Job 41:1-7

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?

Job 41:1-7 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.