Job 41:2

2 Can you put a cord through its nose or pierce its jaw with a hook?

Job 41:2 in Other Translations

2 Canst thou put an hook into his nose? or bore his jaw through with a thorn?

2 Can you put a rope in his nose or pierce his jaw with a hook?

2 Can you tie it with a rope through the nose or pierce its jaw with a spike?

2 Can you lasso him with a rope, or snag him with an anchor?

2 Can you put a cord through his nose or pierce his jaw with a hook?

Job 41:2 Meaning and Commentary

Job 41:2

Canst thou put an hook into his nose?
&c.] Or a rush, that is, a rope made of rushes; for of such ropes were made, as Pliny ^F7 affirms;

or bore his jaw through with a thorn?
as men do herrings, or such like small fish, for the convenience of carrying them, or hanging them up to dry; the whale is not to be used in such a manner: but the Tentyritae, a people in Egypt, great enemies to crocodiles, had methods of taking thorn in nets, and of binding and bridling them, and carrying them as they pleased ^F8.

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FOOTNOTES:

F7 Nat. Hist. l. 19. c. 2.
F8 Strabo. Geograph. l. 17. p. 560. Aelian. de Animal. l. 10. c. 21. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 25.

Job 41:2 In-Context

1 “Can you pull in Leviathan with a fishhook or tie down its tongue with a rope?

2 Can you put a cord through its nose or pierce its jaw with a hook?

3 Will it keep begging you for mercy? Will it speak to you with gentle words?

4 Will it make an agreement with you for you to take it as your slave for life?

5 Can you make a pet of it like a bird or put it on a leash for the young women in your house?

Cross References

• 1. S Job 40:24
• 2. Ezekiel 19:4; Isaiah 37:29