Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down?
Parallel translations
- WEB “Can you draw out Leviathan with a fish hook, or press down his tongue with a cord?
- BSB “Can you pull in Leviathan with a hook or tie down his tongue with a rope?
- NKJV “Can you draw out Leviathan with a hook, Or snare his tongue with a line which you lower?
- NASB “Can you drag out Leviathan with a fishhook, And press down his tongue with a rope?
- NLT “Can you catch Leviathan with a hook or put a noose around its jaw?
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God asks whether Job can catch Leviathan with a fishhook or bind his tongue with a cord. This untamable creature lies utterly beyond human control.
Overview
God introduces Leviathan, a fearsome creature whose identity is debated among faithful interpreters (often understood as the crocodile, though some see a more formidable or symbolic sea creature). The rhetorical question makes clear that no human can capture or tame it. If Job cannot master Leviathan, he is in no position to contend with the God who made it, a humbling that runs through the whole chapter.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Isa 27:1In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.
- Job 3:8Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their mourning.
- Ps 74:14Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness.
- Ps 104:26There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Job's cry for a mediator who can lay his hand on both God and man, and his confidence that 'my Redeemer lives' and will stand on the earth, reaches forward to Jesus the living Redeemer.
How Job 41:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.