Job 26

Job’s Reply to Bildad

¹Then Job answered:

²How you have helped ^a the powerless

and delivered the arm that is weak!

³How you have counseled the unwise ^b

and abundantly provided insight!

⁴With whom did you speak these words?

Whose breath came out of your mouth?

⁵The departed spirits tremble

beneath the waters and all that inhabit them. ^c

⁶Sheol ^d is naked before God,

and Abaddon ^e has no covering. ^f

⁷He stretches the northern skies over empty space;

he hangs the earth on nothing.

⁸He wraps up the water in his clouds,

yet the clouds do not burst beneath its weight. ^g

⁹He obscures the view of his throne,

spreading his cloud over it.

¹⁰He laid out the horizon on the surface of the waters ^h

at the boundary between light and darkness.

¹¹The pillars that hold up the sky tremble,

astounded at his rebuke. ⁱ

¹²By his power he stirred ^j the sea,

and by his understanding he crushed Rahab. ^k

¹³By his breath the heavens gained their beauty;

his hand pierced the fleeing serpent. ^l,^m

¹⁴These are but the fringes of his ways;

how faint is the word we hear of him!

Who can understand his mighty thunder?