the Week of Proper 25 / Ordinary 30
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King James Version
Job 26:5
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"The dead tremble— those who live beneath the waters.
They that are deceased tremble beneath the waters and the inhabitants thereof.
Those that are deceased tremble Beneath the waters and the inhabitants thereof.
"The spirits of the dead tremble, those who are beneath and in the waters.
"The dead tremble— those beneath the waters and all that live in them.
Dead [things] are formed from under the waters, and the inhabitants thereof.
"Those who are deceased tremble, Those beneath the waters and all that live in them.
"The spirits of the dead tremble Underneath the waters and their inhabitants.
The dead tremble under the waters and their inhabitants.
Lo! giauntis weilen vnder watris, and thei that dwellen with hem.
The dead tremble-those who dwell beneath the waters.
Remember the terrible trembling of those in the world of the dead below the mighty ocean.
They that are deceased tremble Beneath the waters and the inhabitants thereof.
The shades in the underworld are shaking; the waters and those living in them.
"The ghosts of the dead tremble beneath the water, with its creatures.
The shades tremble beneath the waters and the inhabitants thereof;
"The ghosts and their neighbors in the underworld shake with fear.
The shades tremble beneath the waters and the inhabitants thereof.
Dead things are formed from vnder the waters, and the inhabitants thereof.
"The spirits of the dead shake under the waters and those living in them.
The shades below tremble, the waters and their inhabitants.
The dead things are formed vnder the waters, and neere vnto them.
Behold, the mighty men shall be slain, and they shall lie down quieter than still waters.
[Bildad]
The spirits of the dead tremble in the waters under the earth.The shades, tremble, beneath the waters and their inhabitants;
Behold the giants groan under the waters, and they that dwell with them.
The shades below tremble, the waters and their inhabitants.
Are not dead thinges shapen vnder the waters, and thinges by the waters side?
Shall giants be born from under the water and the inhabitants thereof?
The departed spirits tremblebeneath the waters and all that inhabit them.
"Those who are deceased tremble, Those beneath the waters and all that live in them.
"The spirits of the dead tremble below the waters and their inhabitants.
The departed spirits are made to writhe from beneath the waters, and their inhabitants.
The Rephaim are formed, Beneath the waters, also their inhabitants.
The giauntes & worthies yt are slayne, & lye vnder ye worlde wt their copanions:
"All the buried dead are in torment, and all who've been drowned in the deep, deep sea. Hell is ripped open before God, graveyards dug up and exposed. He spreads the skies over unformed space, hangs the earth out in empty space. He pours water into cumulus cloud-bags and the bags don't burst. He makes the moon wax and wane, putting it through its phases. He draws the horizon out over the ocean, sets a boundary between light and darkness. Thunder crashes and rumbles in the skies. Listen! It's God raising his voice! By his power he stills sea storms, by his wisdom he tames sea monsters. With one breath he clears the sky, with one finger he crushes the sea serpent. And this is only the beginning, a mere whisper of his rule. Whatever would we do if he really raised his voice!"
"The departed spirits are made to tremble Under the waters and their inhabitants.
"The dead tremble, Those under the waters and those inhabiting them.
"The departed spirits tremble Under the waters and their inhabitants.
"The departed spirits trembleUnder the waters and their inhabitants.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
Dead things: Or, "The giants rephaim are in anguish under the waters and their inhabitants;" probably in allusion to the destruction of the earth by the deluge. Job 41:1-34, Genesis 6:4, Psalms 104:25, Psalms 104:26, Ezekiel 29:3-5
and: or, with
Reciprocal: Genesis 1:21 - great Job 5:9 - marvellous Job 25:2 - Dominion Job 36:24 - magnify Job 38:16 - walked Ecclesiastes 11:5 - even Jeremiah 27:5 - made
Cross-References
So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.
And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him.
For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord , to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.
And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord , for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:
And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar.
