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Bildad Says Man Is Inferior

25 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said,


“Dominion and awe belong to God;
He establishes peace and order in His high places.

“Is there any number to His [vast celestial] armies?
And upon whom does His light not rise?

“How then can man be justified and righteous with God?
Or how can he who is born of a woman be pure and clean?(A)

“Behold, even the moon has no brightness [compared to God’s majesty and glory]
And the stars are not pure in His sight,

How much less man, that maggot,
And the son of man, that worm!”

Job Rebukes Bildad

26 But Job answered and said,


“What a help you are to the weak (powerless)!
How you have saved the arm that is without strength!

“How you have counseled the one who has no wisdom!
And how abundantly you have provided sound wisdom and helpful insight!

“To whom have you uttered [these] words?
And whose spirit [inspired what] came forth from you?

The Greatness of God


“The spirits of the dead tremble
Underneath the waters and their inhabitants.

“Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) is naked before God,
And Abaddon (the place of destruction) has no covering [from His eyes].

It is He who spreads out the north over emptiness
And [a]hangs the earth on nothing.

“He wraps the waters in His clouds [which otherwise would spill on earth all at once],
And the cloud does not burst under them.

“He covers the face of the [b]full moon
And spreads His cloud over it.
10 
“He has inscribed a circular limit (the horizon) on the face of the waters
At the boundary between light and darkness.
11 
“The pillars of the heavens tremble
And are terrified at His rebuke.
12 
“He stirred up the sea by His power,
And by His understanding He smashed [proud] [c]Rahab.
13 
“By His breath the heavens are cleared;
His hand has pierced the [swiftly] fleeing serpent.(B)
14 
“Yet these are just the fringes of His ways [mere samples of His power],
The faintest whisper of His voice!
Who can contemplate the thunder of His [full] mighty power?”

Footnotes

  1. Job 26:7 Job reveals a remarkable understanding of God’s power and His amazing universe.
  2. Job 26:9 Or throne.
  3. Job 26:12 I.e. a legendary and horrifying sea monster.

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