Job 41:1-10

1 “Can you catch Leviathan with a hook or put a noose around its jaw?

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

3 Will it beg you for mercy or implore you for pity?

4 Will it agree to work for you, to be your slave for life?

5 Can you make it a pet like a bird, or give it to your little girls to play with?

6 Will merchants try to buy it to sell it in their shops?

7 Will its hide be hurt by spears or its head by a harpoon?

8 If you lay a hand on it, you will certainly remember the battle that follows. You won’t try that again!

9 No, it is useless to try to capture it. The hunter who attempts it will be knocked down.

10 And since no one dares to disturb it, who then can stand up to me?

Job 41:1-10 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.

Footnotes

• [a]. Verses 41:1-8 are numbered 40:25-32 in Hebrew text.
• [b]. The identification of Leviathan is disputed, ranging from an earthly creature to a mythical sea monster in ancient literature.
• [c]. Verses 41:9-34 are numbered 41:1-26 in Hebrew text.