And the Lord appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of:
And Isaac dwelt in Gerar:
Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Dead [things] are formed from under the waters,.... It is difficult to say what things are here meant; it may be understood of "lifeless" things, as Mr. Broughton renders it; things that never had any life, things inanimate, that never had at least an animal life, though they may have a vegetable one; and so may be interpreted of grains of corn, and which indeed die before they are quickened; to which both Christ and the apostle allude, John 12:24; and which, as they cannot grow without water, and their fructification and increase are owing to the earth being plentifully watered with rain, may be said to be formed under the waters; and of these Aben Ezra and Ben Gersom interpret the words; and the latter also makes mention of herbs, plants, and trees in the sea, particularly almug trees, as being probably intended; to which may be added, corals, and other sea plants, formed from under the waters; yea, some make mention of woods and forests there: but the last mentioned writer, seems inclined to think that metals and minerals may be intended; and it is well known that much of gold is taken out of rivers, as also pearls and precious stones; and that iron is taken out of the earth, and brass molten out of stone; and that the several metals and minerals are dug out of mountains and hills, from whence fountains and rivers flow; but as the word used has the signification of something gigantic, it has inclined others to think of sea monsters, as of the great whales which God made in the seas, and the leviathan he has made to play therein:
and or "with"
the inhabitants thereof; the innumerable company of fishes, both of the larger and lesser sort, which are all formed in and under the waters: but why may not giants themselves be designed, since the word is sometimes used of them, Deuteronomy 2:11; and so the Vulgate Latin and the Septuagint version here render the word, and may refer to the giants that were before the flood, and who were the causes of filling the world with rapine and violence, and so of bringing the flood of waters upon it; in which they perished "with the inhabitants thereof"; or their neighbours; of whom see Genesis 6:4; and the spirits of these being in prison, in hell, as the Apostle Peter says, 1 Peter 3:19; which is commonly supposed to be under the earth, and so under the waters, in which they perished; they may be represented as in pain and torment, and groaning and trembling under the same, as the word here used is by some thought to signify, and is so rendered t; though as the word "Rephaim" is often used of dead men, Psalms 88:10; it may be understood of them here, and have respect to the formation of them anew, or their resurrection from the dead, when the earth shall cast them forth; and especially of those whose graves are in the sea, and who have been buried in the waters of it, when that shall deliver up the dead that are therein, Revelation 20:13; which will be a wonderful instance of the mighty power of God. The Targumist seems to have a notion of this, or at least refers unto it, paraphrasing the words thus,
"is it possible that the mighty men (or giants) should be created (that is, recreated or regenerated; that is, raised from the dead); seeing they are under the waters, and their armies?''
t יחוללו "gemunt", V. L. "cruciabuntur", Bolducius; "cruciantur, dolore contremiscunt", Michaelis; "intremiscunt", Schultens. Vid. Windet. de Vita Funct. Stat. p. 90.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Dead things - Job here commences his description of God, to show that his views of his majesty and glory were in no way inferior to those which had been expressed by Bildad, and that what Bildad had said conveyed to him no real information. In this description he far surpasses Bildad in loftiness of conception, and sublimity of description. Indeed, it may be doubted whether for grandeur this passage is surpassed by any description of the majesty of God in the Bible. The passage here has given rise to much discussion, and to a great variety of opinion. Our common translation is most feeble, and by no means conveys its true force. The object of the whole passage is to assert the universal dominion of God. Bildad had said Job 25:1-6 that the dominion of God extended to the heavens, and to the armies of the skies; that God surpassed in majesty the splendor of the heavenly bodies; and that compared with him man was a worm. Job commences his description by saying that the dominion of God extended even to the nether world; and that such were his majesty and power that even the shades of the mighty dead trembled at his presence, and that hell was all naked before him. The word רפאים râphâ'ı̂ym - Rephaim - so feebly rendered “dead things,” means the shades of the dead; the departed spirits that dwell in Sheol; see the word explained at length in the notes at Isaiah 14:9. They are those who have left this world and who have gone down to dwell in the world beneath - the great and mighty conquerors and kings; the illustrious dead of past times, who have left the world and are congregated in the land of Shades. Jerome renders it, “gigantes,” and the Septuagint, γίγαντες gigantes - giants; from a common belief that those shades were larger than life. Thus, Lucretius says:
Quippe et enim jam tum divum mortalia secla
Egregias animo facies vigilante videbant;
Et magis in somnis, mirando corporis aucter
Rer. Nat. ver. 1168.
The word “shades” here will express the sense, meaning the departed spirits that are assembled in Sheol. The Chaldee renders it, גבריא - mighty ones, or giants; the Syriac, in like manner, giants.
