The Book of Job, Chapter41
Link to the King James Bible

In Psalm 74, A complaint born of faith, the animal is regarded as a food source. The ‘dragons’ referred to here are thought to be crocodiles.

[1] Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down?
[2] Canst thou put an hook into his nose? or bore his jaw through with a thorn?
[3] Will he make many supplications unto thee? will he speak soft words unto thee?
[4] Will he make a covenant with thee? wilt thou take him for a servant for ever?
[5] Wilt thou play with him as with a bird? or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens?
[6] Shall the companions make a banquet of him? shall they part him among the merchants?
[7] Canst thou fill his skin with barbed iron? or his head with fish spears?
[8] Lay thine hand upon him, remember the battle, do no more.
[9] Behold, the hope of him is in vain: shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him?
[10] None is so fierce that dare stir him up: who then is able to stand before me?
[11] Who hath prevented me, that I should repay him? whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine.
[12] I will not conceal his parts, nor his power, nor his comely proportion.
[13] Who can discover the face of his garment? or who can come to him with his double bridle?
[14] Who can open the doors of his face? his teeth are terrible round about.
[15] His scales are his pride, shut up together as with a close seal.
[16] One is so near to another, that no air can come between them.
[17] They are joined one to another, they stick together, that they cannot be sundered.
[18] By his neesings a light doth shine, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.
[19] Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out.
[20] Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, as out of a seething pot or caldron.
[21] His breath kindleth coals, and a flame goeth out of his mouth.
[22] In his neck remaineth strength, and sorrow is turned into joy before him.
[23] The flakes of his flesh are joined together: they are firm in themselves; they cannot be moved.
[24] His heart is as firm as a stone; yea, as hard as a piece of the nether millstone.
[25] When he raiseth up himself, the mighty are afraid: by reason of breakings they purify themselves.
[26] The sword of him that layeth at him cannot hold: the spear, the dart, nor the habergeon.
[27] He esteemeth iron as straw, and brass as rotten wood.
[28] The arrow cannot make him flee: slingstones are turned with him into stubble.
[29] Darts are counted as stubble: he laugheth at the shaking of a spear.
[30] Sharp stones are under him: he spreadeth sharp pointed things upon the mire.
[31] He maketh the deep to boil like a pot: he maketh the sea like a pot of ointment.
[32] He maketh a path to shine after him; one would think the deep to be hoary.
[33] Upon earth there is not his like, who is made without fear.
[34] He beholdeth all high things: he is a king over all the children of pride.

Psalm 74
Link to the King James Bible

[1] O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever? why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture?
[2] Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old; the rod of thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed; this mount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt.
[3] Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations; even all that the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary.
[4] Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations; they set up their ensigns for signs.
[5] A man was famous according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees.
[6] But now they break down the carved work thereof at once with axes and hammers.
[7] They have cast fire into thy sanctuary, they have defiled by casting down the dwelling place of thy name to the ground.
[8] They said in their hearts, Let us destroy them together: they have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land.
[9] We see not our signs: there is no more any prophet: neither is there among us any that knoweth how long.
[10] O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever?
[11] Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even thy right hand? pluck it out of thy bosom.
[12] For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.
[13] Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters.
[14] Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness.
[15] Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood: thou driedst up mighty rivers.
[16] The day is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun.
[17] Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter.
[18] Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O LORD, and that the foolish people have blasphemed thy name.
[19] O deliver not the soul of thy turtledove unto the multitude of the wicked: forget not the congregation of thy poor for ever.
[20] Have respect unto the covenant: for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty.
[21] O let not the oppressed return ashamed: let the poor and needy praise thy name.
[22] Arise, O God, plead thine own cause: remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee daily.
[23] Forget not the voice of thine enemies: the tumult of those that rise up against thee increaseth continually.

