the Week of Proper 25 / Ordinary 30
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King James Version
Job 26:14
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These are just the beginning of all that he does, merely a whisper of his power. Who, then, can comprehend the thunder of his power?"
Lo, these are but the outskirts of his ways: and how small a whisper do we hear of him! but the thunder of his power who can understand?
Look, these are but the outskirts of his ways: And how small a whisper do we hear of him! But the thunder of his power who can understand?
And these are only a small part of God's works. We only hear a small whisper of him. Who could understand God's thundering power?"
Indeed, these are but the outer fringes of his ways! How faint is the whisper we hear of him! But who can understand the thunder of his power?"
Lo, these [are] parts of his ways: but how little a portion is heard of him? but the thunder of his power who can understand?
Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways. How small a whisper do we hear of him! But the thunder of his power who can understand?"
"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?"
Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways, and how small a whisper do we hear of him! But the thunder of his power who can understand?"
Lo! these thingis ben seid in partie of `hise weyes; and whanne we han herd vnnethis a litil drope of his word, who may se the thundur of his greetnesse?
Indeed, these are but the fringes of His ways; how faint is the whisper we hear of Him! Who then can understand the thunder of His power?"
These things are merely a whisper of God's power at work. How little we would understand if this whisper ever turned into thunder!
Lo, these are but the outskirts of his ways: And how small a whisper do we hear of him! But the thunder of his power who can understand?
See, these are only the outskirts of his ways; and how small is that which comes to our ears about him! But the thunder of his acts of power is outside all knowledge.
And these are but the fringes of his ways; how faint the echo we hear of him! But who is able to grasp the meaning of his thundering power?"
Lo, these are the borders of his ways; but what a whisper of a word do we hear of him! And the thunder of his power, who can understand?
These are only a few of the amazing things God has done. We hear only a small whisper of God's thundering power."
Lo, these are but the outskirts of His ways; and how small a whisper is heard of Him!
Loe, these are parts of his waies, but how little a portion is heard of him? but the thunder of his power who can vnderstand?
See, these are only a few of the things He does. And how quiet are the words spoken about Him! But who can understand His powerful thunder?"
These are indeed but the outskirts of his ways; and how small a whisper do we hear of him! But the thunder of his power who can understand?"
Loe, these are part of his wayes: but how litle a portion heare we of him? and who can vnderstand his fearefull power?
Lo, these are merely parts of his ways; and what evil thing have we heard against him? And the greatness of his might who can understand?
But these are only hints of his power, only the whispers that we have heard. Who can know how truly great God is?
Lo! these, are the fringes of his way, and what a whisper of a word hath been heard of him! But, the thunder of his might, who could understand?
Lo, these things are said in part of his ways: and seeing we have heard scarce a little drop of his word, who shall be able to behold the thunder of his greatness?
Lo, these are but the outskirts of his ways; and how small a whisper do we hear of him! But the thunder of his power who can understand?"
Lo, this is now a short summe of his wayes: but howe litle a portion heare we of hym? who can vnderstande the thunder of his power?
Behold, these are parts of his way; and we will hearken to him at the least intimation of his word: but the strength of his thunder who knows, when he shall employ it?
These are but the fringes of his ways;how faint is the word we hear of him!Who can understand his mighty thunder?
Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways. How small a whisper do we hear of him! But the thunder of his power who can understand?"
Look, these are the outer fringes of his ways, and how faint is the word that we hear of him! But who can understand the thunder of his power?"
Lo, these are the edges of His ways; yea, what a whisper of a word we hear of Him! And the thunder of His might who can understand?
Lo, these [are] the borders of His way, And how little a matter is heard of Him, And the thunder of His might Who doth understand?
This is now a shorte summe of his doynges. But who is able sufficiently to rehearce his workes? Who can perceaue and vnderstonde ye thondre of his power?
"Behold, these are the fringes of His ways; And how faint a word we hear of Him! But His mighty thunder, who can understand?"
Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways, And how small a whisper we hear of Him! But the thunder of His power who can understand?"
"Behold, these are the fringes of His ways; And how faint a word we hear of Him! But His mighty thunder, who can understand?"
Behold, these are the fringes of His ways;And how only with a whisper of a word do we hear of Him!But His mighty thunder, who can understand?"
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
how little: Job 11:7-9, Psalms 139:6, Psalms 145:3, Isaiah 40:26-29, Romans 11:33, 1 Corinthians 13:9-12
the thunder: Job 40:9, 1 Samuel 2:10, Psalms 29:3
Reciprocal: Genesis 1:2 - Spirit Exodus 33:23 - thou shalt Job 33:12 - God Job 36:26 - we Job 37:5 - great Job 37:19 - we Job 37:23 - we Psalms 40:5 - Many Psalms 106:2 - utter Habakkuk 3:4 - the hiding John 21:25 - there
Cross-References
And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she asses, and camels.
