Job 41 3

Job 41:3 kjv

Will he make many supplications unto thee? will he speak soft words unto thee?

Job 41:3 nkjv

Will he make many supplications to you? Will he speak softly to you?

Job 41:3 niv

Will it keep begging you for mercy? Will it speak to you with gentle words?

Job 41:3 esv

Will he make many pleas to you? Will he speak to you soft words?

Job 41:3 nlt

Will it beg you for mercy
or implore you for pity?

Job 41 verses

Job 41 3 Meaning

This verse is part of God's rhetorical questioning to Job concerning Leviathan, a creature of immense power. It highlights the creature's untamable nature and its refusal to submit to or seek favor from any human. God questions whether Leviathan would ever humble itself, make pleas for mercy, or speak gently to Job, implying an emphatic "No." The verse underscores Leviathan's supreme dominance over humans, contrasting it with human frailty and asserting God's unparalleled sovereignty over all creation, even over such mighty beings.

Job 41 3 Context

Job chapter 41 is a profound part of God's extended discourse to Job, directly following the description of Behemoth in Job 40. This entire chapter is dedicated to the magnificent and terrifying creature Leviathan. God, challenging Job's complaints and quest for understanding, presents Leviathan as a pinnacle of His creative power and untamable might. The questions in this chapter, including verse 3, are rhetorical, designed to demonstrate to Job that if he cannot even control or withstand such a creature, how utterly impossible it is for him to contend with or fully comprehend God, the Creator of Leviathan. The broader context of the book of Job shows a man wrestling with divine justice and suffering, and God's response consistently points to His infinite wisdom and power in creation as a means to humble Job and establish His absolute sovereignty. The immediate context shows that God has laid out a challenge to Job asking if Job can draw out Leviathan with a hook (Job 41:1), implying the creature's immense power and Job's lack of capacity to control it. Verse 3 continues this line of questioning, underscoring Leviathan's unyielding nature.

Job 41 3 Word analysis

• Will he: This forms a rhetorical question, immediately implying a definitive negative answer. It serves to highlight the creature's intractable nature and independence from human influence.
• make many: Implies frequency and earnestness. This phrase emphasizes that not just a single, weak attempt at persuasion would fail, but even persistent, numerous efforts would be fruitless against Leviathan's will.
• supplications: From the Hebrew term takhanunim (תַּחֲנוּנִים), meaning earnest pleas, entreaties, or requests for favor/mercy. These are the humble prayers or petitions a subordinate makes to a superior for compassion or assistance. God emphasizes that Leviathan will never act in such a subservient manner towards any human.
• unto thee?: Directly addressed to Job, signifying Job's personal lack of power and ability to dominate or even appeal to such a creature. It places Job, as a human, squarely in the position of being powerless against Leviathan.
• will he speak: Another rhetorical question, parallel to "Will he make," reinforcing the creature's refusal to engage in human-like appeasement.
• soft: From the Hebrew word rakkoth (רַכּוֹת), which is related to 'rak,' meaning tender, gentle, weak, or compliant. Here, it refers to soothing, gentle, or submissive words.
• words: Together with "soft," implies language used to persuade, appease, flatter, or secure favorable terms through politeness and deference. The verse underlines Leviathan's utter lack of need or desire to use such humble or fawning speech toward a human.

Words-group analysis

• "Will he make many supplications unto thee? will he speak soft words unto thee?": These two parallel rhetorical questions together underscore the absolute and inherent untamable nature of Leviathan. They signify that no amount of humble pleading, gentle persuasion, or attempts at forming a covenant can bend this creature's will to human desire. The parallelism emphasizes the completeness of its defiance towards humanity.
• "many supplications" / "soft words": This pairing contrasts forceful, dominant human control (which Job might attempt) with submissive, appeasing human behavior (which Leviathan would never exhibit). It highlights Leviathan's utterly independent and formidable spirit. The type of speech described (supplications, soft words) is what humans employ when they are seeking mercy or alliance from a superior or more powerful entity, emphasizing that Leviathan sees no human as its superior.

Job 41 3 Bonus section

The untameable nature of Leviathan described in Job 41, particularly its refusal to submit as articulated in verse 3, also holds symbolic weight. Many interpretations suggest that Leviathan represents not just a literal creature, but also forces of primeval chaos, cosmic disorder, or even spiritual evil (often connected with the dragon/serpent imagery found elsewhere in Scripture, e.g., in Ps 74:13-14 and Isa 27:1). If Leviathan symbolizes such formidable, non-physical powers, then the verse underlines that these forces cannot be reasoned with, appeased, or brought under human control through mere "supplications" or "soft words." They require a power greater than humanity to subdue them—namely, God's power. This prefigures the need for divine intervention in the face of overwhelming spiritual adversaries, reminding believers that reliance on God alone provides true strength against powers that are beyond human capacity to manage.

Job 41 3 Commentary

Job 41:3 powerfully serves to diminish humanity's perceived strength and control in the face of God's majestic creation. Through rhetorical questions, God unequivocally asserts Leviathan's inherent autonomy and fierce independence from any human influence. The imagery of Leviathan making "many supplications" or speaking "soft words" is fundamentally absurd; this creature, a symbol of primal power and chaos, embodies unyielding might. God uses Leviathan to demonstrate to Job, and by extension all humanity, the limitations of human dominion. If mankind cannot subdue, persuade, or even appeal to this single, earthly creature, how much less can a human hope to challenge, understand, or exert influence over the Almighty God who not only created Leviathan but holds supreme authority over it and all things? The verse serves as a profound lesson in humility, pivoting Job's focus from his own suffering and questions of justice back to the Creator's incomprehensible power and wisdom, which transcends all human categories of understanding or control. It implicitly teaches that supplication is for humans to direct toward God, not something to be received from His most powerful creatures.