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“The departed spirits tremble,
    those beneath the waters and all that live in them.
Sheol[a] is naked before God,
    and Abaddon[b] has no covering.
He stretches out the north over empty space,
    and hangs the earth on nothing.
He binds up the waters in his thick clouds,
    and the cloud is not burst under them.
He encloses the face of his throne,
    and spreads his cloud on it.
10 He has described a boundary on the surface of the waters,
    and to the confines of light and darkness.
11 The pillars of heaven tremble
    and are astonished at his rebuke.
12 He stirs up the sea with his power,
    and by his understanding he strikes through Rahab.
13 By his Spirit the heavens are garnished.
    His hand has pierced the swift serpent.
14 Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways.
    How small a whisper do we hear of him!
    But the thunder of his power who can understand?”

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Footnotes

  1. 26:6 Sheol is the place of the dead.
  2. 26:6 Abaddon means Destroyer.

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?”

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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