1But Job answered and said,
2How hast thou helped him that is without power? how savest thou the arm that hath no strength?
3How hast thou counselled him that hath no wisdom? and how hast thou plentifully declared the thing as it is?
4To whom hast thou uttered words? and whose spirit came from thee?
5Dead things are formed from under the waters, and the inhabitants thereof.
6Hell is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering.
7He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing.
8He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds; and the cloud is not rent under them.
9He holdeth back the face of his throne, and spreadeth his cloud upon it.
10He hath compassed the waters with bounds, until the day and night come to an end.
11The pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at his reproof.
12He divideth the sea with his power, and by his understanding he smiteth through the proud.
13By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent.
14Lo, these are parts of his ways: but how little a portion is heard of him? but the thunder of his power who can understand?
Commentary
Job 26, explained
What Job 26 is saying
Job responds with sarcasm—'How you have helped the powerless!'—and then delivers a magnificent hymn to God's cosmic power. He describes God stretching the heavens over empty space, hanging the earth on nothing, binding up waters in clouds, setting the horizon's boundary, and subduing the sea monster Rahab. Yet these, Job says, are merely 'the outer fringe' of God's ways.
The background behind it
Job's cosmological poetry draws on ancient Near Eastern creation mythology, including the conflict with Rahab (a chaos sea monster paralleling Tiamat in Babylonian tradition). The description of the earth 'hanging on nothing' (v. 7) is remarkable in ancient literature for its correspondence with physical reality.
Themes running underneath
Job out-theologizes his friends at their own game: his portrait of divine power surpasses anything they have offered. The 'outer fringe' declaration (v. 14) insists that even the most majestic descriptions of God barely touch the surface. Job's God is greater than the friends' explanations and greater than Job's complaints.
Why it still matters
Job's hymn to God's power—delivered in the midst of unanswered suffering—demonstrates that wonder and lament can coexist. Acknowledging God's greatness does not require denying one's pain.
Scripture text: King James Version — public domain.