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

“Who has first given to Me that I should repay him?
Whatever is under the whole heaven is Mine. [Who can have a claim against Me who made the unmastered beast?]

“His sneezes flash forth light,
And his eyes are like the [reddish] eyelids of the dawn.

“Can you put a rope [made] of rushes into his nose
Or pierce his jaw through with a hook?

“His strong scales are his pride,
Bound together as with a tight seal.

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

“He looks on everything that is high [without terror];
He is monarch over all the sons of pride. [And now, Job, who are you who does not dare to disturb the beast, yet who dares resist Me, the beast’s creator? Everything under the heavens is Mine; therefore, who can have a claim against God?]”

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

“When he raises himself up, the mighty are afraid;
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 [does] the spear, the dart, or the javelin.

“No one is so fierce [and foolhardy] that he dares to stir up Leviathan;
Who then is he who can stand before Me [or dares to contend with Me, the beast’s creator]?

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

“The folds of his flesh are joined together,
Firm on him and immobile [when he moves].

“I will not keep silence concerning his limbs,
Nor his mighty strength, nor his orderly frame.

“Out of his mouth go burning torches,
And sparks of fire leap out.

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

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

“Behold, his [assailant’s] hope and expectation [of defeating Leviathan] is false;
Will not one be overwhelmed even at the sight of him?

“Who can open the doors (jaws) of his face?
Around his [open jaws and] teeth there is terror.

“Will he make a covenant or an arrangement with you?
Will you take him for your servant forever?

“In Leviathan’s neck resides strength,
And dismay and terror dance before him.

“They are joined one to another;
They stick together and cannot be separated.

“Will you play with him as with a bird?
Or will you bind him [and put him on a leash] for your maidens?

“Who can penetrate or strip off his outer armor?
Who can come to his jaws with a double bridle?

“Will he make many supplications to you [begging to be spared]?
Or will he speak soft words to you [to coax you to treat him kindly]?

“Lay your hand on him;
Remember the battle [with him]; you will not do such [an ill-advised thing] again!

“Upon earth there is nothing like him—no equal exists,
A creature made without fear.

“The arrow cannot make him flee;
Slingstones are treated as stubble by him.

“His underparts are like sharp pieces of broken pottery;
He moves across and spreads out [grooves] like a threshing sledge on the mire (muddy river banks).

“He makes the deep water boil like a pot;
He makes the sea like a [foaming] pot of ointment.

“Clubs [also] are regarded as stubble;
He laughs at the rushing and the rattling of the javelin.

“Behind him he makes a shining wake;
One would think the deep to be gray-haired [with foam].

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