Job’s Reply to Bildad

26 Then Job answered:

How you have helped(A) the powerless
and delivered the arm that is weak!
How you have counseled the unwise(B)
and abundantly provided insight!
With whom did you speak these words?
Whose breath came out of your mouth?

The departed spirits tremble
beneath the waters and all that inhabit them.(C)
Sheol(D) is naked before God,
and Abaddon(E) has no covering.(F)

He stretches the northern skies over empty space;
he hangs the earth on nothing.
He wraps up the water in his clouds,
yet the clouds do not burst beneath its weight.(G)
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

  1. 26:13 = Leviathan

Job Reasons with Bildad

26 In reply, Job responded:

“What a help you are to the weak!
    How powerfully you deliver those without strength!
What counsel you provide to the fool!
    What insight you provide so abundantly!
Who helped you say all of this?
    Who inspired you?”

Job Acknowledges God’s Power

“The ghosts of the dead[a] writhe under the waters
    along with those who live there with them.
Sheol[b] is naked before God[c]
    and Abaddon[d] has no clothes.
He spreads out the north over empty space,
    suspending the earth over nothing.

“He restricts the waters within clouds
    and the clouds don’t burst open under them.
He has enclosed the face of the full moon
    and spread his clouds over it.
10 He has delimited a boundary[e] over the surface of the oceans
    as a limit between light and darkness.
11 The pillars of the heavens tremble
    and are astounded at his rebuke.
12 By his power he disturbs the sea;
    and with his skill he shatters the sea monster.[f]
13 He clears the skies with his wind;
    his hands have pierced the fleeing serpent.
14 Indeed, these are the fringes of his ways,
    and how faint is the whisper we’ve heard of it!
        But who can comprehend the thunder of his might?”

Footnotes

  1. Job 26:5 Lit. Rephaim; i.e., souls of the dead
  2. Job 26:6 I.e. the realm of the afterlife
  3. Job 26:6 Lit. him
  4. Job 26:6 I.e. the realm of punishment in the afterlife
  5. Job 26:10 Lit. statute
  6. Job 26:12 Lit. shattered Rahab