Job 26:1-14
Job 26:1-14 The Message (MSG)
Job answered: “Well, you’ve certainly been a great help to a helpless man! You came to the rescue just in the nick of time! What wonderful advice you’ve given to a mixed-up man! What amazing insights you’ve provided! Where in the world did you learn all this? How did you become so inspired? “All the buried dead are in torment, and all who’ve been drowned in the deep, deep sea. Hell is ripped open before God, graveyards dug up and exposed. He spreads the skies over unformed space, hangs the earth out in empty space. He pours water into cumulus cloud-bags and the bags don’t burst. He makes the moon wax and wane, putting it through its phases. He draws the horizon out over the ocean, sets a boundary between light and darkness. Thunder crashes and rumbles in the skies. Listen! It’s God raising his voice! By his power he stills sea storms, by his wisdom he tames sea monsters. With one breath he clears the sky, with one finger he crushes the sea serpent. And this is only the beginning, a mere whisper of his rule. Whatever would we do if he really raised his voice!”
Job 26:1-14 King James Version (KJV)
But Job answered and said, How hast thou helped him that is without power? How savest thou the arm that hath no strength? How hast thou counselled him that hath no wisdom? And how hast thou plentifully declared the thing as it is? To whom hast thou uttered words? And whose spirit came from thee? Dead things are formed From under the waters, and the inhabitants thereof. Hell is naked before him, And destruction hath no covering. He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, And hangeth the earth upon nothing. He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds; And the cloud is not rent under them. He holdeth back the face of his throne, And spreadeth his cloud upon it. He hath compassed the waters with bounds, Until the day and night come to an end. The pillars of heaven tremble And are astonished at his reproof. He divideth the sea with his power, And by his understanding he smiteth through the proud. By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; His hand hath formed the crooked serpent. 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?
Job 26:1-14 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)
Then Job responded, “What a help you are to the weak! How you have saved the arm without strength! What counsel you have given to one without wisdom! What helpful insight you have abundantly provided! To whom have you uttered words? And whose spirit was expressed through you? “The departed spirits tremble Under the waters and their inhabitants. Naked is Sheol before Him, And Abaddon has no covering. He stretches out the north over empty space And hangs the earth on nothing. He wraps up the waters in His clouds, And the cloud does not burst under them. He obscures the face of the full moon And spreads His cloud over it. He has inscribed a circle on the surface of the waters At the boundary of light and darkness. The pillars of heaven tremble And are amazed at His rebuke. He quieted the sea with His power, And by His understanding He shattered Rahab. By His breath the heavens are cleared; His hand has pierced the fleeing serpent. Behold, these are the fringes of His ways; And how faint a word we hear of Him! But His mighty thunder, who can understand?”
Job 26:1-14 New Century Version (NCV)
Then Job answered: “You are no help to the helpless! You have not aided the weak! Your advice lacks wisdom! You have shown little understanding! Who has helped you say these words? And where did you get these ideas? “The spirits of the dead tremble, those who are beneath and in the waters. Death is naked before God; destruction is uncovered before him. God stretches the northern sky out over empty space and hangs the earth on nothing. He wraps up the waters in his thick clouds, but the clouds do not break under their weight. He covers the face of the moon, spreading his clouds over it. He draws the horizon like a circle on the water at the place where light and darkness meet. Heaven’s foundations shake when he thunders at them. With his power he quiets the sea; by his wisdom he destroys Rahab, the sea monster. He breathes, and the sky clears. His hand stabs the fleeing snake. And these are only a small part of God’s works. We only hear a small whisper of him. Who could understand God’s thundering power?”
Job 26:1-14 American Standard Version (ASV)
Then Job answered and said, How hast thou helped him that is without power! How hast thou saved the arm that hath no strength! How hast thou counselled him that hath no wisdom, And plentifully declared sound knowledge! To whom hast thou uttered words? And whose spirit came forth from thee? They that are deceased tremble Beneath the waters and the inhabitants thereof. Sheol is naked before God, And Abaddon hath no covering. He stretcheth out the north over empty space, And hangeth the earth upon nothing. He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds; And the cloud is not rent under them. He incloseth the face of his throne, And spreadeth his cloud upon it. He hath described a boundary upon the face of the waters, Unto the confines of light and darkness. The pillars of heaven tremble And are astonished at his rebuke. He stirreth up the sea with his power, And by his understanding he smiteth through Rahab. By his Spirit the heavens are garnished; His hand hath pierced the swift serpent. 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?
