Job 26
NIV — New International Version Bible (NIV)
AMP — Amplified Bible (AMP)
Verse 1
Then Job replied:
“What a help you are to the weak (powerless)!
How you have saved the arm that is without strength!
“How you have counseled the one who has no wisdom!
And how abundantly you have provided sound wisdom and helpful insight!
“To whom have you uttered [these] words?
And whose spirit [inspired what] came forth from you?
“The spirits of the dead tremble
Underneath the waters and their inhabitants.
“Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) is naked before God,
And Abaddon (the place of destruction) has no covering [from His eyes].
“He wraps the waters in His clouds [which otherwise would spill on earth all at once],
And the cloud does not burst under them.
“He has inscribed a circular limit (the horizon) on the face of the waters
At the boundary between light and darkness.
“The pillars of the heavens tremble
And are terrified at His rebuke.
“By His breath the heavens are cleared;
His hand has pierced the [swiftly] fleeing serpent.
“Yet these are just the fringes of His ways [mere samples of His power],
The faintest whisper of His voice!
Who can contemplate the thunder of His [full] mighty power?”
But Job answered and said,
Verse 2
“How you have helped the powerless!
How you have saved the arm that is feeble!
How you have saved the arm that is feeble!
“What a help you are to the weak (powerless)!
How you have saved the arm that is without strength!
Verse 3
What advice you have offered to one without wisdom!
And what great insight you have displayed!
And what great insight you have displayed!
“How you have counseled the one who has no wisdom!
And how abundantly you have provided sound wisdom and helpful insight!
Verse 4
Who has helped you utter these words?
And whose spirit spoke from your mouth?
And whose spirit spoke from your mouth?
“To whom have you uttered [these] words?
And whose spirit [inspired what] came forth from you?
The Greatness of God
Verse 5
“The dead are in deep anguish,
those beneath the waters and all that live in them.
those beneath the waters and all that live in them.
“The spirits of the dead tremble
Underneath the waters and their inhabitants.
Verse 6
“Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) is naked before God,
And Abaddon (the place of destruction) has no covering [from His eyes].
Verse 7
He spreads out the northern skies over empty space;
he suspends the earth over nothing.
he suspends the earth over nothing.
Verse 8
He wraps up the waters in his clouds,
yet the clouds do not burst under their weight.
yet the clouds do not burst under their weight.
“He wraps the waters in His clouds [which otherwise would spill on earth all at once],
And the cloud does not burst under them.
Verse 9
He covers the face of the full moon,
spreading his clouds over it.
spreading his clouds over it.
Verse 10
He marks out the horizon on the face of the waters
for a boundary between light and darkness.
for a boundary between light and darkness.
“He has inscribed a circular limit (the horizon) on the face of the waters
At the boundary between light and darkness.
Verse 11
The pillars of the heavens quake,
aghast at his rebuke.
aghast at his rebuke.
“The pillars of the heavens tremble
And are terrified at His rebuke.
Verse 12
By his power he churned up the sea;
by his wisdom he cut Rahab to pieces.
by his wisdom he cut Rahab to pieces.
Verse 13
By his breath the skies became fair;
his hand pierced the gliding serpent.
his hand pierced the gliding serpent.
“By His breath the heavens are cleared;
His hand has pierced the [swiftly] fleeing serpent.
Verse 14
And these are but the outer fringe of his works;
how faint the whisper we hear of him!
Who then can understand the thunder of his power?”
how faint the whisper we hear of him!
Who then can understand the thunder of his power?”
“Yet these are just the fringes of His ways [mere samples of His power],
The faintest whisper of His voice!
Who can contemplate the thunder of His [full] mighty power?”