By his Spirit the heavens are garnished. His hand has pierced the swift serpent.
Parallel Translations
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By his Spirit the heavens are garnished. His hand has pierced the swift serpent.
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By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent.
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By His breath the heavens are serene; His hand hath pierced the slant serpent.
Cross-references (6)
Passages linked to Job 26:13 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Isaiah 27:1 In that day, Yahweh with his hard and great and strong sword will punish leviathan, the fleeing serpent, and leviathan the twisted serpent; and he will kill the dragon that is in the sea.
- Psalms 104:30 You send out your Spirit and they are created. You renew the face of the ground.
- Psalms 74:13-14 You divided the sea by your strength. You broke the heads of the sea monsters in the waters. You broke the heads of Leviathan in pieces. You gave him as food to people and desert creatures.
- Genesis 1:2 The earth was formless and empty. Darkness was on the surface of the deep and God’s Spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters.
- Psalms 33:6-7 By Yahweh’s word, the heavens were made: all their army by the breath of his mouth. He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap. He lays up the deeps in storehouses.
- Revelation 12:9 The great dragon was thrown down, the old serpent, he who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Which is a figure of stars fashioned like a…
Which is a figure of stars fashioned like a serpent, because of the crookedness.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Job 26:13 By his spirit he hath garnished the…
Job 26:13 By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent.
Ver. 13. By his Spirit he hath garnished the heavens] Spiritu eius caeli sunt ipsa pulchritudo, By his Spirit the heavens are beauty itself, so Vatablus rendereth it, Adoravit, decoravit, pulchrefecit. Hinc κοσμος. That Three in One, and One in Three, wrought in the creation: see Psa 33:6, "By the word of Jehovah were the heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth." Here Jehovah, his Word, and his Spirit, are noted to be the Maker of the world; so Gen 1:1-31. The heathens had some blind notions hereof, as appeareth by Plutarch, who reporteth that in Thebe, a town of Egypt, they worshipped a God whom they acknowledged to be immortal; but how painted they him? In the likeness of a man blowing an egg out of his mouth; to signify that he made the round world by the spirit of his mouth. Upon the heavens especially God hath bestowed a great deal of skill and workmanship, as appeareth, Heb 11:10 Psa 8:3, where heaven is called, The work of God’s fingers; a curious Divine work; a metaphor from them that make tapestry. Garnished it is with stars, as a palace is with stately pictures, besides the inward beauty, which is unconceivable. There is something of a Saphir in the Hebrew word here rendered garnished, and Rev 21:19 search is made through all the bowels of the earth to find out all the precious treasures that could be had, gold, pearls, and precious stones of all sorts; and what can these serve to? only to shadow out the glory of the walls of the New Jerusalem, and the gates, and to pave the streets of the city. See also Isa 54:11-12.
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His hand hath formed the crooked serpent] Enixa est, peperit, hath brought forth as by birth, hath formed the most deformed and dreadful creature in the earth; or those flaming dragons flying in the air (meteors I mean); or the constellation in heaven called the Dragon, between the two Bears, and not far from the north pole ( Est hoc sane maximum, et maxime conspicuum in caelo sidus, &c.); or, lastly, those sea dragons, the whales, which Mercer thinketh most likely to be here meant, and compareth Isa 27:1 Psa 104:26 Job 40:20. Neither need we wonder, saith he, that the beginning of the verse is of heaven and the end of the sea; for Job would show and set forth two admirable works of God in two extremes of the world; viz. in heaven above, and in the waters under the earth; his power and wisdom shineth everywhere in the creatures, neither can a man easily look beside a miracle. Job, therefore, insisteth not long upon particulars, but, as one lost in the labyrinth of admiration at so great things, he thus shuts up:
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain By his spirit; either,
By his spirit; either,
1. By his Divine virtue or power, which is sometimes called his spirit, as Zec 4:6; Mat 12:28. Or,
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2. By his Holy Spirit, to which the creation of the world is ascribed, Gen 1:2; Job 33:4; Psa 33:6.
He hath garnished the heavens; adorned or beautified them with those glorious lights, the sun, and moon, and stars.
