1 "Can you draw out Leviathan with a hook, Or snare his tongue with a line which you lower? |
2 Can you put a reed through his nose, Or pierce his jaw with a hook? |
3 Will he make many supplications to you? Will he speak softly to you? |
4 Will he make a covenant with you? Will you take him as a servant forever? |
5 Will you play with him as with a bird, Or will you leash him for your maidens? |
6 Will your companions make a banquet of him? Will they apportion him among the merchants? |
7 Can you fill his skin with harpoons, Or his head with fishing spears? |
8 Lay your hand on him; Remember the battle--Never do it again! |
9 Indeed, any hope of overcoming him is false; Shall one not be overwhelmed at the sight of him? |
10 No one is so fierce that he would dare stir him up. Who then is able to stand against Me? |
11 Who has preceded Me, that I should pay him? Everything under heaven is Mine. |
12 "I will not conceal his limbs, His mighty power, or his graceful proportions. |
13 Who can remove his outer coat? Who can approach him with a double bridle? |
14 Who can open the doors of his face, With his terrible teeth all around? |
15 His rows of scales are his pride, Shut up tightly as with a seal; |
16 One is so near another That no air can come between them; |
17 They are joined one to another, They stick together and cannot be parted. |
18 His sneezings flash forth light, And his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning. |
19 Out of his mouth go burning lights; Sparks of fire shoot out. |
20 Smoke goes out of his nostrils, As from a boiling pot and burning rushes. |
21 His breath kindles coals, And a flame goes out of his mouth. |
22 Strength dwells in his neck, And sorrow dances before him. |
23 The folds of his flesh are joined together; They are firm on him and cannot be moved. |
24 His heart is as hard as stone, Even as hard as the lower millstone. |
25 When he raises himself up, the mighty are afraid; Because of his crashings they are beside themselves. |
26 Though the sword reaches him, it cannot avail; Nor does spear, dart, or javelin. |
27 He regards iron as straw, And bronze as rotten wood. |
28 The arrow cannot make him flee; Slingstones become like stubble to him. |
29 Darts are regarded as straw; He laughs at the threat of javelins. |
30 His undersides are like sharp potsherds; He spreads pointed marks in the mire. |
31 He makes the deep boil like a pot; He makes the sea like a pot of ointment. |
32 He leaves a shining wake behind him; One would think the deep had white hair. |
33 On earth there is nothing like him, Which is made without fear. |
34 He beholds every high thing; He is king over all the children of pride." |