| 1 La esperanza de atraparlo es ilusoria; | su sola presencia aterra; | 1 "Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook, or press down his tongue with a cord? |
| 2 ¡nadie intentaría provocarlo! | ¿Quién resistirá frente a él? | 2 Can you put a rope in his nose, or pierce his jaw with a hook? |
| 3 ¿Quién fue hacia él impunemente? | ¡Nadie bajo el cielo! | 3 Will he make many supplications to you? Will he speak to you soft words? |
| 4 Tendré que hablar también de su arrogancia, | de su palabra firme y su alegato. | 4 Will he make a covenant with you to take him for your servant for ever? |
| 5 ¿Quién atravesó su envoltura | y penetró por su doble coraza? | 5 Will you play with him as with a bird, or will you put him on leash for your maidens? |
| 6 ¿Quién abrió las puertas de sus fauces, | rodeadas de dientes espantosos? | 6 Will traders bargain over him? Will they divide him up among the merchants? |
| 7 Su lomo son hileras de escudos, | bien apretados y sellados; | 7 Can you fill his skin with harpoons, or his head with fishing spears? |
| 8 sus piezas tan unidas y trabadas | que ni el aire se filtra entre ellas; | 8 Lay hands on him; think of the battle; you will not do it again! |
| 9 se sueldan unas con otras, | formando un sólido bloque. | 9 Behold, the hope of a man is disappointed; he is laid low even at the sight of him. |
| 10 Su estornudo emite destellos, | sus ojos parpadean como el alba. | 10 No one is so fierce that he dares to stir him up. Who then is he that can stand before me? |
| 11 Sus fauces escupen antorchas, | emiten chispas de fuego; | 11 Who has given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine. |
| 12 de sus narices sale una humareda, | como caldero que hierve atizado; | 12 "I will not keep silence concerning his limbs, or his mighty strength, or his goodly frame. |
| 13 su aliento enciende carbones, | expulsa llamas por su boca. | 13 Who can strip off his outer garment? Who can penetrate his double coat of mail? |
| 14 Su fuerza reside en su cuello, | ante él se estremece el espanto. | 14 Who can open the doors of his face? Round about his teeth is terror. |
| 15 Son compactos los repliegues de su carne; | soldados al cuerpo, ni se mueven. | 15 His back is made of rows of shields, shut up closely as with a seal. |
| 16 Su corazón es duro como roca, | resistente como piedra molar. | 16 One is so near to another that no air can come between them. |
| 17 Su majestad espanta a los dioses, | al oír su estrépito retroceden. | 17 They are joined one to another; they clasp each other and cannot be separated. |
| 18 No valen espadas contra él, | ni dardo, lanza o jabalina. | 18 His sneezings flash forth light, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn. |
| 19 El hierro le resulta paja, | madera podrida el bronce. | 19 Out of his mouth go flaming torches; sparks of fire leap forth. |
| 20 No hay flecha que le haga escapar, | las piedras de la honda son tamo. | 20 Out of his nostrils comes forth smoke, as from a boiling pot and burning rushes. |
| 21 Tamo le parece el mazo, | se burla del venablo que vibra. | 21 His breath kindles coals, and a flame comes forth from his mouth. |
| 22 Su vientre son lastras afiladas, | que arrastra como trillo por el lodo. | 22 In his neck abides strength, and terror dances before him. |
| 23 Hace hervir el fondo como olla, | convierte el mar en pebetero. | 23 The folds of his flesh cleave together, firmly cast upon him and immovable. |
| 24 A su espalda deja un surco luminoso, | una blanca cabellera en el abismo. | 24 His heart is hard as a stone, hard as the nether millstone. |
| 25 Nadie se le iguala en la tierra, | pues es criatura sin miedo. | 25 When he raises himself up the mighty are afraid; at the crashing they are beside themselves. |
| 26 Se enfrenta a todo lo arrogante, | es el rey de todas las bestias». | 26 Though the sword reaches him, it does not avail; nor the spear, the dart, or the javelin. |
| 27 He counts iron as straw, and bronze as rotten wood. |
| 28 The arrow cannot make him flee; for him slingstones are turned to stubble. |
| 29 Clubs are counted as stubble; he laughs at the rattle of javelins. |
| 30 His underparts are like sharp potsherds; he spreads himself like a threshing sledge on the mire. |
| 31 He makes the deep boil like a pot; he makes the sea like a pot of ointment. |
| 32 Behind him he leaves a shining wake; one would think the deep to be hoary. |
| 33 Upon earth there is not his like, a creature without fear. |
| 34 He beholds everything that is high; he is king over all the sons of pride." |
