The Complete Jewish Bible CJB
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 "And Livyatan! Can you catch him with a fishhook or hold his tongue down with a rope?
1
Is it possible for Leviathan to be pulled out with a fish-hook, or for a hook to be put through the bone of his mouth?
2 Can you put a ring in his nose or pierce his jaw with a barb?
2
Will you put a cord into his nose, or take him away with a cord round his tongue?
3 Will he entreat you at length? Will he speak with you softly?
3
Will he make prayers to you, or say soft words to you?
4 Will he agree with you to be your slave forever?
4
Will he make an agreement with you, so that you may take him as a servant for ever?
5 Will you play with him as you would with a bird or keep him on a string to amuse your little girls?
5
Will you make sport with him, as with a bird? or put him in chains for your young women?
6 Will a group of fishermen turn him into a banquet? Will they divide him among the merchants?
6
Will the fishermen make profit out of him? will they have him cut up for the traders?
7 Can you fill his skin with darts or his head with fish-spears?
7
Will you put sharp-pointed irons into his skin, or fish-spears into his head?
8 If you lay your hand on him, you won't forget the fight, and you'll never do it again!
8
Only put your hand on him, and see what a fight you will have; you will not do it again!
9 "Look, any hope [of capturing him] is futile -one would fall prostrate at the very sight of him.
9
Truly, the hope of his attacker is false; he is overcome even on seeing him!
10 No one is fierce enough to rouse him, so who can stand up to me?
10
He is so cruel that no one is ready to go against him. Who then is able to keep his place before me?
11 Who has given me anything and made me pay it back? Everything belongs to me under all of heaven.
11
Who ever went against me, and got the better of me? There is no one under heaven!
12 "I have more to say about his limbs, his strong talk, and his matchless strength.
12
I will not keep quiet about the parts of his body, or about his power, and the strength of his frame.
13 Who can strip off his [scaly] garment? Who can enter his jaws?
13
Who has ever taken off his outer skin? who may come inside his inner coat of iron?
14 Who can pry open the doors of his face, so close to his terrible teeth?
14
Who has made open the doors of his face? Fear is round about his teeth.
15 "His pride is his rows of scales, tightly sealed together -
15
His back is made of lines of plates, joined tight together, one against the other, like a stamp.
16 one is so close to the next that no air can come between them;
16
One is so near to the other that no air may come between them.
17 they are stuck one to another, interlocked and impervious.
17
They take a grip of one another; they are joined together, so that they may not be parted.
18 "When he sneezes, light flashes out; his eyes are like the shimmer of dawn.
18
His sneezings give out flames, and his eyes are like the eyes of the dawn.
19 From his mouth go fiery torches, and sparks come flying out.
19
Out of his mouth go burning lights, and flames of fire are jumping up.
20 His nostrils belch steam like a caldron boiling on the fire.
20
Smoke comes out of his nose, like a pot boiling on the fire.
21 His breath sets coals ablaze; flames pour from his mouth.
21
His breath puts fire to coals, and a flame goes out of his mouth.
22 "Strength resides in his neck, and dismay dances ahead of him [as he goes].
22
Strength is in his neck, and fear goes dancing before him.
23 The layers of his flesh stick together; they are firm on him, immovable.
23
The plates of his flesh are joined together, fixed, and not to be moved.
24 His heart is as hard as a stone, yes, hard as a lower millstone.
24
His heart is as strong as a stone, hard as the lower crushing-stone.
25 When he rears himself up, the gods are afraid, beside themselves in despair.
25
When he gets ready for the fight, the strong are overcome with fear.
26 "If a sword touches him, it won't stick; neither will a spear, or a dart, or a lance.
26
The sword may come near him but is not able to go through him; the spear, or the arrow, or the sharp-pointed iron.
27 He regards iron as straw and bronze as rotten wood.
27
Iron is to him as dry grass, and brass as soft wood.
28 An arrow can't make him flee; for him, slingstones are so much chaff.
28
The arrow is not able to put him to flight: stones are no more to him than dry stems.
29 Clubs count as hay, and he laughs at a quivering javelin.
29
A thick stick is no better than a leaf of grass, and he makes sport of the onrush of the spear.
30 His belly is as sharp as fragments of pottery, so he moves across the mud like a threshing-sledge.
30
Under him are sharp edges of broken pots: as if he was pulling a grain-crushing instrument over the wet earth.
31 "He makes the depths seethe like a pot, he makes the sea [boil] like a perfume kettle.
31
The deep is boiling like a pot of spices, and the sea like a perfume-vessel.
32 He leaves a shining wake behind him, making the deep seem to have white hair.
32
After him his way is shining, so that the deep seems white.
33 "On earth there is nothing like him, a creature without fear.
33
On earth there is not another like him, who is made without fear.
34 He looks straight at all high things. He is king over all proud beasts."
34
Everything which is high goes in fear of him; he is king over all the sons of pride.
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.