Job 26
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 abundantly provided insight!
4 With whom did you speak these words?
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 water in his clouds,
yet the clouds do not burst beneath its 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
- 26:13 = Leviathan
Job 26
Lexham English Bible
Job’s Ninth Speech: A Response to Bildad
26 Then[a] Job answered and said,
2 “How you[b] have helped one who has no power![c]
How you[d] have assisted the arm that has no strength![e]
3 How you[f] have advised one who has no wisdom![g]
And what sound wisdom you[h] have made known in abundance![i]
4 With whose help[j] have you[k] uttered words,
and whose breath has come forth from you?[l]
5 “The spirits of the dead tremble
below the waters and their inhabitants.
6 Sheol is naked before him,
and there is no covering for Abaddon.
7 He stretches out the north over emptiness;
he hangs the earth over nothing.[m]
8 He ties up the water in its clouds,
and the cloud is not torn open beneath it.[n]
9 He covers the face of the full moon;[o]
he spreads his cloud over it.
10 He has described a circle[p] on the face of the water
between light and darkness.[q]
11 “The pillars of heaven tremble,
and they are astounded at his rebuke.
12 By his power he stilled the sea,
and by his understanding he struck down Rahab.
13 By his breath the heavens were made clear;[r]
his hand pierced the fleeing snake.
14 Look, these are the outer fringes of his ways,
and how faint is the word[s] that we hear of him!
But[t] who can understand the thunder of his power?”
Footnotes
- Job 26:1 Hebrew “And”
- Job 26:2 Singular
- Job 26:2 Literally “for not power”
- Job 26:2 Singular
- Job 26:2 Literally “not strength”
- Job 26:3 Singular
- Job 26:3 Literally “for not wisdom”
- Job 26:3 Singular
- Job 26:3 Literally “as far as the multitude,” or “for multitude”
- Job 26:4 Literally “With whom”
- Job 26:4 Singular
- Job 26:4 Singular
- Job 26:7 Literally “over not what”
- Job 26:8 Hebrew “them”; antecedent for “them” is “water” (literally “waters”)
- Job 26:9 Text reads “throne”; “full moon” is based on a change of the vowels
- Job 26:10 NRSV; literally “a limit he has circled”
- Job 26:10 Literally “at the end of light with darkness”
- Job 26:13 Literally “heavens clearness”
- Job 26:14 Literally “how whisper of word”
- Job 26:14 Hebrew “And”
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