1 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?
1 But Job H347 answered H6030 and said, H559
2 How hast thou helped H5826 him that is without power? H3581 how savest H3467 thou the arm H2220 that hath no H3808 strength? H5797
3 How hast thou counselled H3289 him that hath no H3808 wisdom? H2451 and how hast thou plentifully H7230 declared H3045 the thing as it is? H8454
4 To whom hast thou uttered H5046 words? H4405 and whose spirit H5397 came H3318 from thee?
5 Dead H7496 things are formed H2342 from under the waters, H4325 and the inhabitants H7931 thereof.
6 Hell H7585 is naked H6174 before him, and destruction H11 hath no covering. H3682
7 He stretcheth out H5186 the north H6828 over the empty place, H8414 and hangeth H8518 the earth H776 upon nothing. H1099
8 He bindeth up H6887 the waters H4325 in his thick clouds; H5645 and the cloud H6051 is not rent H1234 under them.
9 He holdeth back H270 the face H6440 of his throne, H3678 and spreadeth H6576 his cloud H6051 upon it.
10 He hath compassed H2328 the waters H6440 H4325 with bounds, H2706 until the day H216 and night H2822 come to an end. H8503
11 The pillars H5982 of heaven H8064 tremble H7322 and are astonished H8539 at his reproof. H1606
12 He divideth H7280 the sea H3220 with his power, H3581 and by his understanding H8394 H8394 he smiteth H4272 through the proud. H7293
13 By his spirit H7307 he hath garnished H8235 the heavens; H8064 his hand H3027 hath formed H2342 the crooked H1281 serpent. H5175
14 Lo, these are parts H7098 of his ways: H1870 but how little H8102 a portion H1697 is heard H8085 of him? but the thunder H7482 of his power H1369 who can understand? H995
1 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 spirit came forth from thee?
5 They that are deceased tremble Beneath the waters and the inhabitants thereof.
6 Sheol is naked before `God', And Abaddon hath no covering.
7 He stretcheth out the north over empty space, 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 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 stirreth up the sea with his power, And by his understanding he smiteth through Rahab.
13 By his Spirit the heavens are garnished; His hand hath pierced the swift serpent.
14 Lo, these are but the outskirts of his ways: And how small a whisper do we hear of him! But the thunder of his power who can understand?
1 And Job answereth and saith: --
2 What -- thou hast helped the powerless, Saved an arm not strong!
3 What -- thou hast given counsel to the unwise, And wise plans in abundance made known.
4 With whom hast thou declared words? And whose breath came forth from thee?
5 The Rephaim are formed, Beneath the waters, also their inhabitants.
6 Naked `is' Sheol over-against Him, And there is no covering to destruction.
7 Stretching out the north over desolation, Hanging the earth upon nothing,
8 Binding up the waters in His thick clouds, And the cloud is not rent under them.
9 Taking hold of the face of the throne, Spreading over it His cloud.
10 A limit He hath placed on the waters, Unto the boundary of light with darkness.
11 Pillars of the heavens do tremble, And they wonder because of His rebuke.
12 By His power He hath quieted the sea, And by His understanding smitten the proud.
13 By His Spirit the heavens He beautified, Formed hath His hand the fleeing serpent.
14 Lo, these `are' the borders of His way, And how little a matter is heard of Him, And the thunder of His might Who doth understand?
1 And Job answered and said,
2 How hast thou helped the powerless; how saved the arm that is without strength!
3 How hast thou counselled him that hath no wisdom, and abundantly declared the thing as it is!
4 For whom hast thou uttered words? and whose spirit came from thee?
5 The shades tremble beneath the waters and the inhabitants thereof;
6 Sheol is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering.
7 He stretcheth out the north over empty space, he 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 covereth the face of his throne, he spreadeth his cloud upon it.
