Job 26
EasyEnglish Bible
Job replies to Bildad[a]
26 Then Job replied. This is what he said:
2 ‘Do not think that you have helped me,
a weak and helpless man.
Nothing that you have said makes me feel stronger.
3 What good advice have you given me
to make me wise?
You have not really shown me how clever you are!
4 Someone must have helped you to say these wise words.
Who has put all these thoughts in your minds?
5 Dead people shake with fear.
They are under the deep waters.
6 God sees everything that happens
in the place of dead people.
Nothing can hide that terrible place from him.
7 He puts the skies in their place in the north,
so that they cover empty space.
He hangs the earth in the skies
and it stays there.
8 He fills the clouds with water.
They become heavy but they do not break.
9 When the moon is big and round, he hides it.
He causes clouds to cover it.
10 He marks the border between the sea and the sky.
It is the place where the night finishes and the day begins.
11 When God is angry,
he shouts at the pillars under the sky.
When they hear his command,
they shake with fear.
12 He used his power to control the sea.
He used his wisdom to destroy Rahab,
the great sea monster.
13 He used his breath to make the sky become bright.
With his hand he cut the great sea snake
as it ran away.
14 These are only a few of the things that God does.
We only know about a few small things.
If he used all of his power,
we could never understand.’
Job 26
New International Version
Job
26 Then Job replied:
2 “How you have helped the powerless!(A)
How you have saved the arm that is feeble!(B)
3 What advice you have offered to one without wisdom!
And what great insight(C) you have displayed!
4 Who has helped you utter these words?
And whose spirit spoke from your mouth?(D)
5 “The dead are in deep anguish,(E)
those beneath the waters and all that live in them.
6 The realm of the dead(F) is naked before God;
Destruction[a](G) lies uncovered.(H)
7 He spreads out the northern skies(I) over empty space;
he suspends the earth over nothing.(J)
8 He wraps up the waters(K) in his clouds,(L)
yet the clouds do not burst under their weight.
9 He covers the face of the full moon,
spreading his clouds(M) over it.
10 He marks out the horizon on the face of the waters(N)
for a boundary between light and darkness.(O)
11 The pillars of the heavens quake,(P)
aghast at his rebuke.
12 By his power he churned up the sea;(Q)
by his wisdom(R) he cut Rahab(S) to pieces.
13 By his breath the skies(T) became fair;
his hand pierced the gliding serpent.(U)
14 And these are but the outer fringe of his works;
how faint the whisper(V) we hear of him!(W)
Who then can understand the thunder of his power?”(X)
Footnotes
- Job 26:6 Hebrew Abaddon
Job 26
English Standard Version
Job Replies: God's Majesty Is Unsearchable
26 Then Job answered and said:
2 “How you have (A)helped him who has no power!
How you have saved (B)the arm that has no strength!
3 How you have (C)counseled him who has no wisdom,
and plentifully declared sound knowledge!
4 With whose help have you uttered words,
and whose breath (D)has come out from you?
5 The (E)dead tremble
under the waters and their inhabitants.
6 Sheol is (F)naked before God,[a]
and (G)Abaddon has no covering.
7 He (H)stretches out the north over (I)the void
and hangs the earth on nothing.
8 He (J)binds up the waters in his thick clouds,
and the cloud is not split open under them.
9 He covers the face of the full moon[b]
and (K)spreads over it his cloud.
10 He has inscribed (L)a circle on the face of the waters
at the boundary between light and darkness.
11 (M)The pillars of heaven tremble
and are astounded at his (N)rebuke.
12 By his power he (O)stilled the sea;
by his understanding he shattered (P)Rahab.
13 (Q)By his wind the heavens were made fair;
his hand pierced (R)the fleeing serpent.
14 Behold, these are but the outskirts of his (S)ways,
and how small (T)a whisper do we hear of him!
But the thunder of his power who can understand?”
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