And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.
And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great:
For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him.
And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.
And Saul eyed David from that day and forward.
His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.
For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one.
So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses.
Wealth and riches shall be in his house: and his righteousness endureth for ever.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Lo, these [are] parts of his ways,.... This is the conclusion of the discourse concerning the wonderful works of God; and Job was so far from thinking that he had taken notice of all, or even of the chief and principal, that what he observed were only the extremities, the edges, the borders, and outlines of the ways and works of God in creation and providence; wherefore, if these were so great and marvellous, what must the rest be which were out of the reach of men to point out and describe?
but how little a portion is heard of him? from the creatures, from the works of creation, whether in heaven, earth, or sea; for though they do declare in some measure his glory, and though their voice is heard everywhere, and shows forth the knowledge of him; even exhibits to view his invisible things, his eternal power and Godhead; yet it is comparatively so faint a light, that men grope as it were in the dark, if haply they might find him, having nothing but the light of nature to guide them. We hear the most of him in his word, and by his Son Jesus Christ, in whose face the knowledge of him, and his glorious perfections, is given; and yet we know but in part, and prophesy in part; it is but little in comparison of what is in him, and indeed of what will be heard and known of him hereafter in eternity:
but the thunder of his power who can understand? meaning not literally thunder, which though it is a voice peculiar to God, and is very strong and powerful, as appears by the effects of it; see Job 40:9; yet is not so very unintelligible as to be taken notice of so peculiarly, and to be instanced in as above all things out, of the reach of the understanding of men; but rather the attribute of his power, of which Job had been discoursing, and giving so many instances of; and yet there is such an exceeding greatness in it, as not to be comprehended and thoroughly understood by all that appear to our view; for his mighty power is such as is able to subdue all things to himself, and reaches to things we cannot conceive of. Ben Gersom, not amiss, applies this to the greatness and multitude of the decrees of God; and indeed if those works of his which are in sight cannot be fully understood by us, how should we be able to understand things that are secret and hidden in his own breast, until by his mighty power they are carried into execution? see 1 Corinthians 2:9.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Lo, these are parts of his ways - This is a small portion of his works. We see only the outlines, the surface of his mighty doings. This is still true. With all the advances which have been made in science, it is still true that we see but a small part of his works. What we are enabled to trace with all the aids of science, compared with what is unseen and unknown, may be like the analysis of a single drop of water compared with the ocean.
But how little a portion is heard of him? - Or, rather, “But what a faint whisper have we heard of him!” Literally, “What a whisper of a word,” - דבר וּמח־שׁמץ yuvmah shėmets dâbâr. The word שׁמץ shemets means a transient sound rapidly passing away; and then a whisper; see the notes at Job 4:12. A “whisper of a word” means a word not fully and audibly spoken, but which is whispered into the ear; and the beautiful idea here is, that what we see of God, and what he makes known to us, compared with the full and glorious reality, bears about the same relation which the gentlest whisper does to words that are fully spoken.
The thunder of his power who can understand? - It is probable that there is here a comparison between the gentle “whisper” and the mighty “thunder;” and that the idea is, if, instead of speaking to us in gentle whispers, and giving to us in that way some faint indications of his nature, he were to speak out in thunder, who could understand him? If, when he speaks in such faint and gentle tones, we are so much impressed with a sense of his greatness and glory, who would not be overwhelmed if he were to speak out as in thunder? Thus explained, the expression does not refer to literal thunder, though there is much in the heavy peal to excite adoring views of God, and much that to Job must have been inexplicable. It may be asked, even now, who can understand all the philosophy of the thunder? But with much more impressiveness it may be asked, as Job probably meant to ask, who could understand the great God, if he spoke out with the full voice of his thunder, instead of speaking in a gentle whisper?
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Job 26:14. Lo, these are parts of his ways — קצות ketsoth, the ends or extremities, the outlines, an indistinct sketch, of his eternal power and Godhead.
How little a portion is heard — שמץ shemets, a mere whisper; admirably opposed, as Mr. Good has well observed, to רעם raam, the thunder, mentioned in the next clause. As the thunder is to a whisper, so are the tremendous and infinitely varied works of God to the faint outlines exhibited in the above discourse. Every reader will relish the dignity, propriety, and sense of these expressions. They force themselves on the observation of even the most heedless.
