411 "Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook ? Or press down his tongue with a cord ? 2 "Can you put a rope in his nose Or pierce his jaw with a hook ? 3 "Will he make many supplications to you, Or will he speak to you soft words ? 4 "Will he make a covenant with you? Will you take him for a servant forever ? 5 "Will you play with him as with a bird , Or will you bind him for your maidens ? 6 "Will the traders bargain over him? Will they divide him among the merchants ? 7 "Can you fill his skin with harpoons , Or his head with fishing spears ? 8 "Lay your hand on him; Remember the battle ; you will not do it again ! 9 "Behold , your expectation is false ; Will you be laid low even at the sight of him? 10 "No one is so fierce that he dares to arouse him; Who then is he that can stand before Me?

11 "Who has given to Me that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is Mine. 12 "I will not keep silence concerning his limbs , Or his mighty strength , or his orderly frame . 13 "Who can strip off his outer armor ? Who can come within his double mail ? 14 "Who can open the doors of his face ? Around his teeth there is terror . 15 "His strong scales are his pride , Shut up as with a tight seal . 16 "One is so near to another That no air can come between them. 17 "They are joined one to another ; They clasp each other and cannot be separated . 18 "His sneezes flash forth light , And his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning . 19 "Out of his mouth go burning torches ; Sparks of fire leap forth . 20 "Out of his nostrils smoke goes forth As from a boiling pot and burning rushes . 21 "His breath kindles coals , And a flame goes forth from his mouth . 22 "In his neck lodges strength , And dismay leaps before him.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on Job 41:1-22

Chapter Contents

Concerning 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 of our own vileness, let us revere the Divine Majesty; take and fill our allotted place, cease from our own wisdom, and give all glory to our gracious God and Saviour. Remembering from whom every good gift cometh, and for what end it was given, let us walk humbly with the Lord.