Job 26
American Standard Version
26 Then Job answered and said,
2 How hast thou helped him that is without power!
How hast thou saved the arm that hath no strength!
3 How hast thou counselled him that hath no wisdom,
And plentifully declared sound knowledge!
4 To whom hast thou uttered words?
And whose [a]spirit came forth from thee?
5 [b]They that are deceased tremble
Beneath the waters and the inhabitants thereof.
6 Sheol is naked before [c]God,
And [d]Abaddon hath no covering.
7 He stretcheth out the north over empty space,
And hangeth the earth [e]upon nothing.
8 He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds;
And the cloud is not rent under them.
9 He incloseth the face of his throne,
And spreadeth his cloud upon it.
10 He hath described a boundary upon the face of the waters,
Unto the confines of light and darkness.
11 The pillars of heaven tremble
And are astonished at his rebuke.
12 He [f]stirreth up the sea with his power,
And by his understanding he smiteth through Rahab.
13 By his Spirit the heavens are [g]garnished;
His hand hath pierced the [h]swift serpent.
14 Lo, these are but the outskirts of his ways:
And [i]how small a whisper [j]do we hear of him!
But the thunder of his [k]power who can understand?
Footnotes
- Job 26:4 Hebrew breath.
- Job 26:5 Or, The shades. Hebrew The Rephaim.
- Job 26:6 Hebrew him.
- Job 26:6 Or, Destruction
- Job 26:7 Or, over
- Job 26:12 Or, stilleth
- Job 26:13 Hebrew beauty.
- Job 26:13 Or, fleeing. Or, gliding
- Job 26:14 Or, how little a portion
- Job 26:14 Or, is heard
- Job 26:14 Or, mighty deeds
Job 26
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 26
Job’s Reply. 1 Then Job answered and said:[a]
2 What help you give to the powerless,
what strength to the feeble arm!
3 How you give counsel to one without wisdom;
how profuse is the advice you offer!
4 With whose help have you uttered those words,
whose breath comes forth from you?(A)
5 The shades[b] beneath writhe in terror,(B)
the waters, and their inhabitants.
6 Naked before him is Sheol,[c]
and Abaddon has no covering.(C)
7 He stretches out Zaphon[d] over the void,
and suspends the earth over nothing at all;
8 He binds up the waters in his clouds,
yet the cloud is not split by their weight;
9 He holds back the appearance of the full moon
by spreading his clouds before it.
10 He has marked out a circle[e] on the surface of the deep(D)
as the boundary of light and darkness.
11 The pillars of the heavens tremble
and are stunned at his thunderous rebuke;(E)
12 By his power he stilled Sea,
by his skill he crushed Rahab;[f]
13 By his wind the heavens were made clear,
his hand pierced the fleeing serpent.[g](F)
14 Lo, these are but the outlines of his ways,
and what a whisper of a word we hear of him:
Who can comprehend the thunder of his power?
Footnotes
- 26:1–14 Perhaps to be read as Job’s reply to Bildad’s short speech.
- 26:5 Shades: the dead in Sheol, the nether world; cf. Ps 88:11; Is 26:14.
- 26:6 Sheol: cf. note on Ps 6:6. Abaddon: Hebrew for “(place of) destruction,” a synonym for nether world; cf. Jb 28:22; Rev 9:11.
- 26:7 Zaphon: lit., “the north,” used here as a synonym for the firmament, the heavens; cf. Is 14:13.
- 26:10 Circle: the horizon of the ocean which serves as the boundary for the activity of light and darkness; cf. Prv 8:27.
- 26:12 Rahab: another name for the primeval sea-monster; see notes on Jb 3:8 and Ps 89:11; cf. also Jb 7:12; 9:13.
- 26:13 The fleeing serpent: the same term occurs in Is 27:1 in apposition to Leviathan; see note on Jb 3:8.
Job 26
BRG Bible
26 But Job answered and said,
2 How hast thou helped him that is without power? how savest thou the arm that hath no strength?
3 How hast thou counselled him that hath no wisdom? and how hast thou plentifully declared the thing as it is?
4 To whom hast thou uttered words? and whose spirit came from thee?
5 Dead things are formed from under the waters, and the inhabitants thereof.
6 Hell is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering.
7 He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing.
8 He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds; and the cloud is not rent under them.
9 He holdeth back the face of his throne, and spreadeth his cloud upon it.
10 He hath compassed the waters with bounds, until the day and night come to an end.
11 The pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at his reproof.
12 He divideth the sea with his power, and by his understanding he smiteth through the proud.
13 By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent.
14 Lo, these are parts of his ways: but how little a portion is heard of him? but the thunder of his power who can understand?
Public Domain (Why are modern Bible translations copyrighted?)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
Blue Red and Gold Letter Edition™ Copyright © 2012 BRG Bible Ministries. Used by Permission. All rights reserved. BRG Bible is a Registered Trademark in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office #4145648
