Job 41:9–17

Behold, the hope of a man is false;

he is laid low even at the sight of him.

No one is so fierce that he dares to stir him up.

Who then is he who can stand before me?

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.

Any hope of subduing it is false;

the mere sight of it is overpowering.

No one is fierce enough to rouse it.

Who then is able to stand against me?

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.

Any hope of capturing him proves false.

Does a person not collapse at the very sight of him?

No one is ferocious enough to rouse Leviathan;

who then can stand against me?

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.

 No, it is useless to try to capture it.

The hunter who attempts it will be knocked down.

And since no one dares to disturb it,

who then can stand up to me?

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.

“Look, the hope of capturing it is false.

Will one be hurled down even at its sight?

Is it not fierce when somebody stirs it?

Who then is he who would stand before it?

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.

Behold, the hope of him is in vain:

Shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him?

None is so fierce that dare stir him up:

Who then is able to stand before me?

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.