The crooked serpent; by which he understands either,
1. All the kinds of serpents, or fishes, or monsters of the sea. Or,
2. The most eminent of their kinds, particularly the whale, which may be here not unfitly mentioned (as it is afterwards more largely described) amongst the glorious works of God in this lower world; as the garnishing of the heavens was his noblest work in the superior visible parts of the world.
Or, 3. A heavenly constellation, called the great dragon and serpent, which being most eminent, as taking up a considerable part of the northern hemisphere, may well be put for all the rest of the constellations or stars wherewith the heavens are garnished. Thus he persisteth still in the same kind of God’s works, and the latter branch explains the former. And this sense is the more probable, because Job was well acquainted with the doctrine of astronomy, and knew the nature and names of the stars and constellations, as appears also from Job 9:9; 38:31.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens,.... The…
By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens,.... The visible heavens, with the sun, moon, and stars, with which they are studded and bespangled, and look exceeding beautiful; and the invisible heavens, with angels, the morning stars, and glorified saints, who especially in the resurrection morn will shine not only like stars, but as the sun in the firmament of heaven; and the church, which is the heaven below, is garnished with Gospel ministers, adorned with the gifts and graces of the spirit of God:
his hand hath formed the crooked serpent; because Job in the preceding clause has respect to the heavens and the ornament of them, this has led many to think that some constellation in the heavens is meant by the crooked serpent, either the galaxy, or milky way, as Ben Gersom and others; or the dragon star, as some in Aben Ezra (c): but rather Job descends again to the sea, and concludes with taking notice of the wonderful work of God, the leviathan, with which God himself concludes his discourse with him in the close of this book, which is called as here the crooked or "bar serpent", Isa 27:1; and so the Targum understands it,
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"his hand hath created leviathan, which is like unto a biting serpent.''
Some understand it of the crocodile, and the epithet agrees with it, whether it be rendered a "bar serpent", as some (d); that is, straight, stretched out, long, as a bar, the reverse of our version; or "fleeing" (e), as others; the crocodile being, as Pliny (f) says, terrible to those that flee from it, but flees from those that pursue it. Jarchi interprets it of Pharaoh, or leviathan, both an emblem of Satan, the old serpent, the devil, who is God's creature, made by him as a creature, though not made a serpent, or a devil, by him, which was of himself. Some have observed the trinity of persons in these words, and who doubtless were concerned in the creation of all things; here is "Jehovah", of whom the whole context is; and "his Spirit", who, as he moved upon the face of the waters at the first creation, is here said to beautify and adorn the heavens; "and his hand"; his Son, the power and wisdom of God, by whom he made all things.
(c) So Dickinson. Physic. Vet. & Vera, c. 9. sect. 23. p. 137. (d) "serpentem vectem", Pagninus, Cocceius; "oblongum instar vectis", Schmidt; "oblongum", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "longa trabe rectior". Vide Metamorph. l. 3. Fab. 1. ver. 78. (e) "Fugacem", Montanus, Vatablus; "fugiens", Codurcus. (f) Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 25.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 13. By his Spirit he hath garnished the…
Verse 13. By his Spirit he hath garnished the heavens] See the observations below.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Job 26:13. By his Spirit — Either, 1st, By…
Job 26:13. By his Spirit — Either, 1st, By his divine virtue or power, called his Spirit, Zec 4:6; Mat 12:28. Or, 2d, By his Holy Spirit, to which the creation of the world is ascribed, Gen 1:2; Job 33:4. He hath garnished the heavens — Adorned or beautified them with those glorious lights, the sun, moon, and stars. His hand hath formed the crooked serpent — By which he may mean all kinds of serpents, with fishes and monsters of the sea. It is the same word that is used for leviathan, Isa 27:1, of which the Targum understands it, and perhaps may be intended of the whale or crocodile. Chappelow, who gives us divers senses of the word ברח, bariach, here rendered crooked, and used as an epithet to designate the kind of serpent intended, observes that, in any of those senses, it is applicable to the great dragon, that old serpent called the devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world, Rev 12:9; Rev 20:2. For (to allude to those senses of the word) that crooked, apostate serpent was formed, was brought forth, was wounded even to death, by God, fled from his vengeance, grieved, and trembled. “It may well be asked,” says the learned Bishop Sherlock, who is of the same mind, and thinks that by the crooked serpent here is meant that apostate spirit who tempted Eve under the form of a serpent, “how come these disagreeable ideas to be joined together? How comes the forming of a crooked serpent to be mentioned as an instance of almighty power, and to be set, as it were, upon an equal footing with the creation of the heavens, and all the host of them? When you read the whole chapter, all the images in which are great and magnificent, can you possibly imagine that the forming the crooked serpent, in this place, means no more than that God created snakes and adders? This surely cannot be the case. If we consider the state of religion in the world when this book was penned, it will help to clear this matter up. The oldest notion in opposition to the supremacy of the Creator is that of two independent principles; and the only kind of idolatry mentioned in the book of Job, and it was of all others the most ancient, is the worship of the sun and moon, and heavenly host. From this Job vindicates himself, Job 31:26, &c. Suppose Job now to be acquainted with the fall of man, and the part ascribed to the serpent of the introduction of evil; and see how aptly the parts cohere. In opposition to the idolatrous practice of his time, he asserts God to be the Maker of all the hosts of heaven. By his Spirit hath 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 first 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 explanation of this place we have undeniable evidence from the translation of the LXX., who render the latter part of this verse, which relates to the serpent, in this manner: By a decree he destroyed the apostate dragon. The Syriac and Arabic versions are to the same effect. 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.”
