Job 26–27

Job Replies: God’s Majesty Is Unsearchable

26Then Job answered and said:

²“How you have ^xhelped him who has no power!

How you have saved ^ythe arm that has no strength!

³How you have ^zcounseled him who has no wisdom,

and plentifully declared sound knowledge!

⁴With whose help have you uttered words,

and whose breath ^ahas come out from you?

⁵The ^bdead tremble

under the waters and their inhabitants.

⁶Sheol is ^cnaked before God,¹

and ^dAbaddon has no covering.

⁷He ^estretches out the north over ^fthe void

and hangs the earth on nothing.

⁸He ^gbinds up the waters in his thick clouds,

and the cloud is not split open under them.

⁹He covers the face of the full moon²

and ^hspreads over it his cloud.

¹⁰He has inscribed ⁱa circle on the face of the waters

at the boundary between light and darkness.

^11jThe pillars of heaven tremble

and are astounded at his ^krebuke.

¹²By his power he ^lstilled the sea;

by his understanding he shattered ^mRahab.

¹³ⁿBy his wind the heavens were made fair;

his hand pierced ^othe fleeing serpent.

¹⁴Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ^pways,

and how small ^qa whisper do we hear of him!

But the thunder of his power who can understand?”

Job Continues: I Will Maintain My Integrity

27And Job again ^rtook up his discourse, and said:

²“As God lives, who has ^staken away my right,

and the Almighty, who has ^tmade my soul bitter,

³as long as my breath is in me,

and ^uthe spirit of God is in my nostrils,

⁴my lips will not speak ^vfalsehood,

and my tongue will not utter ^vdeceit.

⁵Far be it from me to say that you are right;

till I die I will not put away my ^wintegrity from me.

⁶I ^xhold fast my righteousness and will not let it go;

my heart does not ^yreproach me for any of my days.

⁷“Let my enemy be as the wicked,

and let him who rises up against me be as the unrighteous.

^8zFor what is the hope of the godless ^awhen God cuts him off,

when God takes away his life?

^9bWill God hear his cry

when distress comes upon him?

¹⁰Will he ^ctake delight in the Almighty?

Will he call upon God at all times?

¹¹I will teach you concerning the hand of God;

^dwhat is with the Almighty I will not conceal.

¹²Behold, all of you have seen it yourselves;

why then have you become altogether vain?

^13e“This is the portion of a wicked man with God,

and the heritage that ^foppressors receive from the Almighty:

¹⁴If his ^gchildren are multiplied, it is for ^hthe sword,

and his descendants have not enough bread.

¹⁵Those who survive him the pestilence buries,

and his ⁱwidows do not weep.

¹⁶Though he ^jheap up silver like dust,

and pile up clothing like clay,

¹⁷he may pile it up, but the righteous will wear it,

and ^kthe innocent will divide the silver.

¹⁸He builds his ^lhouse like a moth’s,

like ^ma booth that ⁿa watchman makes.

¹⁹He goes to bed rich, but will ^odo so no more;

he opens his eyes, and ^phis wealth is gone.

^20qTerrors overtake him like ^ra flood;

in the night a whirlwind ^scarries him off.

^21tThe east wind lifts him up and he is gone;

it ^usweeps him out of his place.

²²It¹ hurls at him ^vwithout pity;

he flees from its² power in headlong flight.

²³It ^wclaps its hands at him

and ^xhisses at him from its place.