The LORD’s Power Shown in Leviathan 1 Brenton But wilt thou catch the serpent with a hook, and put a halter about his nose? BSB BSB: “Can you pull in Leviathan with a hook or tie down his tongue with a rope?
2 Brenton Or wilt thou fasten a ring in his nostril, and bore his lip with a clasp? BSB BSB: Can you put a cord through his nose or pierce his jaw with a hook?
3 Brenton Will he address thee with a petition? softly, with the voice of a suppliant? BSB BSB: Will he beg you for mercy or speak to you softly?
4 Brenton And will he make a covenant with thee? and wilt thou take him for a perpetual servant? BSB BSB: Will he make a covenant with you to take him as a slave for life?
5 Brenton And wilt thou play with him as with a bird? or bind him as a sparrow for a child? BSB BSB: Can you pet him like a bird or put him on a leash for your maidens?
6 Brenton And do the nations feed upon him, and the nations of the Phœnicians share him? BSB BSB: Will traders barter for him or divide him among the merchants?
7 Brenton And all the ships come together would not be able to bear the mere skin of his tail; neither shall they carry his head in fishing-vessels. BSB BSB: Can you fill his hide with harpoons or his head with fishing spears?
8 Brenton But thou shalt lay thy hand upon him once , remembering the war that is waged by his mouth; and let it not be done any more. BSB BSB: If you lay a hand on him, you will remember the battle and never repeat it!
9 Brenton Hast thou not seen him? and hast thou not wondered at the things said of him ? BSB BSB: Surely hope of overcoming him is false. Is not the sight of him overwhelming?
10 Brenton Dost thou not fear because preparation has been made by me? for who is there that resists me? BSB BSB: No one is so fierce as to rouse Leviathan. Then who is able to stand against Me?
11 Brenton Or who will resist me, and abide, since the whole world under heaven is mine? BSB BSB: Who has given to Me that I should repay him? Everything under heaven is Mine.
12 Brenton I will not be silent because of him: though because of his power one shall pity his antagonist. BSB BSB: I cannot keep silent about his limbs, his power and graceful form.
13 Brenton Who will open the face of his garment? and who can enter within the fold of his breast-plate? BSB BSB: Who can strip off his outer coat? Who can approach him with a bridle?
14 Brenton Who will open the doors of his face? terror is round about his teeth. BSB BSB: Who can open his jaws, ringed by his fearsome teeth?
15 Brenton His inwards are as brazen plates, and the texture of his skin as a smyrite stone. BSB BSB: His rows of scales are his pride, tightly sealed together.
16 Brenton One part cleaves fast to another, and the air cannot come between them. BSB BSB: One scale is so near to another that no air can pass between them.
17 Brenton They will remain united each to the other: they are closely joined, and cannot be separated. BSB BSB: They are joined to one another; they clasp and cannot be separated.
18 Brenton At his sneezing a light shines, and his eyes are as the appearance of the morning star. BSB BSB: His snorting flashes with light, and his eyes are like the rays of dawn.
19 Brenton Out of his mouth proceed as it were burning lamps, and as it were hearths of fire are cast abroad. BSB BSB: Firebrands stream from his mouth; fiery sparks shoot forth!
20 Brenton Out of his nostrils proceeds smoke of a furnace burning with fire of coals. BSB BSB: Smoke billows from his nostrils as from a boiling pot over burning reeds.
21 Brenton His breath is as live coals, and a flame goes out of his mouth. BSB BSB: His breath sets coals ablaze, and flames pour from his mouth.
22 Brenton And power is lodged in his neck, before him destruction runs. BSB BSB: Strength resides in his neck, and dismay leaps before him.
23 Brenton The flesh also of his body is joined together: if one pours violence upon him, he shall not be moved. BSB BSB: The folds of his flesh are tightly joined; they are firm and immovable.
24 Brenton His heart is firm as a stone, and it stands like an unyielding anvil. BSB BSB: His chest is as hard as a rock, as hard as a lower millstone!
25 Brenton And when he turns, he is a terror to the four-footed wild beasts which leap upon the earth. BSB BSB: When Leviathan rises up, the mighty are terrified; they withdraw before his thrashing.
26 Brenton If spears should come against him, men will effect nothing, either with the spear or the breast-plate. BSB BSB: The sword that reaches him has no effect, nor does the spear or dart or arrow.
27 Brenton For he considers iron as chaff, and brass as rotten wood. BSB BSB: He regards iron as straw and bronze as rotten wood.
28 Brenton The bow of brass shall not wound him, he deems a slinger as grass. BSB BSB: No arrow can make him flee; slingstones become like chaff to him.
29 Brenton Mauls are counted as stubble; and he laughs to scorn the waving of the firebrand. BSB BSB: A club is regarded as straw, and he laughs at the sound of the lance.
30 Brenton His lair is formed of sharp points; and all the gold of the sea under him is as an immense quantity of clay. BSB BSB: His undersides are jagged potsherds, spreading out the mud like a threshing sledge.
31 Brenton He makes the deep boil like a brazen caldron; and he regards the sea as a pot of ointment, BSB BSB: He makes the depths seethe like a cauldron; he makes the sea like a jar of ointment.
32 Brenton and the lowest part of the deep as a captive: he reckons the deep as his range. BSB BSB: He leaves a glistening wake behind him; one would think the deep had white hair!
33 Brenton There is nothing upon the earth like to him, formed to be sported with by my angels. BSB BSB: Nothing on earth is his equal—a creature devoid of fear!
34 Brenton He beholds every high thing: and he is king of all that are in the waters. BSB BSB: He looks down on all the haughty; he is king over all the proud.”
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.