Job 41:5
New International Version
Can you make a pet of it like a bird or put it on a leash for the young women in your house?

New Living Translation
Can you make it a pet like a bird, or give it to your little girls to play with?

English Standard Version
Will you play with him as with a bird, or will you put him on a leash for your girls?

Berean Standard Bible
Can you pet him like a bird or put him on a leash for your maidens?

King James Bible
Wilt thou play with him as with a bird? or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens?

New King James Version
Will you play with him as with a bird, Or will you leash him for your maidens?

New American Standard Bible
“Will you play with him as with a bird, And tie him down for your young girls?

NASB 1995
“Will you play with him as with a bird, Or will you bind him for your maidens?

NASB 1977
“Will you play with him as with a bird? Or will you bind him for your maidens?

Legacy Standard Bible
Will you play with it as with a bird, Or will you bind it for your young women?

Amplified Bible
“Will you play with him as with a bird? Or will you bind him [and put him on a leash] for your maidens?

Christian Standard Bible
Can you play with him like a bird or put him on a leash for your girls?

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Can you play with him like a bird or put him on a leash for your girls?

American Standard Version
Wilt thou play with him as with a bird? Or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens?

Contemporary English Version
Can it be tied by the leg like a pet bird for little girls?

English Revised Version
Wilt thou play with him as with a bird? or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens?

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Can you play with it like a bird or keep it on a leash for your girls?

Good News Translation
Will you tie him like a pet bird, like something to amuse your servant women?

International Standard Version
"Will you play with him like a pet bird? Will you put a leash on him for your little girls?

Majority Standard Bible
Can you pet him like a bird or put him on a leash for your maidens?

NET Bible
Can you play with it, like a bird, or tie it on a leash for your girls?

New Heart English Bible
Will you play with him as with a bird? Or will you bind him for your girls?

Webster's Bible Translation
Wilt thou play with him as with a bird? or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens?

World English Bible
Will you play with him as with a bird? Or will you bind him for your girls?
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Do you play with him as a bird? And do you bind him for your girls?

Young's Literal Translation
Dost thou play with him as a bird? And dost thou bind him for thy damsels?

Smith's Literal Translation
Wilt thou play with him as a bird? and wilt thou bind him for thy maidens?
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Shalt thou play with him as with a bird, or tie him up for thy handmaids?

Catholic Public Domain Version
Will you play with him as with a bird, or tether him for your handmaids?

New American Bible
Can you play with him, as with a bird? Can you tie him up for your little girls?

New Revised Standard Version
Will you play with it as with a bird, or will you put it on leash for your girls?
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Will you play with him as with a bird? Or will you keep him as a pet for your children?

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Do you play with him like a bird and keep him for the days of your youth?
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Wilt thou play with him as with a bird? Or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens?

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And wilt thou play with him as with a bird? or bind him as a sparrow for a child?

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
God's Power Shown in Leviathan
4Will he make a covenant with you to take him as a slave for life? 5Can you pet him like a bird or put him on a leash for your maidens? 6Will traders barter for him or divide him among the merchants?…

Cross References
Psalm 104:26
There the ships pass, and Leviathan, which You formed to frolic there.

Isaiah 27:1
In that day the LORD will take His sharp, great, and mighty sword, and bring judgment on Leviathan the fleeing serpent—Leviathan the coiling serpent—and He will slay the dragon of the sea.

Ezekiel 29:3
Speak to him and tell him that this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, I am against you, O Pharaoh king of Egypt, O great monster who lies among his rivers, who says, ‘The Nile is mine; I made it myself.’

Ezekiel 32:2
“Son of man, take up a lament for Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him: ‘You are like a lion among the nations; you are like a monster in the seas. You thrash about in your rivers, churning up the waters with your feet and muddying the streams.’

Psalm 74:14
You crushed the heads of Leviathan; You fed him to the creatures of the desert.

Isaiah 51:9
Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD. Wake up as in days past, as in generations of old. Was it not You who cut Rahab to pieces, who pierced through the dragon?

Amos 9:3
Though they hide themselves atop Carmel, there I will track them and seize them; and though they hide from Me at the bottom of the sea, there I will command the serpent to bite them.

Revelation 12:9
And the great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

Revelation 20:2
He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.

Matthew 12:29
Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and steal his possessions, unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house.

Mark 3:27
Indeed, no one can enter a strong man’s house to steal his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder his house.

Luke 11:21-22
When a strong man, fully armed, guards his house, his possessions are secure. / But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted, and then he divides up his plunder.

2 Peter 2:4
For if God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them deep into hell, placing them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment;

Jude 1:6
And the angels who did not stay within their own domain but abandoned their proper dwelling—these He has kept in eternal chains under darkness, bound for judgment on that great day.

