FBV JOB chapter 26

26 Job replied, 2 “How helpful you have been to this feeble man that I am. How supportive you have been to the weak. 3 What good advice you have given to this ignorant man, demonstrating you have so much wisdom. 4 Who helped you speak these words? Who inspired you to say such things?[fn]

5 The dead tremble, those beneath the waters. 6 Sheol lies naked before God, Abaddon is uncovered.[fn] 7 He stretches the northern sky over empty space; he hangs the world on nothing. 8 He gathers the rain in his storm clouds which do not break under the weight. 9 He veils his throne; covering it with his clouds. 10 On the surface of the waters he set a boundary; he set a limit dividing light from darkness.[fn] 11 The pillars of heaven tremble; they shake with fear at his rebuke.[fn] 12 He calmed the sea with his power; because he knew what to do he crushed Rahab.[fn] 13 The breath of his voice made the heavens beautiful; with his hand he pierced the gliding serpent.[fn] 14 This is just a little of all he does—what we hear of him is hardly a whisper, so who can understand his thunderous power?”

26:4 Clearly in these verses Job is being ironic. In addition some commentators see 26:1-4 as Job interrupting Bildad who continues as speaker of 26:5-14.

26:6 Sheol and Abaddon are names for the underworld, the place of the dead. The idea in this verse is that nothing is hidden from God.

26:10 There are echoes of the Genesis account of creation here.

26:11 According to the ancients, the sky was supported by pillars (identified with certain mountains).

26:12 Rahab was a legendary sea-monster, and may refer to some creation stories.

26:13 See Isaiah 27:1.

FBV JOB Chapter 26