Job 41:5

Job 41:5 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Wilt thou play with him as with a bird? or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens?
• New International Version (NIV)Can you make a pet of it like a bird or put it on a leash for the young women in your house?
• English Standard Version (ESV)Will you play with him as with a bird, or will you put him on a leash for your girls?
• New King James Version (NKJV)Will you play with him as with a bird, Or will you leash him for your maidens?

Context of Job 41:5

3No! They will not ask you nicely to be kind and let them go free. 4They will not make any agreement with you. You cannot make them your slaves to work for you as long as they live. Leviathan is not something to enjoy at home, like a bird. You cannot tie it with a rope, so that your girls can play with it. 6Traders do not buy it at the market. They do not cut it up to sell it. 7Job, can you throw spears into Leviathan's body to kill it? Can you shoot arrows into its head?

Job 41:5 word by word

הַֽתְשַׂחֶק־בּ֭וֹ כַּצִּפּ֑וֹר וְ֝תִקְשְׁרֶ֗נּוּ לְנַעֲרוֹתֶֽיךָ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Wilt thou playשָׂחַקώâchaq · to laughH7832
• a birdצִפּוֹרtsippôr tsippôr · birdH6833
• or wilt thou bindקָשַׁרqâshar · to conspireH7194
• him for thy maidensנַעֲרָהna‛ărâh · maidenH5291

Cross-references for Job 41:5

• Judges 16:25The people were very happy at the feast. They shouted, ‘Bring Samson here for us to see him! He can help us to enjoy our party.’ So they brought Samson out of the prison. The people were happy to see him. They made him stand between the pillars of the temple.
• Job 28:11They look carefully in the springs of water where rivers start. They bring into the light things that were hidden away.

Commentaries on Job 41:5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5Wilt thou play with him - Is he such a creature as thou canst tame; and of which thou canst make a pet, and give as a plaything to thy little girls? נערותיך naarotheycha ; probably alluding to the custom of catching birds, tying a string to their legs, and giving them to children to play with; a custom execrable as ancient, and disgraceful as modern.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5Wilt thou play with him as with a bird? - A bird that is tamed. The art of taming birds was doubtless early practiced, and they were kept for amusement. But the leviathan could not thus be tamed. Or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens? - For their amusement. For such purposes doubtless, birds were caught and caged. There is great force in this question, on the supposition that the crocodile is intended. Nothing could be more incongruous than the idea of…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. a bird?--that is, tamed.Read the comment

Topics related to Job 41:5

• Birds
• God

In the dictionaries

• Comely
• Iron
• Lay
• Leap
• Leviathan
• Birds
• Cage
• Maid; Maiden
• Night-Monster

Commentaries on Job 41

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary