Logos Bible Study

Job 41:1–8

The NET BibleOther versions

English

Arabic

Czech

French

German

Hebrew

Hungarian

Italian

Korean

Latin

Portuguese

Russian

Simplified Chinese

Spanish

Traditional Chinese

The Description of Leviathan

41:1 (40:25)1 “Can you pull in2 Leviathan with a hook,

and tie down3 its tongue with a rope?

41:2Can you put a cord through its nose,

or pierce its jaw with a hook?

41:3Will it make numerous supplications to you,4

will it speak to you with tender words?5

41:4Will it make a pact6 with you,

so you could take it7 as your slave for life?

41:5Can you play8 with it, like a bird,

or tie it on a leash9 for your girls?

41:6Will partners10 bargain11 for it?

Will they divide it up12 among the merchants?

41:7Can you fill its hide with harpoons

or its head with fishing spears?

41:8If you lay your hand on it,

you will remember13 the fight,

and you will never do it again!

Read in Logos

Footnotes

  1. 1 Beginning with 41:1, the verse numbers through 41:9 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (), with 41:1 = 40:25 , 41:2 = 40:26 , etc., through 41:34 = 41:26 . The Hebrew verse numbers in the remainder of the chapter differ from the verse numbers in the English Bible. Beginning with 42:1 the verse numbers in the and are again the same.
  2. 2 The verb מָשַׁךְ (mashakh) means “to extract from the water; to fish.” The question here includes the use of a hook to fish the creature out of the water so that its jaws can be tied safely.
  3. 3 The verb שָׁקַע (shaqa’) means “to cause to sink,” if it is connected with the word in Amos 8:8 and 9:5. But it may have the sense of “to tie; to bind.” If the rope were put around the tongue and jaw, binding tightly would be the sense.
  4. 4 The line asks if the animal, when caught and tied and under control, would keep on begging for mercy. Absolutely not. It is not in the nature of the beast. The construction uses יַרְבֶּה (yarbeh, “[will] he multiply” [= “make numerous”]), with the object, “supplications” i.e., prayers for mercy.
  5. 5 The rhetorical question again affirms the opposite. The poem is portraying the creature as powerful and insensitive.
  6. 6 Heb “will he cut a covenant.”
  7. 7 The imperfect verb serves to express what the covenant pact would cover, namely, “that you take.”
  8. 8 The Hebrew verb is שָׂחַק (sakhaq, “to sport; to trifle; to play,” Ps 104:26).
  9. 9 The idea may include putting Leviathan on a leash. D. W. Thomas suggested on the basis of an Arabic cognate that it could be rendered “tie him with a string like a young sparrow” ( 14 [1964]: 114ff.).
  10. 10 The word חָבַּר (khabbar) is a , but the meaning is “to associate” since it is etymologically related to the verb “to join together.” The idea is that fishermen usually work in companies or groups, and then divide up the catch when they come ashore—which involves bargaining.
  11. 11 The word כָּרַה (karah) means “to sell.” With the preposition עַל (’al, “upon”) it has the sense “to bargain over something.”
  12. 12 The verb means “to cut up; to divide up” in the sense of selling the dead body (see Exod 21:35). This will be between them and the merchants (כְּנַעֲנִים, kéna’anim).
  13. 13 The verse uses two imperatives which can be interpreted in sequence: do this, and then this will happen.

The NET Bible First Edition, Copyright 1996-2005 by Biblical Studies Press

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

“Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook

or press down his tongue with a cord?

Can you put a rope in his nose

or pierce his jaw with a hook?

Will he make many pleas to you?

Will he speak to you soft words?

Will he make a covenant with you

to take him for your servant forever?

Will you play with him as with a bird,

or will you put him on a leash for your girls?

Will traders bargain over him?

Will they divide him up among the merchants?

Can you fill his skin with harpoons

or his head with fishing spears?

Lay your hands on him;

remember the battle—you will not do it again!

Copyright 2001 Crossway Bibles

NIVNew International Version (2011)

“Can you pull in Leviathan with a fishhook

or tie down its tongue with a rope?

Can you put a cord through its nose

or pierce its jaw with a hook?

Will it keep begging you for mercy?

Will it speak to you with gentle words?

Will it make an agreement with you

for you to take it as your slave for life?

Can you make a pet of it like a bird

or put it on a leash for the young women in your house?

Will traders barter for it?

Will they divide it up among the merchants?

Can you fill its hide with harpoons

or its head with fishing spears?

If you lay a hand on it,

you will remember the struggle and never do it again!

Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica, Inc.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

Can you pull in Leviathan with a hook

or tie his tongue down with a rope?

Can you put a cord through his nose

or pierce his jaw with a hook?

Will he beg you for mercy

or speak softly to you?

Will he make a covenant with you

so that you can take him as a slave forever?

Can you play with him like a bird

or put him on a leash for your girls?

Will traders bargain for him

or divide him among the merchants?

Can you fill his hide with harpoons

or his head with fishing spears?

Lay a hand on him.

You will remember the battle

and never repeat it!

Copyright 2017 Holman Bible Publishers

NLTNew Living Translation

“Can you catch Leviathan with a hook

or put a noose around its jaw?

Can you tie it with a rope through the nose

or pierce its jaw with a spike?

Will it beg you for mercy

or implore you for pity?

Will it agree to work for you,

to be your slave for life?

Can you make it a pet like a bird,

or give it to your little girls to play with?

Will merchants try to buy it

to sell it in their shops?

Will its hide be hurt by spears

or its head by a harpoon?

If you lay a hand on it,

you will certainly remember the battle that follows.

You won’t try that again!

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

“Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook?

Or can you tie down its mouth with a cord?

Can you put a rope in its nose?

Or can you pierce its jawbone with a hook?

Will it make numerous pleas for mercy to you?

Or will it speak gentle words to you?

Will it make a covenant with you?

Will you take it as a slave forever?

Will you play with it as with birds

and put it on a leash for your girls?

Will guildsmen bargain over it?

Will they divide it between tradesmen?

Can you fill its skin with harpoons

or its head with fish spears?

Lay your hands on it;

think about the battle—you will not do it again!

Copyright 2012 Lexham Press

KJV 1900King James Version

Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook?

Or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down?

Canst thou put an hook into his nose?

Or bore his jaw through with a thorn?

Will he make many supplications unto thee?

Will he speak soft words unto thee?

Will he make a covenant with thee?

Wilt thou take him for a servant for ever?

Wilt thou play with him as with a bird?

Or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens?

Shall the companions make a banquet of him?

Shall they part him among the merchants?

Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons?

Or his head with fish spears?

Lay thine hand upon him,

Remember the battle, do no more.

Public Domain