No, it is useless to try to capture it. The hunter who attempts it will be knocked down.
Parallel translations
- WEB Behold, the hope of him is in vain. Won’t one be cast down even at the sight of him?
- KJV Behold, the hope of him is in vain: shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him?
- BSB Surely hope of overcoming him is false. Is not the sight of him overwhelming?
- NKJV Indeed, any hope of overcoming him is false; Shall one not be overwhelmed at the sight of him?
- NASB “Behold, your expectation is false; Will you be hurled down even at the sight of him?
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
Any hope of overpowering Leviathan is vain; the mere sight of him casts a man down. Fear overcomes anyone who confronts this creature.
Overview
The hope of conquering Leviathan is declared empty, for even the sight of him overwhelms with dread. The verse marks a transition: if no one dares face the creature, how much less dare anyone confront its Maker. The argument moves from the terror of Leviathan to the far greater majesty of God, preparing the climactic point that none can stand before the Lord.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- 1 Sam 3:11Yahweh said to Samuel, “Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of everyone who hears it will tingle.
- Isa 28:19As often as it passes through, it will seize you; for morning by morning it will pass through, by day and by night; and it will be nothing but terror to understand the message.”
- Luke 21:11There will be great earthquakes, famines, and plagues in various places. There will be terrors and great signs from heaven.
- Deut 28:34so that the sights that you see with your eyes will drive you mad.
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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 41:9 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.