10 He hath traced a fixed circle over the waters, unto the confines of light and darkness.
11 The pillars of the heavens tremble and are astonished at his rebuke.
12 He stirreth up the sea by his power, and by his understanding he smiteth through Rahab.
13 By his Spirit the heavens are adorned; his hand hath formed the fleeing serpent.
14 Lo, these are the borders of his ways; but what a whisper of a word do we hear of him! And the thunder of his power, who can understand?
1 Then Job answered,
2 "How have you helped him who is without power! How have you saved the arm that has no strength!
3 How have you counseled him who has no wisdom, And plentifully declared sound knowledge!
4 To whom have you uttered words? Whose spirit came forth from you?
5 "Those who are deceased tremble, Those beneath the waters and all that live in them.
6 Sheol{Sheol is the lower world or the grave.} is naked before God, And Abaddon{Abaddon means Destroyer.} has no covering.
7 He stretches out the north over empty space, And hangs the earth on nothing.
8 He binds up the waters in his thick clouds, And the cloud is not burst under them.
9 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?"
1 Then Job made answer and said,
2 How have you given help to him who has no power! how have you been the salvation of the arm which has no strength!
3 How have you given teaching to him who has no wisdom, and fully made clear true knowledge!
4 To whom have your words been said? and whose spirit came out from you?
5 The shades in the underworld are shaking; the waters and those living in them.
6 The underworld is uncovered before him, and Destruction has no veil.
7 By his hand the north is stretched out in space, and the earth is hanging on nothing.
8 By him the waters are shut up in his thick clouds, and the cloud does not give way under them.
9 By him the face of his high seat is veiled, and his cloud stretched out over it.
10 By him a circle is marked out on the face of the waters, to the limits of the light and the dark.
11 The pillars of heaven are shaking, and are overcome by his sharp words.
12 By his power the sea was made quiet; and by his wisdom Rahab was wounded.
13 By his wind the heavens become bright: by his hand the quickly moving snake was cut through.
14 See, these are only the outskirts of his ways; and how small is that which comes to our ears about him! But the thunder of his acts of power is outside all knowledge.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Job 26
Commentary on Job 26 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 26
THIRD SERIES.
Job 26:1-14. Job's Reply.
2, 3. without power … no strength … no wisdom—The negatives are used instead of the positives, powerlessness, &c., designedly (so Isa 31:8; De 32:21). Granting I am, as you say (Job 18:17; 15:2), powerlessness itself, &c. "How hast thou helped such a one?"
savest—supportest.
3. plentifully … the thing as it is—rather, "abundantly—wisdom." Bildad had made great pretensions to abundant wisdom. How has he shown it?
4. For whose instruction were thy words meant? If for me I know the subject (God's omnipotence) better than my instructor; Job 26:5-14 is a sample of Job's knowledge of it.
whose spirit—not that of God (Job 32:8); nay, rather, the borrowed sentiment of Eliphaz (Job 4:17-19; 15:14-16).
5-14. As before in the ninth and twelfth chapters, Job had shown himself not inferior to the friends' inability to describe God's greatness, so now he describes it as manifested in hell (the world of the dead), Job 26:5, 6; on earth, Job 26:7; in the sky, Job 26:8-11; the sea, Job 26:12; the heavens, Job 26:13.
Dead things are formed—Rather, "The souls of the dead (Rephaim) tremble." Not only does God's power exist, as Bildad says (Job 25:2), "in high places" (heaven), but reaches to the region of the dead. Rephaim here, and in Pr 21:16 and Isa 14:9, is from a Hebrew root, meaning "to be weak," hence "deceased"; in Ge 14:5 it is applied to the Canaanite giants; perhaps in derision, to express their weakness, in spite of their gigantic size, as compared with Jehovah [Umbreit]; or, as the imagination of the living magnifies apparitions, the term originally was applied to ghosts, and then to giants in general [Magee].
