Job 41

1‘You cannot catch a crocodile in the same way that you catch a fish.

Nor can you tie its mouth to stop it biting you.

2You cannot fasten a line to its nose.

Nor can you put a hook in its mouth.

3It will not ask you to stop being cruel to it.

And it will not speak to you politely.

4It will not agree to work for you.

And you cannot make it your slave for always.

5It is not a friendly animal, like a bird that you can keep in your home.

And it is not the kind of animal that your children can play with.

6No one will buy it to sell it.

And no one will cut it up and try to sell it in shops.

7You cannot put long knives into its skin to catch it.

Nor can you put a sharp stick into its head to kill it.

8If you touch it, you will never forget it.

It will fight with you and you will never touch it again!

9You cannot hope to catch it, because it will always be too strong.

As soon as you see it, you will be afraid of it.

10No one is silly enough to wake it. Everyone knows that it is too strong.

And I made it! So no one will be able to fight against me.

11There is nothing that I must pay to anyone.

Everything in the world is mine.

12Let me tell you all about this animal.

It is strong and it has a large body and powerful legs.

13Its skin is so thick that no one could remove it.

And people are afraid to go near it.

14Nobody would try to open its mouth.

Anyone who sees its teeth would be very afraid.

15Its back has very thick skin to keep it safe.

There are no spaces into which you could put a knife.

16Each piece of skin is very near the next one.

Not even air can pass between them.

17There is no space between the pieces of skin.

And no one can separate them.

18It makes a loud noise and its eyes are very bright.

Its eyes are as red as the sky at dawn.

19Fire comes from its mouth.

And sparks come out of its mouth.

20Smoke comes from its nose.

It is like smoke that comes from a fire of weeds under a pot.

21The air that comes from its mouth can light a fire.

And flames come quickly out of its mouth.

22Its neck is very strong.

It frightens people when they see it.

23There is no weak place anywhere on its skin.

Its whole body is as strong as iron.

24Its front is hard like rock.

It is as hard as a stone.

25Even strong and brave people are afraid when it moves towards them.

They run away because it might hit them with its tail.

26No one can hurt it, even with a sword.

None of your sharp weapons can hurt it.

27It can break iron as easily as a thin stick.

It can break bronze as easily as an old piece of wood.

28 Arrows do not frighten it.

Stones cannot hurt it.

29A heavy stick seems to it like a piece of dry grass.

It laughs when it hears the sound of a lance.

30Its stomach is sharp, like bits of a pot that someone has broken.

When it moves along, it leaves marks on the ground, like a plough.

31The water seems to boil when it swims in it.

When it swims down deep, the water is like a pot of oil.

32When it moves through the water, the water behind it shines.

The water seems to have become white.

33Nowhere in the world is there anything that is as strong as this animal.

And it is not afraid of anything.

34It is stronger than even the strongest of animals.

It is like the king of all the wild animals.’