Job 41:4 kjv
Will he make a covenant with thee? wilt thou take him for a servant for ever?
Job 41:4 nkjv
Will he make a covenant with you? Will you take him as a servant forever?
Job 41:4 niv
Will it make an agreement with you for you to take it as your slave for life?
Job 41:4 esv
Will he make a covenant with you to take him for your servant forever?
Job 41:4 nlt
Will it agree to work for you,
to be your slave for life?
Job 41 4 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Job 38:2 | "Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?" | God challenging Job's limited understanding. |
| Job 38:39 | "Canst thou hunt the prey for the lion...?" | Man's inability to control nature, like Leviathan. |
| Job 40:2 | "Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him?" | Challenges Job's right to question God. |
| Ps 74:14 | "Thou didst break the heads of leviathan in pieces..." | God's absolute dominion over chaos-monsters. |
| Ps 8:6-8 | "...made him to have dominion over the works of thy hands..." | Man's granted dominion over specific, tamable creatures, not all. |
| Ps 104:26 | "There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein." | God created and controls Leviathan for His own purposes. |
| Gen 1:26-28 | "Let us make man in our image... and let them have dominion..." | Limits of human dominion against divine creation. |
| Gen 9:9-10 | "And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with every living creature..." | God initiates covenant with creatures; not man making a covenant with wild beasts. |
| Ex 19:5 | "Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant..." | Covenants are divine initiatives with humans. |
| Deut 5:2-3 | "The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb." | Emphasizes God's role in establishing covenants. |
| Jer 32:17 | "Ah Lord God! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power..." | God's unlimited power contrasts with man's weakness. |
| Isa 27:1 | "In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan..." | Prophetic portrayal of God's ultimate victory over rebellious forces. |
| Mk 4:41 | "And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this...?" | Jesus demonstrating power over natural elements, proving divine authority. |
| Col 1:16 | "For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth..." | All creation, including wild beasts, are subject to God's Son. |
| Rom 1:20 | "For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen..." | God's power seen in creation. |
| Heb 1:3 | "...upholding all things by the word of his power..." | Christ's ongoing, absolute control over all creation. |
| 1 Cor 15:28 | "...then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him..." | All things ultimately brought into subjection, confirming God's supremacy. |
| Jas 3:7 | "For every kind of beasts... has been tamed by mankind:" | General human ability to tame creatures, excluding extraordinary ones like Leviathan. |
| Rev 12:9 | "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil..." | The dragon, echoing Leviathan, ultimately defeated by divine power. |
| Isa 40:15 | "Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket..." | Contrast of humanity's smallness against God's majesty. |
| Job 42:2 | "I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee." | Job's ultimate admission of God's limitless power. |
Job 41 verses
Job 41 4 Meaning
Job 41:4 presents God's rhetorical questions to Job concerning Leviathan, underscoring humanity's utter inability to exert control over this fearsome creature. It forcefully communicates that Leviathan cannot be coaxed into a binding agreement (covenant) with a human, nor can it be subdued and permanently held as a servant. This declaration serves to highlight Leviathan's untameable nature, thereby emphasizing God's incomparable power and sovereignty over even the wildest and most chaotic elements of creation, challenging Job's perspective on divine governance.
Job 41 4 Context
Job 41:4 is part of the Lord's second speech to Job, which extends from Job 38:1 through 41:34. Having humbled Job by revealing his ignorance of the vast complexity and grandeur of the natural world (Job 38-39), God shifts to challenging Job with descriptions of two magnificent, fearsome creatures: Behemoth (Job 40) and Leviathan (Job 41). The immediate context of chapter 41 vividly portrays Leviathan as an unassailable, terrifying, and indomitable creature whose power transcends all human capability. Each detail serves to illustrate the creature's immense strength, impenetrable hide, fiery breath, and terrifying presence, driving home the point that if Job (representing humanity) cannot control this single creature, he is certainly in no position to understand or critique God's governance of the universe. Historically, "Leviathan" resonated with ancient Near Eastern cosmological concepts of primeval chaos monsters, and God's powerful portrayal here serves as a direct polemic, affirming His absolute sovereignty over all such forces, thereby asserting His singular, unrivalled divinity over any purported competing powers.