Job 26:1-14 New International Version (NIV)
Then Job replied: “How you have helped the powerless! How you have saved the arm that is feeble! What advice you have offered to one without wisdom! And what great insight you have displayed! Who has helped you utter these words? And whose spirit spoke from your mouth? “The dead are in deep anguish, those beneath the waters and all that live in them. The realm of the dead is naked before God; Destruction lies uncovered. He spreads out the northern skies over empty space; he suspends the earth over nothing. He wraps up the waters in his clouds, yet the clouds do not burst under their weight. He covers the face of the full moon, spreading his clouds over it. He marks out the horizon on the face of the waters for a boundary between light and darkness. The pillars of the heavens quake, aghast at his rebuke. By his power he churned up the sea; by his wisdom he cut Rahab to pieces. By his breath the skies became fair; his hand pierced the gliding serpent. 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?”
Job 26:1-14 New King James Version (NKJV)
But Job answered and said: “How have you helped him who is without power? How have you saved the arm that has no strength? How have you counseled one who has no wisdom? And how have you declared sound advice to many? To whom have you uttered words? And whose spirit came from you? “The dead tremble, Those under the waters and those inhabiting them. Sheol is naked before Him, And Destruction has no covering. He stretches out the north over empty space; He hangs the earth on nothing. He binds up the water in His thick clouds, Yet the clouds are not broken under it. He covers the face of His throne, And spreads His cloud over it. He drew a circular horizon on the face of the waters, At the boundary of light and darkness. The pillars of heaven tremble, And are astonished at His rebuke. He stirs up the sea with His power, And by His understanding He breaks up the storm. By His Spirit He adorned the heavens; His hand pierced the fleeing serpent. Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways, And how small a whisper we hear of Him! But the thunder of His power who can understand?”
Job 26:1-14 Amplified Bible (AMP)
But Job answered and said, “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]. “It is He who spreads out the north over emptiness And hangs the earth on nothing. “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 covers the face of the full moon And spreads His cloud over it. “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. “He stirred up the sea by His power, And by His understanding He smashed [proud] Rahab. “By His breath the heavens are cleared; His hand has pierced the [swiftly] fleeing serpent. [Ps 33:6] “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?”
Job 26:1-14 New Living Translation (NLT)
Then Job spoke again: “How you have helped the powerless! How you have saved the weak! How you have enlightened my stupidity! What wise advice you have offered! Where have you gotten all these wise sayings? Whose spirit speaks through you? “The dead tremble— those who live beneath the waters. The underworld is naked in God’s presence. The place of destruction is uncovered. God stretches the northern sky over empty space and hangs the earth on nothing. He wraps the rain in his thick clouds, and the clouds don’t burst with the weight. He covers the face of the moon, shrouding it with his clouds. He created the horizon when he separated the waters; he set the boundary between day and night. The foundations of heaven tremble; they shudder at his rebuke. By his power the sea grew calm. By his skill he crushed the great sea monster. His Spirit made the heavens beautiful, and his power pierced the gliding serpent. These are just the beginning of all that he does, merely a whisper of his power. Who, then, can comprehend the thunder of his power?”
Job 26:1-14 English Standard Version 2016 (ESV)
Then Job answered and said: “How you have helped him who has no power! How you have saved the arm that has no strength! How you have counseled him who has no wisdom, and plentifully declared sound knowledge! With whose help have you uttered words, and whose breath has come out from you? The dead tremble under the waters and their inhabitants. Sheol is naked before God, and Abaddon has no covering. He stretches out the north over the void and hangs the earth on nothing. He binds up the waters in his thick clouds, and the cloud is not split open under them. He covers the face of the full moon and spreads over it his cloud. He has inscribed a circle on the face of the waters at the boundary between light and darkness. The pillars of heaven tremble and are astounded at his rebuke. By his power he stilled the sea; by his understanding he shattered Rahab. By his wind the heavens were made fair; his hand pierced the fleeing serpent. Behold, 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?”