6 Then Yahweh again spoke to Iyyov from inside the storm:

7 Now tuck up your robe like a man going into battle.

I will question you, and you must answer me.

8 Would you actually invalidate my judgement?

Would you condemn me so you can declare yourself right?

9 Is your arm as powerful as God’s?

≈Can you thunder with a voice like his?

10 Then embellish yourself with majesty and greatness,

≈and dress yourself with honour and splendour.

11 Let your fierce anger loose,

and take every proud person on and bring them down.

12 ≈Take note of every proud person and humble them.

≈Crush wicked people where they stand.

13 Bury them together in the dust.

≈Imprison them in the grave.

14 Then I’d even admit to you

that you can save yourself with your own strength.

15 Now look at the sauropod which I made on the same day as you.

It eats grass like a cow.

16 Notice the strength in his thighs,

≈and the power of his stomach muscles.

17 It bends its tail like a cedar tree.

Its thigh tendons are tightly strung.

18 Its bones are like bronze pipes.

≈Its legs are like iron rods.

19 It’s at the beginning of God’s paths. ???

The creator has let him bring his sword near. ???

20 The hills provide produce for it,

and all the animals in the countryside play there.

21 It lies under the lotus trees,

≈hidden in the reeds in the marsh.

22 The lotus trees cover it with their shade.

≈The poplars in the riverbed surround it.

23 If the river gets violent, it doesn’t rush out.

≈It remains confident even when the Jordan River surges to his mouth.

24 Can anyone capture it while its eyes watch?

≈Is there anyone who can make a snare to pierce its nose?

41 Can you pull the sea dragon with a hook,[ref]

≈or tie his tongue down with a rope?

2 Can you put a leash into its nose,

≈or pierce its jaw with a harpoon?

3 Will it beg you over and over for mercy?

≈Maybe if it says tender things to you?

4 Will it make an agreement with you?

≈Might you take it as a slave for the rest of its life?

5 Will you play with it like with a pet,

≈and tie it on a leash for your girls?

6 Will your team set a price on the whole creature?

≈Will they divide it up among the merchants?

7 Can you fill its hide with harpoons,

≈or its head with fishing spears?

8 Put your hand on it and you’ll remember the battle—

don’t do it!

9 What hope would you have against it?

Aren’t you put off just from looking at it?

10 No one’s fierce enough to wake it up,

so how might you expect to stand up to me?

11 Who has confronted me with any claim that I should repay?

Everything under the sky belongs to me.

12 I won’t keep quiet about its limbs,

or about its strength and the beauty of its form.

13 Who can remove its armour plating at the front,

or penetrate beyond its chestplate?

14 Who can open its jaws,

when there’s terror all around its teeth?

15 Rows of scales are its pride,

fitting into each other with a tight seal.

16 Each one is very close to the next,

and no air can get between them.

17 The lock tightly to their next door neighbour.

≈They cling together and can’t be separated.

18 Its snorting causes flashes of light,

≈and its eyes are like the early rays of dawn.

19 Flames come from its mouth.

≈Sparks of fire leap out.

20 Smoke pours from its nostrils,

like a boiling pot with a hollow reed in it.

21 Its breath sets coals on fire,

≈and a flame comes out of its mouth.

22 There’s incredible strength in its neck,

and fear always goes ahead of it.

23 The folds of his body are joined tightly together—

so firm that they can’t be moved.

24 His chest is hard like stone—

yes, as solid as the bottom mill-stone.

25 When it rises up, even mighty men are afraid.

≈They retreat if they see it thrashing around.

26 Striking it with a sword would have no effect,

nor would a spear, arrow, or dart.

27 Iron is like straw to the sea dragon,

≈and bronze like rotten wood.

28 Nothing shot with a bow can make it turn away—

For it, stones from a sling are like bits of straw.

29 Heavy clubs are just like a grain stalk,

and it laughs at the rattling of a spear.

30 Its underbelly is sharp like broken pottery.

It tears up the mud like a sledge for threshing grain.

31 It makes the deep ocean boil like a pot.

It makes the sea swirl like a jar of ointment.

32 It leaves a glistening wake behind it—

you’d think that the deep water had white hair.

33 There’s no equal to it on the earth—

the creature that was made to have no fear.

34 It looks down on all those who think they’re powerful.

≈It’s the king of all those who’re proud.