himself.
He stirs up the water,
and leaves white foam behind him.
<33> No animal on earth is like him.
He is an animal made without fear.
<34> He looks down on the proudest of animals.
He is king over all the wild animals.
[And I, the Lord, made Leviathan!]"
© Copyright 2004 World Bible Translation Center.