Genesis 1:21
So God created the great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters teemed according to their kinds, and every winged bird after its kind. And God saw that it was good.


Treasury of Scripture

Will you play with him as with a bird? or will you bind him for your maidens?

play

Judges 16:25-30
And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them sport: and they set him between the pillars…

bind

Job 28:11
He bindeth the floods from overflowing; and the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light.

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Job 41
1. Of God's great power in the leviathan














Can you pet him like a bird
This phrase challenges the notion of taming or domesticating the creature described in Job 41, often identified as Leviathan. In the ancient Near Eastern context, birds were commonly kept as pets, symbolizing gentleness and control. The rhetorical question highlights the untamable nature of Leviathan, contrasting it with the ease of handling a bird. This imagery underscores God's power over creation, as only He can control such a formidable creature. The Leviathan is often seen as a symbol of chaos, and its mention here emphasizes God's sovereignty over all chaos and disorder.

or put him on a leash for your maidens?
The idea of putting Leviathan on a leash suggests domestication and subjugation, which was a common practice for animals in ancient times, especially for those used in labor or as pets. The mention of "maidens" implies a scenario where even the most vulnerable or least powerful members of society could control the creature, further emphasizing the absurdity of the notion. This serves to highlight the immense power and majesty of God, who alone can control Leviathan. In a broader biblical context, this reflects themes of divine authority and the futility of human attempts to rival God's power, as seen in other scriptures like Isaiah 27:1, where Leviathan is also mentioned.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Job
A righteous man tested by God through immense suffering, including loss of wealth, health, and family. The book of Job explores his dialogues with friends and God about the nature of suffering and divine justice.

2. God
The speaker in this passage, addressing Job directly. God is challenging Job's understanding of His power and the natural world.

3. Leviathan
A creature mentioned in this chapter, often interpreted as a symbol of chaos or a powerful sea creature. It represents something beyond human control or domestication.

4. Maidens
Refers to young women, possibly indicating the ease with which one might think they could control or domesticate a creature like Leviathan, which is actually impossible.

5. The Book of Job
A poetic and philosophical text in the Old Testament that addresses the themes of suffering, divine justice, and human limitations.
Teaching Points
Understanding Human Limitations
This verse reminds us of the limits of human power and control. Despite our advancements, there are aspects of creation that remain beyond our grasp, pointing to the sovereignty of God.

God's Sovereignty Over Creation
Leviathan symbolizes the untamable aspects of creation, illustrating that God alone has control over all things. This should lead us to trust in His wisdom and power.

Humility Before God
Recognizing our limitations should foster humility. We are reminded that we are not the masters of the universe, but stewards under God's authority.

Trust in God's Wisdom
In the face of life's uncontrollable elements, we are called to trust in God's wisdom and plan, even when we do not understand it.

Reflecting on God's Majesty
The imagery of Leviathan invites us to reflect on the majesty and mystery of God's creation, leading us to worship and awe.Verse 5. - Wilt thou play with him as with a bird? The Egyptians were especially fond of pet animals, and Job's countrymen, it may be assumed, were the same. Besides dogs, we find the Egyptians keeping tame antelopes, leopards, and monkeys. A tame crocodile would certainly seem to be an extraordinary pet, but Herodotus says that the Egyptians tamed them (2:39), and Sir Gardner Wilkinson informed me that he had known some tame ones at Cairo. The Mesopotamian Arabs domesticate falcons to assist them in the chase of the bustard and the gazelle (Layard, 'Nineveh and Babylon,' pp. 481-483). And this usage, though not represented on the Assyrian monuments, is likely to have been ancient. Or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens? i.e. Wilt thou so secure him that he may be delivered over to thy handmaidens, to be made their pet and playfellow?

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Can you pet him
הַֽתְשַׂחֶק־ (haṯ·śa·ḥeq-)
Verb - Piel - Imperfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 7832: To laugh, to play

like a bird
כַּצִּפּ֑וֹר (kaṣ·ṣip·pō·wr)
Preposition-k, Article | Noun - common singular
Strong's 6833: A little bird

or put him on a leash
וְ֝תִקְשְׁרֶ֗נּוּ (wə·ṯiq·šə·ren·nū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive imperfect - second person masculine singular | third person masculine singular
Strong's 7194: To tie, gird, confine, compact, in love, league

for your maidens?
לְנַעֲרוֹתֶֽיךָ׃ (lə·na·‘ă·rō·w·ṯe·ḵā)
Preposition-l | Noun - feminine plural construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 5291: A girl, maiden


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OT Poetry: Job 41:5 Will you play with him as (Jb)
Job 41:4
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