Job replies to Bildad
26:1In chapters 26 and 27, Job says two things. First, he does not agree with the things that his friends have said, see Job Job 27:5. Second, he is sure that he has never done wrong things, see Job Job 27:6. 1 Then Job replied. This is what he said:
2 ‘Do not think that you have helped me,
a weak and helpless man.
Nothing that you have said makes me feel stronger.
3 What good advice have you given me
to make me wise?
You have not really shown me how clever you are!
4 Someone must have helped you to say these wise words.
Who has put all these thoughts in your minds?
5 Dead people shake with fear.
They are under the deep waters.
6 God sees everything that happens
in the place of dead people.
Nothing can hide that terrible place from him.
7 He puts the skies in their place in the north,
so that they cover empty space.
He hangs the earth in the skies
and it stays there.
8 He fills the clouds with water.
They become heavy but they do not break.
9 When the moon is big and round, he hides it.
He causes clouds to cover it.
10 He marks the border between the sea and the sky.
It is the place where the night finishes and the day begins.
11 When God is angry,
he shouts at the pillars under the sky.
When they hear his command,
they shake with fear.
12 He used his power to control the sea.
He used his wisdom to destroy Rahab,
the great sea monster.
13 He used his breath to make the sky become bright.
With his hand he cut the great sea snake
as it ran away.
14 These are only a few of the things that God does.
We only know about a few small things.
If he used all of his power,
we could never understand.’