Job 26

Job’s Reply to Bildad

1 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 thoroughly explained the path to success!
4 Who did you speak these words to?
Whose breath came out of your mouth?

5 The departed spirits tremble
beneath the waters and all that inhabit them. ^c
6 ^{▼▼Sheol: A Hebrew word for either the grave or the realm of the dead}Sheol ^e is naked before God,
and ^{▼▼Abaddon: Either the grave or the realm of the dead}Abaddon ^g has no covering. ^h
7 He stretches the northern skies over empty space;
He hangs the earth on nothing.
8 He wraps up the waters in His clouds,
yet the clouds do not burst beneath their weight. ⁱ
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 ^j
at the boundary between light and darkness.
11 The pillars that hold up the sky tremble,
astounded at His rebuke. ^k
12 By His power He stirred ^l the sea,
and by His understanding He crushed ^{▼▼Rahab: Or boisterous one, a mythological sea serpent or dragon defeated at the time of creation. Scripture sometimes uses the name metaphorically to describe Egypt.}Rahab. ⁿ
13 By His breath the heavens gained their beauty;
His hand pierced the fleeing serpent. ^{▼▼= Leviathan
,} ^p
14 These are but the fringes of His ways;
how faint is the word we hear of Him!
Who can understand His mighty thunder?