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The Book of Job

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- Chapter 41 -

1
I will not rouse him, as the cruel would do, for who is able to withstand my countenance?
2
Who has given to me beforehand, so that I should repay him? All things that are under heaven are mine.
3
I will not spare him, nor his powerful words and counterfeit attempts at supplication.(a)
4
Who can reveal the beauty of his garment? And who can enter the middle of his mouth?
5
Who can open the doors of his face? I gave fear to the circle of his teeth.(b)
6
His body is like shields fused together, like dense scales pressed over one another.
7
One is joined to another, and not even air can pass between them.
8
They adhere to one another, and they hold themselves in place and will not be separated.
9
His sneezing has the brilliance of fire, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.
10
Lamps proceed from his mouth, like torches of fire burning brightly.
11
Smoke passes out of his nostrils, like a pot that is heated and boiling.
12
His breath causes coal to burn, and a flame comes forth from his mouth.
13
Strength dwells in his neck, and destitution goes before his presence.(c)
14
The parts of his body work in harmony together. He will send lightning bolts against him, and they will not be carried to another place.(d)
15
His heart will be as hard as a stone and as dense as a blacksmith’s anvil.
16
When he will be raised up, the angels will be afraid, and, because they are terrified, they will purify themselves.(e) (f)
17
When a sword catches up with him, it will not be able to settle in, nor a spear, nor a breastplate.
18
For he will consider iron as if it were chaff, and brass as if it were rotten wood.
19
The archer will not cause him to flee; the stones of the sling have been turned into stubble for him.
20
He will treat the hammer as if it were stubble, and he will ridicule those who brandish the spear.
21
The beams of the sun will be under him, and he will dispense gold to them as if it were clay.(g)
22
He will make the depths of the sea boil like a pot, and he will set it to bubble just as ointments do.
23
A path will shine after him; he will esteem the abyss as if it were weakening with age.(h)
24
There is no power on the earth that is being compared to him, who has been made so that he fears no one.(i)
25
He sees every prominent thing; he is king over all the sons of arrogance.(j) (k)

Footnotes

(a)41:3 Or, ‘I will not be lenient to him, nor to his strong words and fabrications aimed at appeasement.’ Or, ‘I will not spare him, nor his powerful words and contrived attempts to appease me.’(Conte)
(b)41:5 This last phrase seems, if translated in an overly-literal manner, to say, ‘I am afraid of the circle of his teeth.’ But the context is that of God speaking about his creation. Therefore, the correct translation is that God has ‘placed fear in the circle of his teeth,’ or, ‘given dread to the circle of his teeth,’ or, ‘gave fear to the circle of his teeth.’(Conte)
(c)41:13 Or, ‘In his neck strength will dwell, and extreme poverty precedes his face.’ Notice that ‘morabitur’ is future tense but can be translated just as well in the present tense in English.(Conte)
(d)41:14 This first phrase could be translated as, ‘The parts of his body cling together.’ This refers to the different parts of the ‘body’ which is the Antichrist’s kingdom. The other possible translation, ‘The parts of his body work in harmony together,’ is more meaningful, both in the literal and the figurative connotations.(Conte)
(e)41:16 Literally, the phrase is “being terrified,” but English is more likely to phrase it something like “because they are terrified.” This verse could refer to the attempted false ascension by the Antichrist near the end of his reign.(Conte)
(f)41:16 Angels:Elim, Hebrew: which signifies here, the mighty, the most valiant, shall fear this monstrous fish, and in their fear shall seek to be purified.(Challoner)
(g)41:21 Under him:He shall not value the beams of the sun; and gold to him shall be like mire.(Challoner)
(h)41:23 The deep as growing old:Growing hoary, as it were with the froth which he leaves behind him.(Challoner)
(i)41:24 Here again Scripture is referring to the Antichrist. The translation of ‘quæ comparetur ei’ should therefore be ‘that is being compared to him,’ rather than ‘can be compared to him.’ For Christ still dwells, even during that future evil time, in the world in the form of the Eucharist (rare though it is on earth at that time). So, the statement that nothing on earth is being compared to the Antichrist is a true statement, but the statement that nothing on earth can be compared to the Antichrist would be a false statement.(Conte)
(j)41:25 He is king over the entire group of arrogant persons, but he does not have power of kingship over each and every one individually. His power has its limits. He sees prominent things, but not lowly things.(Conte)
(k)41:25 He is king, etc:He is superior in strength to all that are great and strong amongst living creatures: mystically it is understood of the devil, who is king over all the proud.(Challoner)
1
“Can you draw out Leviathan(a) with a fish hook, or press down his tongue with a cord?
2
Can you put a rope into his nose, or pierce his jaw through with a hook?
3
Will he make many petitions to you, or will he speak soft words to you?
4
Will he make a covenant with you, that you should take him for a servant forever?
5
Will you play with him as with a bird? Or will you bind him for your girls?
6
Will traders barter for him? Will they part him among the merchants?
7
Can you fill his skin with barbed irons, or his head with fish spears?
8
Lay your hand on him. Remember the battle, and do so no more.
9
Behold, the hope of him is in vain. Won’t one be cast down even at the sight of him?
10
None is so fierce that he dare stir him up. Who then is he who can stand before me?
11
Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Everything under the heavens is mine.
12
“I will not keep silence concerning his limbs, nor his mighty strength, nor his goodly frame.
13
Who can strip off his outer garment? Who will come within his jaws?
14
Who can open the doors of his face? Around his teeth is terror.
15
Strong scales are his pride, shut up together with a close seal.
16
One is so near to another, that no air can come between them.
17
They are joined to one another. They stick together, so that they can’t be pulled apart.
18
His sneezing flashes out light. His eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.
19
Out of his mouth go burning torches. Sparks of fire leap out.
20
Out of his nostrils a smoke goes, as of a boiling pot over a fire of reeds.
21
His breath kindles coals. A flame goes out of his mouth.
22
There is strength in his neck. Terror dances before him.
23
The flakes of his flesh are joined together. They are firm on him. They can’t be moved.
24
His heart is as firm as a stone, yes, firm as the lower millstone.
25
When he raises himself up, the mighty are afraid. They retreat before his thrashing.
26
If one attacks him with the sword, it can’t prevail; nor the spear, the dart, nor the pointed shaft.
27
He counts iron as straw, and bronze as rotten wood.
28
The arrow can’t make him flee. Sling stones are like chaff to him.
29
Clubs are counted as stubble. He laughs at the rushing of the javelin.
30
His undersides are like sharp potsherds, leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing sledge.
31
He makes the deep to boil like a pot. He makes the sea like a pot of ointment.
32
He makes a path shine after him. One would think the deep had white hair.
33
On earth there is not his equal, that is made without fear.
34
He sees everything that is high. He is king over all the sons of pride.”

Footnotes

(a)41:1 Leviathan is a name for a crocodile or similar creature.
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