Job 26:5–26:14, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Job 26:5–26:14
A Hymn Surveys Divine Rule from Sheol to the Heavens
The hymn, whoever speaks it, runs from the dead to the sky
Dead things tremble under the waters. Sheol is naked before God. Destruction has no covering. God hangs the earth upon nothing. He binds up waters in thick clouds, yet the cloud is not torn under them. He holds the face of his throne and spreads his cloud upon it. He has compassed the waters with bounds until day and night come to an end.
The pillars of heaven tremble. God divides the sea with his power, smites through Rahab, and by his Spirit garnishes the heavens. His hand has pierced the fleeing serpent. These are the outskirts of his ways. How little a whisper is heard of him. The thunder of his power who can understand?
Edges of a way are not a full explanation
Attribution of the hymn is disputed: Job continuing, Job citing another voice, or a seam in the book. Several Hebrew lines are hard. Chaos-sea and serpent imagery is poetry of rule, not a field guide, not modern astronomy, and not a secret code.
Even at full volume the speech says that what humans hear is a whisper. If this is Job, he can praise the God he cannot find. If it is another voice, it still does not tell Job why his children are dead. Greatness remains greatness. The lawsuit remains open.
How this should shape us
Adore what you can of God's rule without pretending the whisper is a complete map. Do not force ancient sea-and-serpent lines into zoology, astronomy, or a theory that makes a sufferer small enough to ignore.
Teach it back
Explain Job 26:5–26:14 in your own words. Name the speaker, the unit's place in Job, one source-controlled textual or literary observation, one uncertainty, and one harmful use the passage does not authorize.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do responsible readings differ?
Best judgment: The unit's attribution and several Hebrew lines are disputed; chaos imagery is poetic and must not be forced into modern zoology, astronomy, or conspiracy claims.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Job 26:5–26:14, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a complete apparatus or interpretation.
Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Job.xml, OSIS 26:5–26:14
Supports: Verse-level controls for Job's difficult Hebrew, syntax, older KJV language, textual issues, speech boundaries, and alternatives in Job 26:5–26:14.
Official NET Job PDF, exact translator, study, and textual notes attached to Job 26:5–26:14
Supports: Book-level and passage-level literary, historical, theological, and pastoral synthesis with speaker distinctions and visible uncertainty.
Enter the Bible Job course, Outline and passage studies: third-cycle breakdown; applied to Job 26:5–26:14
Supports: Ancient Greek textual and translation evidence where the Masoretic and Greek forms, wording, length, or attribution materially differ.
NETS Iob, introduction on the shorter Old Greek and exact Greek translation and notes for Iob 26:5–26:14
Supports: Lament, undeserved suffering, creation's wild freedom, nonhuman value, chaos imagery, encounter, and ending, used as one responsible pastoral-scholarly reading.
Schifferdecker, Working Preacher Job series, commentary headed for Job 38:1-41:34; applied to Job 26:5–26:14
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Job 26:5–26:14, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Job
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a complete apparatus or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Job.xml, OSIS 26:5–26:14
Open the fixed Hebrew Job file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible First Edition Notes: Job
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006; current official PDF
Supports: Verse-level controls for Job's difficult Hebrew, syntax, older KJV language, textual issues, speech boundaries, and alternatives in Job 26:5–26:14.
Exact location: Official NET Job PDF, exact translator, study, and textual notes attached to Job 26:5–26:14
Open the official NET Job PDF ↗modern scholarly book course
Job course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, theological themes, and Bible in the world
Daniel J. Simundson and Kathryn Schifferdecker
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, current online edition inspected 2026
Supports: Book-level and passage-level literary, historical, theological, and pastoral synthesis with speaker distinctions and visible uncertainty.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Job course, Outline and passage studies: third-cycle breakdown; applied to Job 26:5–26:14
Open the Enter the Bible Job course ↗ancient greek text translation and introduction
A New English Translation of the Septuagint: Iob
Claude E. Cox
International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies; Oxford University Press, 2009
Supports: Ancient Greek textual and translation evidence where the Masoretic and Greek forms, wording, length, or attribution materially differ.
Exact location: NETS Iob, introduction on the shorter Old Greek and exact Greek translation and notes for Iob 26:5–26:14
Open NETS Iob ↗modern scholarly pastoral commentary collection
Job preaching series and creation commentaries
Kathryn M. Schifferdecker
Working Preacher, Luther Seminary, 2012-2016
Supports: Lament, undeserved suffering, creation's wild freedom, nonhuman value, chaos imagery, encounter, and ending, used as one responsible pastoral-scholarly reading.
Exact location: Schifferdecker, Working Preacher Job series, commentary headed for Job 38:1-41:34; applied to Job 26:5–26:14
Open Schifferdecker on Job 38-42 ↗