By his Spirit he hath garnished the heavens. - Numerous are the opinions relative to the true meaning of this verse. Some think it refers to the clearing of the sky after a storm, such as appears to be described Job 26:11-12; and suppose his Spirit means the wind, which he directs to sweep and cleanse the face of the sky, by which the splendour of the day or the lustre of the night is restored: and by the crooked, flying, or aerial serpent, as it is variously rendered, the ecliptic is supposed to be meant, as the sun's apparent course in it appears to be serpentine, in his approach to and recession from each of the tropics. This tortuous line may be seen on any terrestrial globe. Many will object to this notion as too refined for the time of Job; but this I could easily admit, as astronomy had a very early existence among the Arabians, if not its origin. But with me the chief objection lies against the obscurity of the allusion, if it be one; for it must require no small ingenuity, and almost the spirit of divination, to find out the sun's oblique path in the zodiac in the words His hand hath formed the crooked serpent. Others have imagined that the allusion is to the lightning in that zigzag form which it assumes when discharged from one cloud into another during a thunder storm. This is at once a natural and very apparent sense. To conduct and manage the lightning is most certainly a work which requires the skill and omnipotence of GOD, as much as garnishing the heavens by his Spirit, dividing the sea by his power, or causing the pillars of heaven to tremble by his reproof. Others think that the act of the creation of the solar system is intended to be expressed, which is in several parts of the sacred writings attributed to the Spirit of God; (Genesis 1:2; Psalms 33:6;) and that the crooked serpent means either Satan, who deceived our first parents, or huge aquatic animals; for in Isaiah 27:1, we find the leviathan and dragon of the sea called נחש ברח nachash bariach, the very terms that are used by Job in this place: "In that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan, the piercing serpent, (נחש ברח nachash bariach,) even leviathan, that crooked serpent, (נחש עקלתון nachash akallathon,) and he shall slay the dragon (התנין hattannin) that is in the sea." And we know that in Genesis 1:21 התנינם הגדלים hattanninim haggedolim, which we translate great whales, includes all sea-monsters or vast aquatic animals. Calmet, who without hesitation adopts this sentiment, says: "I see no necessity to have recourse to allegory here. After having exhibited the effects of the sovereign power of God in the heavens, in the clouds, in the vast collection of waters in the sea, it was natural enough for Job to speak of the production of fishes." The intelligent Dr. Sherlock gives another interpretation. After strongly expressing his disapprobation of the opinion that Job should descend, after speaking of the creation of the heavens and their host, to the formation of snakes and adders, he supposes "that Job here intended to oppose that grand religious system of sabaeism which prevailed in his time, and to which, in other parts of this book, he alludes; a system which acknowledged two opposite independent principles by which the universe was governed, and paid Divine adoration to the celestial luminaries. Suppose, therefore, Job to be acquainted with the fall of man, and the part ascribed to the serpent of the introduction of evil, see how aptly the parts cohere. In opposition to the idolatrous practice of the time, he asserts God to be the maker of all the host of heaven: By his Spirit he garnished the heavens. In opposition to the false notion of two independent principles, he asserts God to be the maker of him who was the author of evil: His hand hath formed the crooked serpent. You see how properly the garnishing of the heavens and the forming of the serpent are joined together. That this is the ancient traditionary explication of this place, we have undeniable evidence from the translation of the Septuagint, who render the latter part of this verse, which relates to the serpent, in this manner: Προσταγματι δε εθανατωσε δρακοντα αποστατην, By a decree he destroyed the apostate dragon. The Syriac and Arabic versions are to the same effect: And his hand slew the flying serpent.
"These translators apply the place to the punishment inflicted on the serpent; and it comes to the same thing, for the punishing the serpent is as clear an evidence of God's power over the author of evil as the creating him. We need not wonder to see so much concern in this book to maintain the supremacy of God, and to guard it against every false notion; for this was the theme, the business of the author."-Bp. Sherlock on Prophecy, Diss. ii.
From the contradictory opinions on this passage, the reader will no doubt feel cautious what mode of interpretation he adopts, and the absolute necessity of admitting no texts of doubtful interpretation as vouchers for the essential doctrines of Christianity. Neither metaphors, allegories, similes, nor figurative expressions of any kind, should ever be adduced or appealed to as proofs of any article in the Christian faith. We have reason to be thankful that this is at present the general opinion of the most rational divines of all sects and parties, and that the allegory and metaphor men are everywhere vanishing from the meridian and sinking under the horizon of the Church. Scriptural Christianity is prevailing with a strong hand, and going forward with a firm and steady step.