Job 41 4 Word analysis
- Will he make: הֲיִכְרֹת (hă·yiḵ·rōṯ). The prefix `הֲ` (ha-) marks a rhetorical question expecting a "No." The verb is `כָּרַת` (karath), meaning "to cut," idiomatically used for "making" or "cutting" a covenant. This highlights the seriousness and binding nature of covenants. The question implies the absolute impossibility of such an agreement.
- a covenant: בְּרִית (bə·rîṯ). A solemn, binding agreement between parties, often initiated by God with humanity (e.g., Noah, Abraham). This concept is rooted in the divine establishment of order. The creature's wild nature precludes it from participating in such a structured, relational compact.
- with thee?: עִמָּךְ (‘im·māḵ). Directly addresses Job, emphasizing the specific impotence of human beings (represented by Job) against such a creature. It makes the question profoundly personal and inescapable for Job.
- wilt thou take him: הֲתִקָּחֶנּוּ (hă·tiq·qā·ḥen·nū). Again, the rhetorical interrogative `הֲ` (ha-) for "No." The verb is `לָקַח` (lā·qaḥ), meaning "to take, seize, acquire, buy." It implies either persuasion or force. Both are impossible for Leviathan.
- for a servant: לְעֶבֶד (lə·‘e·ḇeḏ). `לְ` (le-) means "for" or "as." `עֶבֶד` (eved) means "servant" or "slave." It implies subjection, obedience, and labor under human authority. This concept is fundamentally incompatible with Leviathan's described wild, untamed nature.
- for ever?: לְעוֹלָם (lə·‘ō·w·lām). `לְ` (le-) for "for." `עוֹלָם` (olam) signifies an indefinitely long period, eternity, or perpetuity. Even a temporary subjugation is out of the question; permanent enslavement is utterly unthinkable. It underlines the inherent and lasting freedom of Leviathan from human control.
- "Will he make a covenant with thee?": This phrase underscores the insurmountable chasm between human attempts to establish order and control (via covenant-making, a rational and volitional act) and the chaotic, uncontrollable power represented by Leviathan. It highlights that this creature does not operate on human terms or logic.
- "wilt thou take him for a servant for ever?": This pairing of concepts emphasizes not only the inability to gain initial control but also the impossibility of maintaining long-term, complete subjugation. It directly confronts human presumption of dominion, showing that there are limits to the "dominion" granted in Genesis 1:28, as God's ultimate sovereignty transcends it.
Job 41 4 Bonus section
The concept of a "covenant" with an animal, especially a wild one, is biblically absurd in human-to-animal terms, emphasizing the deep gulf between man's realm and God's. While God did establish a "covenant with every living creature" in Noah's time (Gen 9:10), this was God's initiative, a divine decree of peace with His creation, not a mutual agreement forged by man to bring an animal into submission or servitude. The Leviathan in Job 41 serves as an ultimate boundary marker, beyond human taming, highlighting the fact that only the Creator has ultimate, unchallenged authority over every single detail and power within His creation, visible or unseen.
Job 41 4 Commentary
Job 41:4 forms a critical point in God's concluding argument to Job, demonstrating the utter impossibility of human dominion over the untameable Leviathan. By posing these rhetorical questions, God draws attention to Leviathan's intrinsic power and wildness, which prevents any contractual agreement or enduring servitude to humanity. If such a creature cannot be controlled, how much less can Job comprehend or contend with its Creator? This verse underscores God's singular, unchallenged sovereignty over every facet of creation, including its most terrifying and powerful elements, serving as a powerful lesson in humility for Job. It exposes the limitations of human strength and wisdom when confronted with divine power that transcends earthly understanding and control. The message reinforces that true mastery belongs to God alone, who brought even Leviathan into existence and holds it perfectly within His sway, defying any attempt at human enslavement.