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Job Answers Bildad

26 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.
10 He draws the horizon like a circle on the water
    at the place where light and darkness meet.
11 Heaven’s foundations shake
    when he thunders at them.
12 With his power he quiets the sea;
    by his wisdom he destroys Rahab, the sea monster.
13 He breathes, and the sky clears.
    His hand stabs the fleeing snake.
14 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 Then Job replied:

“How you have helped the powerless!(A)
    How you have saved the arm that is feeble!(B)
What advice you have offered to one without wisdom!
    And what great insight(C) you have displayed!
Who has helped you utter these words?
    And whose spirit spoke from your mouth?(D)

“The dead are in deep anguish,(E)
    those beneath the waters and all that live in them.
The realm of the dead(F) is naked before God;
    Destruction[a](G) lies uncovered.(H)
He spreads out the northern skies(I) over empty space;
    he suspends the earth over nothing.(J)
He wraps up the waters(K) in his clouds,(L)
    yet the clouds do not burst under their weight.
He covers the face of the full moon,
    spreading his clouds(M) over it.
10 He marks out the horizon on the face of the waters(N)
    for a boundary between light and darkness.(O)
11 The pillars of the heavens quake,(P)
    aghast at his rebuke.
12 By his power he churned up the sea;(Q)
    by his wisdom(R) he cut Rahab(S) to pieces.
13 By his breath the skies(T) became fair;
    his hand pierced the gliding serpent.(U)
14 And these are but the outer fringe of his works;
    how faint the whisper(V) we hear of him!(W)
    Who then can understand the thunder of his power?”(X)

Footnotes

  1. Job 26:6 Hebrew Abaddon