Job 41:11-21

11 Who has a claim against me that I must pay? Everything under heaven belongs to me.

12 “I will not fail to speak of Leviathan’s limbs, its strength and its graceful form.

13 Who can strip off its outer coat? Who can penetrate its double coat of armor^[a] ?

14 Who dares open the doors of its mouth, ringed about with fearsome teeth?

15 Its back has^[b] rows of shields tightly sealed together;

16 each is so close to the next that no air can pass between.

17 They are joined fast to one another; they cling together and cannot be parted.

18 Its snorting throws out flashes of light; its eyes are like the rays of dawn.

19 Flames stream from its mouth; sparks of fire shoot out.

20 Smoke pours from its nostrils as from a boiling pot over burning reeds.

21 Its breath sets coals ablaze, and flames dart from its mouth.

Job 41:11-21 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JOB 41

A large description is here given of the leviathan, from the difficulty and danger of taking it, from whence it is inferred that none can stand before God, Job 41:1-10; from the several parts of him, his face, teeth, scales, eyes, mouth and neck, flesh and heart, Job 41:11-24; and from various wonderful terrible things said of him, and ascribed to him, Job 41:25-34.

Cross References

• 1. S Job 34:33; Romans 11:35
• 2. Exodus 19:5; Deuteronomy 10:14; Psalms 24:1; Psalms 50:12; S Joshua 3:11; S Job 10:4; Acts 4:24; 1 Corinthians 10:26
• 3. Job 40:18
• 4. S Job 39:11
• 5. S Job 30:11; S Job 39:10
• 6. Psalms 22:13
• 7. Job 40:17
• 8. S Job 3:9
• 9. Daniel 10:6
• 10. Psalms 18:8
• 11. S Job 4:9; Isaiah 11:4; Isaiah 40:7
• 12. Psalms 18:8; Isaiah 10:17; Isaiah 30:27; Isaiah 33:14; Isaiah 66:14-16; Jeremiah 4:4

Footnotes

• [a]. Septuagint; Hebrew "double bridle"
• [b]. Or "Its pride is its"