Logos Bible Study

Job 41:11–19

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41:11(Who has confronted19 me that I should repay?20

Everything under heaven belongs to me!)21

41:12I will not keep silent about its limbs,

and the extent of its might,

and the grace of its arrangement.22

41:13Who can uncover its outer covering?23

Who can penetrate to the inside of its armor?24

41:14Who can open the doors of its mouth?25

Its teeth all around are fearsome.

41:15Its back26 has rows of shields,

shut up closely27 together as with a seal;

41:16each one is so close to the next28

that no air can come between them.

41:17They lock tightly together, one to the next;29

they cling together and cannot be separated.

41:18Its snorting throws out flashes of light;

its eyes are like the red glow30 of dawn.

41:19Out of its mouth go flames,31

sparks of fire shoot forth!

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Footnotes

  1. 19 The verb קָדַם (qadam) means “to come to meet; to come before; to confront” to the face.
  2. 20 The verse seems an intrusion (and so E. Dhorme, H. H. Rowley, and many others change the pronouns to make it refer to the animal). But what the text is saying is that it is more dangerous to confront God than to confront this animal.
  3. 21 This line also focuses on the sovereign God rather than Leviathan. H. H. Rowley, however, wants to change לִי־חוּא (li-hu’, “it [belongs] to me”) into לֹא הוּא (lo’ hu’, “there is no one”). So it would say that there is no one under the whole heaven who could challenge Leviathan and live, rather than saying it is more dangerous to challenge God to make him repay.
  4. 22 Dhorme changes the noun into a verb, “I will tell,” and the last two words into אֵין עֶרֶךְ (’en ’erekh, “there is no comparison”). The result is “I will tell of his incomparable might.”
  5. 23 Heb “the face of his garment,” referring to the outer garment or covering. Some take it to be the front as opposed to the back.
  6. 24 The word רֶסֶן (resen) has often been rendered “bridle” (cf. ESV), but that leaves a number of unanswered questions. The reads סִרְיוֹן (siryon), with the transposition of letters, but that means “coat of armor.” If the metathesis stands, there is also support from the cognate Akkadian.
  7. 25 Heb “his face.”
  8. 26 The has גַּאֲוָה (ga’avah, “his pride”), but the , Aquila, and the all read גַּוּוֹ (gavvo, “his back”). Almost all the modern English versions follow the variant reading, speaking about “his [or its] back.”
  9. 27 Instead of צָר (tsar, “closely”) the has צֹר (tsor, “stone”) to say that the seal was rock hard.
  10. 28 The expression “each one … to the next” is literally “one with one.”
  11. 29 Heb “a man with his brother.”
  12. 30 Heb “the eyelids,” but it represents the early beams of the dawn as the cover of night lifts.
  13. 31 For the animal, the image is that of pent-up breath with water in a hot steam jet coming from its mouth, like a stream of fire in the rays of the sun. The language is hyperbolic, probably to reflect the pagan ideas of the dragon of the deep in a polemical way—they feared it as a fire breathing monster, but in reality it might have been a steamy crocodile.

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

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

Who has first given to me, that I should repay him?

Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.

“I will not keep silence concerning his limbs,

or his mighty strength, or his goodly frame.

Who can strip off his outer garment?

Who would come near him with a bridle?

Who can open the doors of his face?

Around his teeth is terror.

His back is made of rows of shields,

shut up closely as with a seal.

One is so near to another

that no air can come between them.

They are joined one to another;

they clasp each other and cannot be separated.

His sneezings flash forth light,

and his eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn.

Out of his mouth go flaming torches;

sparks of fire leap forth.

Copyright 2001 Crossway Bibles

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Who has a claim against me that I must pay?

Everything under heaven belongs to me.

“I will not fail to speak of Leviathan’s limbs,

its strength and its graceful form.

Who can strip off its outer coat?

Who can penetrate its double coat of armor?

Who dares open the doors of its mouth,

ringed about with fearsome teeth?

Its back has rows of shields

tightly sealed together;

each is so close to the next

that no air can pass between.

They are joined fast to one another;

they cling together and cannot be parted.

Its snorting throws out flashes of light;

its eyes are like the rays of dawn.

Flames stream from its mouth;

sparks of fire shoot out.

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

CSBChristian Standard Bible

Who confronted me, that I should repay him?

Everything under heaven belongs to me.

I cannot be silent about his limbs,

his power, and his graceful proportions.

Who can strip off his outer covering?

Who can penetrate his double layer of armor?

Who can open his jaws,

surrounded by those terrifying teeth?

His pride is in his rows of scales,

closely sealed together.

One scale is so close to another

that no air can pass between them.

They are joined to one another,

so closely connected they cannot be separated.

His snorting flashes with light,

while his eyes are like the rays of dawn.

Flaming torches shoot from his mouth;

fiery sparks fly out!

Copyright 2017 Holman Bible Publishers

NLTNew Living Translation

Who has given me anything that I need to pay back?

Everything under heaven is mine.

“I want to emphasize Leviathan’s limbs

and its enormous strength and graceful form.

Who can strip off its hide,

and who can penetrate its double layer of armor?

Who could pry open its jaws?

For its teeth are terrible!

The scales on its back are like rows of shields

tightly sealed together.

They are so close together

that no air can get between them.

Each scale sticks tight to the next.

They interlock and cannot be penetrated.

“When it sneezes, it flashes light!

Its eyes are like the red of dawn.

Lightning leaps from its mouth;

flames of fire flash out.

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

Who has come to confront me, that I should repay him?

Under all the heavens, it belongs to me.

“I will not keep quiet concerning its limbs

or concerning the extent of its might and the gracefulness of its frame.

Who can strip off its outer covering?

Who can penetrate its double harness?

Who can open the doors of its face?

Its teeth all around are fearsome.

Its back has scales of shields;

it is shut up closely as with a seal.

They are close to one another—

even the air cannot come between them.

They are joined one to another;

they cling together and cannot be separated.

“Its snorting flashes forth light,

and its eyes are red like dawn.

Torches go from its mouth;

sparks of fire shoot out.

Copyright 2012 Lexham Press

KJV 1900King James Version

Who hath prevented me, that I should repay him?

Whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine.

I will not conceal his parts,

Nor his power, nor his comely proportion.

Who can discover the face of his garment?

Or who can come to him with his double bridle?

Who can open the doors of his face?

His teeth are terrible round about.

His scales are his pride,

Shut up together as with a close seal.

One is so near to another,

That no air can come between them.

They are joined one to another,

They stick together, that they cannot be sundered.

By his neesings a light doth shine,

And his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.

Out of his mouth go burning lamps,

And sparks of fire leap out.

Public Domain