Job 41 Parallel Bible Translations

Job 41 ▼
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1 “Can you catch Leviathan with a hook or put a noose around its jaw? “Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook or press down his tongue with a cord? “Can you pull in Leviathan with a fishhook or tie down its tongue with a rope?
2 Can you tie it with a rope through the nose or pierce its jaw with a spike? Can you put a rope in his nose or pierce his jaw with a hook? Can you put a cord through its nose or pierce its jaw with a hook?
3 Will it beg you for mercy or implore you for pity? Will he make many pleas to you? Will he speak to you soft words? Will it keep begging you for mercy? Will it speak to you with gentle words?
4 Will it agree to work for you, to be your slave for life? Will he make a covenant with you to take him for your servant forever? Will it make an agreement with you for you to take it as your slave for life?
5 Can you make it a pet like a bird, or give it to your little girls to play with? Will you play with him as with a bird, or will you put him on a leash for your girls? Can you make a pet of it like a bird or put it on a leash for the young women in your house?
6 Will merchants try to buy it to sell it in their shops? Will traders bargain over him? Will they divide him up among the merchants? Will traders barter for it? Will they divide it up among the merchants?
7 Will its hide be hurt by spears or its head by a harpoon? Can you fill his skin with harpoons or his head with fishing spears? Can you fill its hide with harpoons or its head with fishing spears?
8 If you lay a hand on it, you will certainly remember the battle that follows. You won’t try that again! Lay your hands on him; remember the battle—you will not do it again! If you lay a hand on it, you will remember the struggle and never do it again!
9 No, it is useless to try to capture it. The hunter who attempts it will be knocked down. Behold, the hope of a man is false; he is laid low even at the sight of him. Any hope of subduing it is false; the mere sight of it is overpowering.
10 And since no one dares to disturb it, who then can stand up to me? No one is so fierce that he dares to stir him up. Who then is he who can stand before me? No one is fierce enough to rouse it. Who then is able to stand against me?
11 Who has given me anything that I need to pay back? Everything under heaven is mine. Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine. Who has a claim against me that I must pay? Everything under heaven belongs to me.
12 “I want to emphasize Leviathan’s limbs and its enormous strength and graceful form. “I will not keep silence concerning his limbs, or his mighty strength, or his goodly frame. “I will not fail to speak of Leviathan’s limbs, its strength and its graceful form.
13 Who can strip off its hide, and who can penetrate its double layer of armor? Who can strip off his outer garment? Who would come near him with a bridle? Who can strip off its outer coat? Who can penetrate its double coat of armor?
14 Who could pry open its jaws? For its teeth are terrible! Who can open the doors of his face? Around his teeth is terror. Who dares open the doors of its mouth, ringed about with fearsome teeth?
15 The scales on its back are like rows of shields tightly sealed together. His back is made of rows of shields, shut up closely as with a seal. Its back has rows of shields tightly sealed together;
16 They are so close together that no air can get between them. One is so near to another that no air can come between them. each is so close to the next that no air can pass between.
17 Each scale sticks tight to the next. They interlock and cannot be penetrated. They are joined one to another; they clasp each other and cannot be separated. They are joined fast to one another; they cling together and cannot be parted.
18 “When it sneezes, it flashes light! Its eyes are like the red of dawn. His sneezings flash forth light, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn. Its snorting throws out flashes of light; its eyes are like the rays of dawn.
19 Lightning leaps from its mouth; flames of fire flash out. Out of his mouth go flaming torches; sparks of fire leap forth. Flames stream from its mouth; sparks of fire shoot out.
20 Smoke streams from its nostrils like steam from a pot heated over burning rushes. Out of his nostrils comes forth smoke, as from a boiling pot and burning rushes. Smoke pours from its nostrils as from a boiling pot over burning reeds.
21 Its breath would kindle coals, for flames shoot from its mouth. His breath kindles coals, and a flame comes forth from his mouth. Its breath sets coals ablaze, and flames dart from its mouth.
22 “The tremendous strength in Leviathan’s neck strikes terror wherever it goes. In his neck abides strength, and terror dances before him. Strength resides in its neck; dismay goes before it.
23 Its flesh is hard and firm and cannot be penetrated. The folds of his flesh stick together, firmly cast on him and immovable. The folds of its flesh are tightly joined; they are firm and immovable.
24 Its heart is hard as rock, hard as a millstone. His heart is hard as a stone, hard as the lower millstone. Its chest is hard as rock, hard as a lower millstone.
25 When it rises, the mighty are afraid, gripped by terror. When he raises himself up, the mighty are afraid; at the crashing they are beside themselves. When it rises up, the mighty are terrified; they retreat before its thrashing.
26 No sword can stop it, no spear, dart, or javelin. Though the sword reaches him, it does not avail, nor the spear, the dart, or the javelin. The sword that reaches it has no effect, nor does the spear or the dart or the javelin.
27 Iron is nothing but straw to that creature, and bronze is like rotten wood. He counts iron as straw, and bronze as rotten wood. Iron it treats like straw and bronze like rotten wood.
28 Arrows cannot make it flee. Stones shot from a sling are like bits of grass. The arrow cannot make him flee; for him, sling stones are turned to stubble. Arrows do not make it flee; slingstones are like chaff to it.
29 Clubs are like a blade of grass, and it laughs at the swish of javelins. Clubs are counted as stubble; he laughs at the rattle of javelins. A club seems to it but a piece of straw; it laughs at the rattling of the lance.
30 Its belly is covered with scales as sharp as glass. It plows up the ground as it drags through the mud. His underparts are like sharp potsherds; he spreads himself like a threshing sledge on the mire. Its undersides are jagged potsherds, leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing sledge.
31 “Leviathan makes the water boil with its commotion. It stirs the depths like a pot of ointment. He makes the deep boil like a pot; he makes the sea like a pot of ointment. It makes the depths churn like a boiling caldron and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment.
32 The water glistens in its wake, making the sea look white. Behind him he leaves a shining wake; one would think the deep to be white-haired. It leaves a glistening wake behind it; one would think the deep had white hair.
33 Nothing on earth is its equal, no other creature so fearless. On earth there is not his like, a creature without fear. Nothing on earth is its equal— a creature without fear.
34 Of all the creatures, it is the proudest. It is the king of beasts.” He sees everything that is high; he is king over all the sons of pride.” It looks down on all that are haughty; it is king over all that are proud.”
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