Psalm 104
Link to the King James Bible

In Psalm 104, God’s preservation of nature, the tone is a little softer:

[1] Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty.
[2] Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain:
[3] Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind:
[4] Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire:
[5] Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever.
[6] Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment: the waters stood above the mountains.
[7] At thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away.
[8] They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys unto the place which thou hast founded for them.
[9] Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over; that they turn not again to cover the earth.
[10] He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run among the hills.
[11] They give drink to every beast of the field: the wild asses quench their thirst.
[12] By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, which sing among the branches.
[13] He watereth the hills from his chambers: the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works.
[14] He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth;
[15] And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man's heart.
[16] The trees of the LORD are full of sap; the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted;
[17] Where the birds make their nests: as for the stork, the fir trees are her house.
[18] The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats; and the rocks for the conies.
[19] He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down.
[20] Thou makest darkness, and it is night: wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth.
[21] The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God.
[22] The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, and lay them down in their dens.
[23] Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening.
[24] O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.
[25] So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts.
[26] There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein.
[27] These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season.
[28] That thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good.
[29] Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.
[30] Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.
[31] The glory of the LORD shall endure for ever: the LORD shall rejoice in his works.
[32] He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth: he toucheth the hills, and they smoke.
[33] I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.
[34] My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD.
[35] Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the LORD, O my soul. Praise ye the LORD.

The Book of Isaiah, Chapter 27
Link to the King James Bible

The really horrifying view of the fate of the leviathan is that of Isaiah, in Chapter 27:

[1] In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.

[2] In that day sing ye unto her, A vineyard of red wine.
[3] I the LORD do keep it; I will water it every moment: lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day.
[4] Fury is not in me: who would set the briers and thorns against me in battle? I would go through them, I would burn them together.
[5] Or let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me; and he shall make peace with me.
[6] He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit.
[7] Hath he smitten him, as he smote those that smote him? or is he slain according to the slaughter of them that are slain by him?
[8] In measure, when it shooteth forth, thou wilt debate with it: he stayeth his rough wind in the day of the east wind.
[9] By this therefore shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged; and this is all the fruit to take away his sin; when he maketh all the stones of the altar as chalkstones that are beaten in sunder, the groves and images shall not stand up.
[10] Yet the defenced city shall be desolate, and the habitation forsaken, and left like a wilderness: there shall the calf feed, and there shall he lie down, and consume the branches thereof.
[11] When the boughs thereof are withered, they shall be broken off: the women come, and set them on fire: for it is a people of no understanding: therefore he that made them will not have mercy on them, and he that formed them will shew them no favour.
[12] And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall beat off from the channel of the river unto the stream of Egypt, and ye shall be gathered one by one, O ye children of Israel.
[13] And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the LORD in the holy mount at Jerusalem.

The Destruction of Leviathan by Gustave Doré. [See index page]

