“Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook?
Or press down his tongue with a cord?

“Who has given to Me that I should repay him?
Whatever is under the whole heaven is Mine.

“His sneezes flash forth light,
And his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.

“Can you put a rope in his nose
Or pierce his jaw with a hook?

“His strong scales are his pride,
Shut up as with a tight seal.

“His breath kindles coals,
And a flame goes forth from his mouth.

“He looks on everything that is high;
He is king over all the sons of pride.”

“His heart is as hard as a stone,
Even as hard as a lower millstone.

“When he raises himself up, the mighty fear;
Because of the crashing they are bewildered.

“Can you fill his skin with harpoons,
Or his head with fishing spears?

“The sword that reaches him cannot avail,
Nor the spear, the dart or the javelin.

“No one is so fierce that he dares to arouse him;
Who then is he that can stand before Me?

“Out of his nostrils smoke goes forth
As from a boiling pot and burning rushes.

“The folds of his flesh are joined together,
Firm on him and immovable.

“I will not keep silence concerning his limbs,
Or his mighty strength, or his orderly frame.

“Out of his mouth go burning torches;
Sparks of fire leap forth.

“Will the traders bargain over him?
Will they divide him among the merchants?

“One is so near to another
That no air can come between them.

“Behold, your expectation is false;
Will you be laid low even at the sight of him?

“Who can open the doors of his face?
Around his teeth there is terror.

“Will he make a covenant with you?
Will you take him for a servant forever?

“In his neck lodges strength,
And dismay leaps before him.

“They are joined one to another;
They clasp each other and cannot be separated.

“Will you play with him as with a bird,
Or will you bind him for your maidens?

“Who can strip off his outer armor?
Who can come within his double mail?

“Will he make many supplications to you,
Or will he speak to you soft words?

“Lay your hand on him;
Remember the battle; you will not do it again!

“Nothing on earth is like him,
One made without fear.

“The arrow cannot make him flee;
Slingstones are turned into stubble for him.

“His underparts are like sharp potsherds;
He spreads out like a threshing sledge on the mire.

“He makes the depths boil like a pot;
He makes the sea like a jar of ointment.

“Clubs are regarded as stubble;
He laughs at the rattling of the javelin.

“Behind him he makes a wake to shine;
One would think the deep to be gray-haired.

“He regards iron as straw,
Bronze as rotten wood.