Job 26
Common English Bible
Sarcasm
26 Then Job said:
2 How well you have helped the weak,
saved those with frail arms,
3 advised one lacking wisdom,
informed many with insight!
4 With whom have you spoken;[a]
whose breath was expelled from you?
Truth about God
5 The dead writhe,
the inhabitants beneath the waters as well.
6 The grave[b] is naked before God;
the underworld[c] lacks covering.
7 He stretched the North[d] over chaos,
hung earth over nothing;
8 wrapped up water in his clouds,
yet they didn’t burst out below;
9 hid the face of the full moon,[e]
spreading his cloud over it;
10 traced a circle on the water’s surface,
at the limit of light and darkness.
11 Heaven’s pillars shook,
terrified by his blast.
12 By his power he stilled the Sea;
split Rahab with his cleverness.
13 Due to his wind, heaven became clear;
his hand split the fleeing serpent.
14 Look, these are only the outer fringe of his ways;
we hear only a whispered word about him.
Who can understand his thunderous power?
Job 26
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Job’s Reply to Bildad
26 Then Job answered:
2 How you have helped(A) the powerless
and delivered the arm that is weak!
3 How you have counseled the unwise(B)
and thoroughly explained the path to success!
4 Who did you speak these words to?
Whose breath came out of your mouth?
5 The departed spirits tremble
beneath the waters and all that inhabit them.(C)
6 Sheol(D) is naked before God,
and Abaddon(E) has no covering.(F)
7 He stretches the northern skies over empty space;
He hangs the earth on nothing.
8 He wraps up the waters in His clouds,
yet the clouds do not burst beneath their weight.(G)
9 He obscures the view of His throne,
spreading His cloud over it.
10 He laid out the horizon on the surface of the waters(H)
at the boundary between light and darkness.
11 The pillars that hold up the sky tremble,
astounded at His rebuke.(I)
12 By His power He stirred(J) the sea,
and by His understanding He crushed Rahab.(K)
13 By His breath the heavens gained their beauty;
His hand pierced the fleeing serpent.[a](L)
14 These are but the fringes of His ways;
how faint is the word we hear of Him!
Who can understand His mighty thunder?
Footnotes
- Job 26:13 = Leviathan
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