GOD'S WORD Translation GW
New King James Version NKJV
1 "Can you pull Leviathan out [of the water] with a fishhook or tie its tongue down with a rope?
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"Can you draw out Leviathan with a hook, Or snare his tongue with a line which you lower?
2 Can you put a ring through its nose or pierce its jaw with a hook?
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Can you put a reed through his nose, Or pierce his jaw with a hook?
3 Will it plead with you for mercy or speak tenderly to you?
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Will he make many supplications to you? Will he speak softly to you?
4 Will it make an agreement with you so that you can take it as your permanent slave?
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Will he make a covenant with you? Will you take him as a servant forever?
5 Can you play with it like a bird or keep it on a leash for your girls?
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Will you play with him as with a bird, Or will you leash him for your maidens?
6 Will traders bargain over it and divide it among the merchants?
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Will your companions make a banquet of him? Will they apportion him among the merchants?
7 Can you fill its hide with harpoons or its head with fishing spears?
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Can you fill his skin with harpoons, Or his head with fishing spears?
8 Lay your hand on it. Think of the struggle! Don't do it again!
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Lay your hand on him; Remember the battle-- Never do it again!
9 Certainly, any hope [of defeating it] is a false hope. Doesn't the sight of it overwhelm you?
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Indeed, any hope of overcoming him is false; Shall one not be overwhelmed at the sight of him?
10 No one is brave enough to provoke Leviathan. Then who can stand in front of me?
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No one is so fierce that he would dare stir him up. Who then is able to stand against Me?
11 Who can confront me that I should repay him? Everything under heaven belongs to me!
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Who has preceded Me, that I should pay him? Everything under heaven is Mine.
12 "I will not be silent about Leviathan's limbs, its strength, or its graceful form.
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"I will not conceal his limbs, His mighty power, or his graceful proportions.
13 Who can skin its hide? Who can approach it with a harness?
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Who can remove his outer coat? Who can approach him with a double bridle?
14 Who can open its closed mouth? Its teeth are surrounded by terror.
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Who can open the doors of his face, With his terrible teeth all around?
15 Its back has rows of scales that are tightly sealed.
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His rows of scales are his pride, Shut up tightly as with a seal;
16 One is so close to the other that there is no space between them.
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One is so near another That no air can come between them;
17 Each is joined to the other. They are locked together and inseparable.
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They are joined one to another, They stick together and cannot be parted.
18 When Leviathan sneezes, it gives out a flash of light. Its eyes are like the first rays of the dawn.
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His sneezings flash forth light, And his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.
19 Flames shoot from its mouth. Sparks of fire fly from it.
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Out of his mouth go burning lights; Sparks of fire shoot out.
20 Smoke comes from its nostrils like a boiling pot heated over brushwood.
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Smoke goes out of his nostrils, As from a boiling pot and burning rushes.
21 Its breath sets coals on fire, and a flame pours from its mouth.
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His breath kindles coals, And a flame goes out of his mouth.
22 Strength resides in its neck, and power dances in front of it.
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Strength dwells in his neck, And sorrow dances before him.
23 The folds of its flesh stick to each other. They are solid and cannot be moved.
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The folds of his flesh are joined together; They are firm on him and cannot be moved.
24 Its chest is solid like a rock, solid like a millstone.
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His heart is as hard as stone, Even as hard as the lower millstone.
25 "The mighty are afraid when Leviathan rises. Broken down, they draw back.
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When he raises himself up, the mighty are afraid; Because of his crashings they are beside themselves.
26 A sword may strike it but not pierce it. Neither will a spear, lance, or dart.
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Though the sword reaches him, it cannot avail; Nor does spear, dart, or javelin.
27 It considers iron to be like straw and bronze to be like rotten wood.
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He regards iron as straw, And bronze as rotten wood.
28 An arrow won't make it run away. Stones from a sling turn to dust against it.
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The arrow cannot make him flee; Slingstones become like stubble to him.
29 It considers clubs to be like stubble, and it laughs at a rattling javelin.
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Darts are regarded as straw; He laughs at the threat of javelins.
30 Its underside is like sharp pieces of broken pottery. It stretches out like a threshing sledge on the mud.
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His undersides are like sharp potsherds; He spreads pointed marks in the mire.
31 It makes the deep sea boil like a pot. It stirs up the ocean like a boiling kettle.
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He makes the deep boil like a pot; He makes the sea like a pot of ointment.
32 It leaves a shining path behind it so that the sea appears to have silvery hair.
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He leaves a shining wake behind him; One would think the deep had white hair.
33 Nothing on land can compare to it. It was made fearless.
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On earth there is nothing like him, Which is made without fear.
34 It looks down on all high things. It is king of everyone who is arrogant."
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He beholds every high thing; He is king over all the children of pride."
GOD'S WORD® is a copyrighted work of God's Word to the Nations. Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.