Job 41:5 Meaning and Explanation
“Wilt thou play with him as with a bird? or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens?”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →God asks if Job could keep leviathan as a pet, playing with it like a tame bird or leashing it for his servant girls.
What Does Job 41:5 Mean?
With gentle irony God pictures the household: a small bird on a string, a creature tied up for the young women to enjoy. Could leviathan be so harmless, so tamed for play? The thought is absurd.
The verse magnifies the distance between human mastery and the wild grandeur of creation. We tame sparrows; we cannot tame the deep. And the lesson reaches inward: there is a wildness in the world we did not make and cannot control, but it rests wholly in the hand of a Maker who is not careless. To know Him is to be unafraid even of what we cannot tame.
Frequently Asked Questions About Job 41:5
What does Job 41:5 mean?
God asks if Job could keep leviathan as a pet, playing with it like a tame bird or leashing it for his servant girls.