Are formed - The Syriac renders this, are killed. Jerome, gemunt - groan; Septuagint, “Are giants born from beneath the water, and the neighboring places?” What idea the authors of that version attached to the passage it is difficult to say. The Hebrew word used here (יחוּללו yechôlālû, from חוּל chûl), means to twist, to turn, to be in anguish - as in child birth; and then it may mean to tremble, quake, be in terror; and the idea here seems to be, that the shades of the dead were in anguish, or trembled at the awful presence, and under the dominion of God. So Luther renders it - understanding it of giants - Die Riesen angsten sich unter den Wassern. The sense would be well expressed, “The shades of the dead tremble, or are in anguish before him. They fear his power. They acknowledge his empire.”
Under the waters - The abode of departed spirits is always in this book placed beneath the ground. But why this abode is placed beneath the waters, is not apparent. It is usually under the ground, and the entrance to it is by the grave, or by some dark cavern; compare Virgil’s Aeniad, Lib. vi. A different interpretation has been proposed of this verse, which seems better to suit the connection. It is to understand the phrase (תחת tachath) “under,” as meaning simply beneath - “the shades beneath;” and to regard the word (מים mayı̂m) waters as connected with the following member:
“The shades beneath tremble;
The waters and the inhabitants thereof.”
Thus explained, the passage means that the whole universe is under the control of God, and trembles before him. Sheol and its Shades; the oceans and their inhabitants stand in awe before him.
And the inhabitants thereof - Of the waters - the oceans. The idea is, that the vast inhabitants of the deep all recognize the power of God and tremble before him. This description accords with that given by the ancient poets of the power and majesty of the gods, and is not less sublime than any given by them.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Job 26:5. Dead things are formed from under the waters — This verse, as it stands in our version, seems to convey no meaning; and the Hebrew is obscure; הרפאים, harephaim, "the Rephaim," certainly means not dead things; nor can there be any propriety in saying that dead things, or things without life, are formed under the waters, for such things are formed everywhere in the earth, and under the earth, as well as under the waters.
The Vulgate translates: Ecce gigantes gemunt sub aquis, et qui habitant cum eis. "Behold the giants, and those who dwell with them, groan from under the waters."
The Septuagint: Μη γιγαντες μαιωθησονται ὑποκατωθεν ὑδατος, και των γειτονων αυτου; "Are not the giants formed from under the waters, and their neighbours?"
The Chaldee: אפשר דגבריא דמתמזמזין יתברין ואנון מלרע למיא ומשריתהון eposhar degibraiya demithmazmezin yithbareyan veinnun millera lemaiya umashreiyatehon, "Can the trembling giants be regenerated, when they and their hosts are under the water?"
The Syriac and Arabic: "Behold, the giants are slain, and are drawn out of the water." None of these appear to give any sense by which the true meaning can be determined.
There is probably here an allusion to the destruction of the earth by the general deluge. Moses, speaking concerning the state of the earth before the flood, says, Genesis 6:4, "There were giants נפלים nephilim, in the earth in those days." Now it is likely that Job means the same by רפאים rephaim as Moses does by the nephilim; and that both refer to the antediluvians, who were all, for their exceeding great iniquities, overwhelmed by the waters of the deluge. Can those mighty men and their neighbours, all the sinners who have been gathered to them since, be rejected from under the waters, by which they were judicially overwhelmed?
Mr. Good thinks the shades of the heroes of former times, the gigantic spectres, the mighty or enormous dead, are meant.
I greatly question whether sea-monsters be not intended, such as porpoises, sharks, narwals, grampuses, and whales. We know, however that an opinion anciently prevailed, that the Titans, a race of men of enormous stature, rebelled against the gods, and endeavoured to scale heaven by placing one mountain on the top of another; and that they and their structure were cast down by the thunder of the deities, and buried under the earth and sea; and that their struggles to arise produce the earthquakes which occur in certain countries. Now although this opinion is supported by the most respectable antiquity among the heathens, it is not to be supposed that in the word of God there can be any countenance given to an opinion at once as absurd as it is monstrous. (But still the poet may use the language of the common people.) I must therefore either refer the passage here to the antediluvians, or to the vast sea-monsters mentioned above.