4th Book of Ezra, Chapter 6
Link to the King James Bible

[1] And he said unto me, In the beginning, when the earth was made, before the borders of the world stood, or ever the winds blew,
[2] Before it thundered and lightened, or ever the foundations of paradise were laid,
[3] Before the fair flowers were seen, or ever the moveable powers were established, before the innumerable multitude of angels were gathered together,
[4] Or ever the heights of the air were lifted up, before the measures of the firmament were named, or ever the chimneys in Sion were hot,
[5] And ere the present years were sought out, and or ever the inventions of them that now sin were turned, before they were sealed that have gathered faith for a treasure:
[6] Then did I consider these things, and they all were made through me alone, and through none other: by me also they shall be ended, and by none other.
[7] Then answered I and said, What shall be the parting asunder of the times? or when shall be the end of the first, and the beginning of it that followeth?
[8] And he said unto me, From Abraham unto Isaac, when Jacob and Esau were born of him, Jacob's hand held first the heel of Esau.
[9] For Esau is the end of the world, and Jacob is the beginning of it that followeth.
[10] The hand of man is betwixt the heel and the hand: other question, Esdras, ask thou not.
[11] I answered then and said, O Lord that bearest rule, if I have found favour in thy sight,
[12] I beseech thee, shew thy servant the end of thy tokens, whereof thou shewedst me part the last night.
[13] So he answered and said unto me, Stand up upon thy feet, and hear a mighty sounding voice.
[14] And it shall be as it were a great motion; but the place where thou standest shall not be moved.
[15] And therefore when it speaketh be not afraid: for the word is of the end, and the foundation of the earth is understood.
[16] And why? because the speech of these things trembleth and is moved: for it knoweth that the end of these things must be changed.
[17] And it happened, that when I had heard it I stood up upon my feet, and hearkened, and, behold, there was a voice that spake, and the sound of it was like the sound of many waters.
[18] And it said, Behold, the days come, that I will begin to draw nigh, and to visit them that dwell upon the earth,
[19] And will begin to make inquisition of them, what they be that have hurt unjustly with their unrighteousness, and when the affliction of Sion shall be fulfilled;
[20] And when the world, that shall begin to vanish away, shall be finished, then will I shew these tokens: the books shall be opened before the firmament, and they shall see all together:
[21] And the children of a year old shall speak with their voices, the women with child shall bring forth untimely children of three or four months old, and they shall live, and be raised up.
[22] And suddenly shall the sown places appear unsown, the full storehouses shall suddenly be found empty:
[23] And tha trumpet shall give a sound, which when every man heareth, they shall be suddenly afraid.
[24] At that time shall friends fight one against another like enemies, and the earth shall stand in fear with those that dwell therein, the springs of the fountains shall stand still, and in three hours they shall not run.
[25] Whosoever remaineth from all these that I have told thee shall escape, and see my salvation, and the end of your world.
[26] And the men that are received shall see it, who have not tasted death from their birth: and the heart of the inhabitants shall be changed, and turned into another meaning.
[27] For evil shall be put out, and deceit shall be quenched.
[28] As for faith, it shall flourish, corruption shall be overcome, and the truth, which hath been so long without fruit, shall be declared.
[29] And when he talked with me, behold, I looked by little and little upon him before whom I stood.
[30] And these words said he unto me; I am come to shew thee the time of the night to come.
[31] If thou wilt pray yet more, and fast seven days again, I shall tell thee greater things by day than I have heard.
[32] For thy voice is heard before the most High: for the Mighty hath seen thy righteous dealing, he hath seen also thy chastity, which thou hast had ever since thy youth.
[33] And therefore hath he sent me to shew thee all these things, and to say unto thee, Be of good comfort and fear not
[34] And hasten not with the times that are past, to think vain things, that thou mayest not hasten from the latter times.
[35] And it came to pass after this, that I wept again, and fasted seven days in like manner, that I might fulfil the three weeks which he told me.
[36] And in the eighth night was my heart vexed within me again, and I began to speak before the most High.
[37] For my spirit was greatly set on fire, and my soul was in distress.
[38] And I said, O Lord, thou spakest from the beginning of the creation, even the first day, and saidst thus; Let heaven and earth be made; and thy word was a perfect work.
[39] And then was the spirit, and darkness and silence were on every side; the sound of man's voice was not yet formed.
[40] Then commandedst thou a fair light to come forth of thy treasures, that thy work might appear.
[41] Upon the second day thou madest the spirit of the firmament, and commandedst it to part asunder, and to make a division betwixt the waters, that the one part might go up, and the other remain beneath.
[42] Upon the third day thou didst command that the waters should be gathered in the seventh part of the earth: six pats hast thou dried up, and kept them, to the intent that of these some being planted of God and tilled might serve thee.
[43] For as soon as thy word went forth the work was made.
[44] For immediately there was great and innumerable fruit, and many and divers pleasures for the taste, and flowers of unchangeable colour, and odours of wonderful smell: and this was done the third day.
[45] Upon the fourth day thou commandedst that the sun should shine, and the moon give her light, and the stars should be in order:
[46] And gavest them a charge to do service unto man, that was to be made.
[47] Upon the fifth day thou saidst unto the seventh part, where the waters were gathered that it should bring forth living creatures, fowls and fishes: and so it came to pass.
[48] For the dumb water and without life brought forth living things at the commandment of God, that all people might praise thy wondrous works.
[49] Then didst thou ordain two living creatures, the one thou calledst Enoch, and the other Leviathan;
[50] And didst separate the one from the other: for the seventh part, namely, where the water was gathered together, might not hold them both.
[51] Unto Enoch thou gavest one part, which was dried up the third day, that he should dwell in the same part, wherein are a thousand hills:
[52] But unto Leviathan thou gavest the seventh part, namely, the moist; and hast kept him to be devoured of whom thou wilt, and when.
[53] Upon the sixth day thou gavest commandment unto the earth, that before thee it should bring forth beasts, cattle, and creeping things:
[54] And after these, Adam also, whom thou madest lord of all thy creatures: of him come we all, and the people also whom thou hast chosen.
[55] All this have I spoken before thee, O Lord, because thou madest the world for our sakes
[56] As for the other people, which also come of Adam, thou hast said that they are nothing, but be like unto spittle: and hast likened the abundance of them unto a drop that falleth from a vessel.
[57] And now, O Lord, behold, these heathen, which have ever been reputed as nothing, have begun to be lords over us, and to devour us.
[58] But we thy people, whom thou hast called thy firstborn, thy only begotten, and thy fervent lover, are given into their hands.
[59] If the world now be made for our sakes, why do we not possess an inheritance with the world? how long shall this endure?