| New King James Version | New International Version |
| 1“Can you draw out Leviathan with a hook, Or snare his tongue with a line which you lower? | 1"Can you pull in Leviathan with a fishhook or tie down its tongue with a rope? |
| 2Can you put a reed through his nose, Or pierce his jaw with a hook? | 2Can you put a cord through its nose or pierce its jaw with a hook? |
| 3Will he make many supplications to you? Will he speak softly to you? | 3Will it keep begging you for mercy? Will it speak to you with gentle words? |
| 4Will he make a covenant with you? Will you take him as a servant forever? | 4Will it make an agreement with you for you to take it as your slave for life? |
| 5Will you play with him as with a bird, Or will you leash him for your maidens? | 5Can you make a pet of it like a bird or put it on a leash for the young women in your house? |
| 6Will your companions make a banquet of him? Will they apportion him among the merchants? | 6Will traders barter for it? Will they divide it up among the merchants? |
| 7Can you fill his skin with harpoons, Or his head with fishing spears? | 7Can you fill its hide with harpoons or its head with fishing spears? |
| 8Lay your hand on him; Remember the battle— Never do it again! | 8If you lay a hand on it, you will remember the struggle and never do it again! |
| 9Indeed, any hope of overcoming him is false; Shall one not be overwhelmed at the sight of him? | 9Any hope of subduing it is false; the mere sight of it is overpowering. |
| 10No one is so fierce that he would dare stir him up. Who then is able to stand against Me? | 10No one is fierce enough to rouse it. Who then is able to stand against me? |
| 11Who has preceded Me, that I should pay him? Everything under heaven is Mine. | 11Who has a claim against me that I must pay? Everything under heaven belongs to me. |
| 12“I will not conceal his limbs, His mighty power, or his graceful proportions. | 12"I will not fail to speak of Leviathan's limbs, its strength and its graceful form. |
| 13Who can remove his outer coat? Who can approach him with a double bridle? | 13Who can strip off its outer coat? Who can penetrate its double coat of armor? |
| 14Who can open the doors of his face, With his terrible teeth all around? | 14Who dares open the doors of its mouth, ringed about with fearsome teeth? |
| 15His rows of scales are his pride, Shut up tightly as with a seal; | 15Its back has rows of shields tightly sealed together; |
| 16One is so near another That no air can come between them; | 16each is so close to the next that no air can pass between. |
| 17They are joined one to another, They stick together and cannot be parted. | 17They are joined fast to one another; they cling together and cannot be parted. |
| 18His sneezings flash forth light, And his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning. | 18Its snorting throws out flashes of light; its eyes are like the rays of dawn. |
| 19Out of his mouth go burning lights; Sparks of fire shoot out. | 19Flames stream from its mouth; sparks of fire shoot out. |
| 20Smoke goes out of his nostrils, As from a boiling pot and burning rushes. | 20Smoke pours from its nostrils as from a boiling pot over burning reeds. |
| 21His breath kindles coals, And a flame goes out of his mouth. | 21Its breath sets coals ablaze, and flames dart from its mouth. |
| 22Strength dwells in his neck, And sorrow dances before him. | 22Strength resides in its neck; dismay goes before it. |
| 23The folds of his flesh are joined together; They are firm on him and cannot be moved. | 23The folds of its flesh are tightly joined; they are firm and immovable. |
| 24His heart is as hard as stone, Even as hard as the lower millstone. | 24Its chest is hard as rock, hard as a lower millstone. |
| 25When he raises himself up, the mighty are afraid; Because of his crashings they are beside themselves. | 25When it rises up, the mighty are terrified; they retreat before its thrashing. |
| 26Though the sword reaches him, it cannot avail; Nor does spear, dart, or javelin. | 26The sword that reaches it has no effect, nor does the spear or the dart or the javelin. |
| 27He regards iron as straw, And bronze as rotten wood. | 27Iron it treats like straw and bronze like rotten wood. |
| 28The arrow cannot make him flee; Slingstones become like stubble to him. | 28Arrows do not make it flee; slingstones are like chaff to it. |
| 29Darts are regarded as straw; He laughs at the threat of javelins. | 29A club seems to it but a piece of straw; it laughs at the rattling of the lance. |
| 30His undersides are like sharp potsherds; He spreads pointed marks in the mire. | 30Its undersides are jagged potsherds, leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing sledge. |
| 31He makes the deep boil like a pot; He makes the sea like a pot of ointment. | 31It makes the depths churn like a boiling caldron and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment. |
| 32He leaves a shining wake behind him; One would think the deep had white hair. | 32It leaves a glistening wake behind it; one would think the deep had white hair. |
| 33On earth there is nothing like him, Which is made without fear. | 33Nothing on earth is its equal-- a creature without fear. |
| 34He beholds every high thing; He is king over all the children of pride.” | 34It looks down on all that are haughty; it is king over all that are proud." |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. |
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