from under—Umbreit joins this with the previous word "tremble from beneath" (so Isa 14:9). But the Masoretic text joins it to "under the waters." Thus the place of the dead will be represented as "under the waters" (Ps 18:4, 5); and the waters as under the earth (Ps 24:2). Magee well translates thus: "The souls of the dead tremble; (the places) under the waters, and their inhabitants." Thus the Masoretic connection is retained; and at the same time the parallel clauses are evenly balanced. "The inhabitants of the places under the waters" are those in Gehenna, the lower of the two parts into which Sheol, according to the Jews, is divided; they answer to "destruction," that is, the place of the wicked in Job 26:6, as "Rephaim" (Job 26:5) to "Hell" (Sheol) (Job 26:6). "Sheol" comes from a Hebrew root—"ask," because it is insatiable (Pr 27:20); or "ask as a loan to be returned," implying Sheol is but a temporary abode, previous to the resurrection; so for English Version "formed," the Septuagint and Chaldee translate; shall be born, or born again, implying the dead are to be given back from Sheol and born again into a new state [Magee].
6. (Job 38:17; Ps 139:8; Pr 5:11).
destruction—the abode of destruction, that is, of lost souls. Hebrew, Abaddon (Re 9:11).
no covering—from God's eyes.
7. Hint of the true theory of the earth. Its suspension in empty space is stated in the second clause. The north in particular is specified in the first, being believed to be the highest part of the earth (Isa 14:13). The northern hemisphere or vault of heaven is included; often compared to a stretched-out canopy (Ps 104:2). The chambers of the south are mentioned (Job 9:9), that is, the southern hemisphere, consistently with the earth's globular form.
8. in … clouds—as if in airy vessels, which, though light, do not burst with the weight of water in them (Pr 30:4).
9. Rather, He encompasseth or closeth. God makes the clouds a veil to screen the glory not only of His person, but even of the exterior of His throne from profane eyes. His agency is everywhere, yet He Himself is invisible (Ps 18:11; 104:3).
10. Rather, "He hath drawn a circular bound round the waters" (Pr 8:27; Ps 104:9). The horizon seems a circle. Indication is given of the globular form of the earth.
until the day, &c.—to the confines of light and darkness. When the light falls on our horizon, the other hemisphere is dark. Umbreit and Maurer translate "He has most perfectly (literally, to perfection) drawn the bound (taken from the first clause) between light and darkness" (compare Ge 1:4, 6, 9): where the bounding of the light from darkness is similarly brought into proximity with the bounding of the waters.
11. pillars—poetically for the mountains which seem to bear up the sky (Ps 104:32).
astonished—namely, from terror. Personification.
his reproof—(Ps 104:7). The thunder, reverberating from cliff to cliff (Hab 3:10; Na 1:5).
12. divideth—(Ps 74:13). Perhaps at creation (Ge 1:9, 10). The parallel clause favors Umbreit, "He stilleth." But the Hebrew means "He moves." Probably such a "moving" is meant as that at the assuaging of the flood by the wind which "God made to pass over" it (Ge 8:1; Ps 104:7).
the proud—rather, "its pride," namely, of the sea (Job 9:13).
13. Umbreit less simply, "By His breath He maketh the heavens to revive": namely, His wind dissipates the clouds, which obscured the shining stars. And so the next clause in contrast, "His hand doth strangle," that is, obscures the north constellation, the dragon. Pagan astronomy typified the flood trying to destroy the ark by the dragon constellation, about to devour the moon in its eclipsed crescent-shape like a boat (Job 3:8, Margin). But better as English Version (Ps 33:6).
crooked—implying the oblique course, of the stars, or the ecliptic. "Fleeing" or "swift" [Umbreit] (Isa 27:1). This particular constellation is made to represent the splendor of all the stars.
14. parts—Rather, "only the extreme boundaries of," &c., and how faint is the whisper that we hear of Him!
thunder—the entire fulness. In antithesis to "whisper" (1Co 13:9, 10, 12).