Job Rebukes Bildad
26 But Job answered and said,
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“What a help you are to the weak (powerless)!
How you have saved the arm that is without strength!
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“How you have counseled the one who has no wisdom!
And how abundantly you have provided sound wisdom and helpful insight!
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“To whom have you uttered [these] words?
And whose spirit [inspired what] came forth from you?
The Greatness of God
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“The spirits of the dead tremble
Underneath the waters and their inhabitants.
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“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].
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“It is He who spreads out the north over emptiness
And [a]hangs the earth on nothing.
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“He wraps the waters in His clouds [which otherwise would spill on earth all at once],
And the cloud does not burst under them.
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“He covers the face of the [b]full moon
And spreads His cloud over it.
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“He has inscribed a circular limit (the horizon) on the face of the waters
At the boundary between light and darkness.
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“The pillars of the heavens tremble
And are terrified at His rebuke.
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“He stirred up the sea by His power,
And by His understanding He smashed [proud] [c]Rahab.
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“By His breath the heavens are cleared;
His hand has pierced the [swiftly] fleeing serpent.(A)
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“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?”
Footnotes
- Job 26:7 Job reveals a remarkable understanding of God’s power and His amazing universe.
- Job 26:9 Or throne.
- Job 26:12 I.e. a legendary and horrifying sea monster.