Psalms 74:14

¹² Yet God is my King from ancient times, working salvation on the earth.

¹³ You divided the sea by Your strength; You smashed the heads of the dragons of the sea;

You crushed the heads of Leviathan; You fed him to the creatures of the desert.

¹⁵ You broke open the fountain and the flood; You dried up the ever-flowing rivers.

¹⁶ The day is Yours, and also the night; You established the moon and the sun.

This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: You crushed the heads of Leviathan; You fed him to the creatures of the desert.
KJV: Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness.
WEB: You broke the heads of Leviathan in pieces. You gave him as food to people and desert creatures.
ASV: Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces; Thou gavest him to be food to the people inhabiting the wilderness.
DARBY: *Thou* didst break in pieces the heads of leviathan, thou gavest him to be meat to those that people the desert.
BLB: You crushed the heads of Leviathan; You gave him [as] food to the people of the dry places.

ÅB: Du sønderslo Leviatans[^1] hoder, du gav den til føde for ørkenens folk.
OTB: Du knuste hodene på Leviatan;
Du ga ham som mat til skapningene i ørkenen.
B1930: Du sønderslo Leviatans hoder, du gav den til føde for ørkenens folk. / < d.e. et stort sjødyr.>

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Isaiah 27:1
In that day the LORD will take His sharp, great, and mighty sword, and bring judgment on Leviathan the fleeing serpent —Leviathan the coiling serpent—and He will slay the dragon of the sea.
Read in context
Job 41:1–34
“Can you pull in Leviathan with a hook or tie down his tongue with a rope?
Read in context
Psalms 72:9
May the nomads bow before him, and his enemies lick the dust.
Read in context
Psalms 104:25–26
Here is the sea, vast and wide, teeming with creatures beyond number, living things both great and small.
Read in context
Job 3:8
May it be cursed by those who curse the day — those prepared to rouse Leviathan.
Read in context
Numbers 14:9
Only do not rebel against the LORD, and do not be afraid of the people of the land, for they will be like bread for us. Their protection has been removed, and the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them!”
Read in context
Exodus 14:30
That day the LORD saved Israel from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the shore.
Read in context
Revelation 20:2
He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.
Read in context