| King James Version (KJV) |
New International Version (NIV) |
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1 Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down ?
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1 "Can you pull in the leviathan with a fishhook or tie down his tongue with a rope?
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2 Canst thou put an hook into his nose? or bore his jaw through with a thorn?
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2 Can you put a cord through his nose or pierce his jaw with a hook?
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3 Will he make many supplications unto thee? will he speak soft words unto thee?
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3 Will he keep begging you for mercy? Will he speak to you with gentle words?
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4 Will he make a covenant with thee? wilt thou take him for a servant for ever?
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4 Will he make an agreement with you for you to take him as your slave for life?
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5 Wilt thou play with him as with a bird? or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens?
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5 Can you make a pet of him like a bird or put him on a leash for your girls?
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6 Shall the companions make a banquet of him? shall they part him among the merchants?
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6 Will traders barter for him? Will they divide him up among the merchants?
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7 Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons? or his head with fish spears?
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7 Can you fill his hide with harpoons or his head with fishing spears?
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8 Lay thine hand upon him, remember the battle, do no more .
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8 If you lay a hand on him, you will remember the struggle and never do it again!
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9 Behold, the hope of him is in vain : shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him?
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9 Any hope of subduing him is false; the mere sight of him is overpowering.
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10 None is so fierce that dare stir him up : who then is able to stand before me?
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10 No one is fierce enough to rouse him. Who then is able to stand against me?
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11 Who hath prevented me, that I should repay him? whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine.
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11 Who has a claim against me that I must pay? Everything under heaven belongs to me.
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12 I will not conceal his parts, nor his power , nor his comely proportion.
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12 "I will not fail to speak of his limbs, his strength and his graceful form.
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13 Who can discover the face of his garment? or who can come to him with his double bridle?
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13 Who can strip off his outer coat? Who would approach him with a bridle?
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14 Who can open the doors of his face? his teeth are terrible round about.
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14 Who dares open the doors of his mouth, ringed about with his fearsome teeth?
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15 His scales are his pride, shut up together as with a close seal.
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15 His back has rows of shields tightly sealed together;
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16 One is so near to another, that no air can come between them.
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16 each is so close to the next that no air can pass between.
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17 They are joined one to another, they stick together , that they cannot be sundered .
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17 They are joined fast to one another; they cling together and cannot be parted.
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18 By his neesings a light doth shine , and his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.
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18 His snorting throws out flashes of light; his eyes are like the rays of dawn.
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19 Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out .
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19 Firebrands stream from his mouth; sparks of fire shoot out.
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20 Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, as out of a seething pot or caldron.
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20 Smoke pours from his nostrils as from a boiling pot over a fire of reeds.
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21 His breath kindleth coals, and a flame goeth out of his mouth.
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21 His breath sets coals ablaze, and flames dart from his mouth.
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22 In his neck remaineth strength, and sorrow is turned into joy before him.
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22 Strength resides in his neck; dismay goes before him.
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23 The flakes of his flesh are joined together : they are firm in themselves; they cannot be moved .
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23 The folds of his flesh are tightly joined; they are firm and immovable.
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24 His heart is as firm as a stone; yea, as hard as a piece of the nether millstone.
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24 His chest is hard as rock, hard as a lower millstone.
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25 When he raiseth up himself, the mighty are afraid : by reason of breakings they purify themselves.
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25 When he rises up, the mighty are terrified; they retreat before his thrashing.
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26 The sword of him that layeth at him cannot hold : the spear, the dart, nor the habergeon.
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26 The sword that reaches him has no effect, nor does the spear or the dart or the javelin.
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27 He esteemeth iron as straw, and brass as rotten wood.
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27 Iron he treats like straw and bronze like rotten wood.
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28 The arrow cannot make him flee : slingstones are turned with him into stubble.
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28 Arrows do not make him flee; slingstones are like chaff to him.
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29 Darts are counted as stubble: he laugheth at the shaking of a spear.
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29 A club seems to him but a piece of straw; he laughs at the rattling of the lance.
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30 Sharp stones are under him: he spreadeth sharp pointed things upon the mire.
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30 His undersides are jagged potsherds, leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing sledge.
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31 He maketh the deep to boil like a pot: he maketh the sea like a pot of ointment.
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31 He makes the depths churn like a boiling caldron and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment.
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32 He maketh a path to shine after him; one would think the deep to be hoary.
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32 Behind him he leaves a glistening wake; one would think the deep had white hair.
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33 Upon earth there is not his like, who is made without fear.
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33 Nothing on earth is his equal-- a creature without fear.
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34 He beholdeth all high things: he is a king over all the children of pride.
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34 He looks down on all that are haughty; he is king over all that are proud."
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| The King James Version is in the public domain. (The King James Bible Version Online) |
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide. (New International Version Bible Online) |
