God’s Word Translation
Job 41:1
1“Can you pull Leviathan out ⌞of the water⌟ with a fishhook or tie its tongue down with a rope?
Job 41:1 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down?
- New International Version (NIV)“Can you pull in Leviathan with a fishhook or tie down its tongue with a rope?
- English Standard Version (ESV)"Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook or press down his tongue with a cord?
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Can you draw out Leviathan with a hook, Or snare his tongue with a line which you lower?
Context of Job 41:1
“Can you pull Leviathan out ⌞of the water⌟ with a fishhook or tie its tongue down with a rope? 2Can you put a ring through its nose or pierce its jaw with a hook? 3Will it plead with you for mercy or speak tenderly to you?
Read all of Job 41Job 41:1 word by word
תִּמְשֹׁ֣ךְ לִוְיָתָ֣ן בְּחַכָּ֑ה וּ֝בְחֶ֗בֶל תַּשְׁקִ֥יעַ לְשֹׁנֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Job 41:1
- Job 3:8Let those who curse the day (those who know how to wake up Leviathan) curse that night.
- Psalms 74:14You crushed the heads of Leviathan and gave them to the creatures of the desert for food.
- Psalms 104:26Ships sail on it, and Leviathan, which you made, plays in it.
- Isaiah 27:1On that day the Lord will use his fierce and powerful sword to punish Leviathan, that slippery snake, Leviathan, that twisting snake. He will kill that monster which lives in the sea.
Commentaries on Job 41:1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1Canst thou draw out leviathan - We come now to a subject not less perplexing than that over which we have passed, and a subject on which learned men are less agreed than on the preceding. What is leviathan? The Hebrew word לויתן livyathan is retained by the Vulgate and the Chaldee. The Septuagint have, ; "Canst thou draw out the Dragon?" The Syriac and Arabic have the same. A species of whale has been supposed to be the creature in question; but the…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1Canst thou draw out - As a fish is drawn out of the water. The usual method by which fish were taken was with a hook; and the meaning here is, that it was not possible to take the leviathan in this manner. The whole description here is of an animal that lived in the water. Leviathan - Much has been written respecting this animal, and the opinions which have been entertained have been very various. Schultens enumerates the following classes of opinions in…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1Concerning Leviathan. --The description of the Leviathan, is yet further to convince Job of his own weakness, and of God's almighty power. Whether this Leviathan be a whale or a crocodile, is disputed. The Lord, having showed Job how unable he was to deal with the Leviathan, sets forth his own power in that mighty creature. If such language describes the terrible force of Leviathan, what words can express the power of God's wrath? Under a humbling sense…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1Unlike the peaceful Behemoth (Job 40:15–24), Leviathan was a threat (see also Job 3:8; Psalms 74:14; 104:26; Isaiah 27:1). Most scholars think Leviathan was like a crocodile, with its powerful jaws and tough skin twisting and turning in the water (Job 41:14; 41:15–17, 23; 41:31–32). But Leviathan is a fire-breathing dragon that wraps around the sun to cause the sun to seem covered (41:18–21; 3:8–9). The background for Leviathan is the seven-headed sea…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-34Job 41:1-34. 1. leviathan--literally, "the twisted animal," gathering itself in folds: a synonym to the Thannin (Job 3:8, Margin; see Psa 74:14; type of the Egyptian tyrant; Psa 104:26; Is 27:1; the Babylon tyrant). A poetical generalization for all cetacean, serpentine, and saurian monsters (see on Job 40:15, hence all the description applies to no one animal); especially the crocodile; which is naturally described after the river horse, as both are…Read the comment
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In the dictionaries
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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