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain By his spirit - The word spirit here is…
By his spirit - The word spirit here is either synonymous with wisdom, referring to the wisdom by which God made the heavens; or with breath - meaning, that he did it by his own command. There is no evidence that Job refers to the Third Person of the Trinity - the Holy Spirit - as being especially engaged in the work of creation. The word spirit is often used to denote one’s self; and the meaning here is, that God had done it. This was one of the exhibitions of his power and skill.
He hath garnished the heavens - He has formed the stars which constitute so beautiful an ornament of the heavens.
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His hand hath formed the crooked serpent - Or, rather, the fleeing serpent - ברח נחשׁ nāchâsh bârı̂ach; see the notes at Isa 27:1. There can be no doubt that Job refers here to one of the constellations, which it seems was then known as the serpent or dragon. The practice of forming pictures of the heavens, with a somewhat fanciful resemblance to animals, was one of the most early devices of astronomy, and was evidently known in the time of Job; compare the notes at Job 9:9. The object was, probably, to aid the memory; and though the arrangement is entirely arbitrary, and the resemblance wholly fanciful, yet it is still continued in the works of astronomy, as a convenient help to the memory, and as aiding in the description of the heavenly bodies. This is probably the same constellation which is described by Virgil, in language that strikingly resembles that here uscd by Job:
Maximus hic flexu sinuoso elabitur anguis
Circum, perque duas in morem fluminis Arctos,
Arctos oceani metuentes sequore tingi.
Geor. i. 244.
Around our pole the spiry Dragon glides,
And, like a winding stream, the Bears divides;
The less and greater, who by Fate’s decree
Abhor to die beneath the Southern sea.
Dryden
The figure of the Serpent, or “the Dragon,” is still one of the constellations of the heavens, and there can be little doubt that it is the same that is referred to in this ancient book. On the celestial globes it is drawn between the Ursa Major and Cepheus, and is made to embrace the pole of the ecliptic in its convolutions. The head of the monster is under the foot of Hercules; then there is a coil tending eastwardly about 17 degrees north of Lyra; then he winds northwardly about 14 degrees to the second coil, where he reaches almost to the girdle of Cepheus; then he loops down and makes a third coil somewhat in the shape of the letter “U,” about 15 degrees below the first; and then he holds a westerly course for about 13 degrees, and passes between the head of the Greater and the tail of the Lesser Bear. The constellation has 80 stars; including four of the second magnitude, seven of the third, and twelve of the fourth.
The origin of the name given to this constellation, and the reason why it was given, are unknown. It has been supposed that the Dragon in his tortuous windings is symbolic of the oblique course of the stars, and particularly that it was designed to designate the motion of the pole of the equator around the pole of the ecliptic, produced by the precession of the equinoxes. It may be doubted, however, whether this is not a refinement; for the giving of a name for such a cause must have been based on knowledge much in advance of that which was possessed when this name was given. Mythologists say, that Draco was the watchful dragon which guarded the golden apples in the garden of the Hesperides, near Mount Atlas, in Africa, and which was slain by Hercules. Juno is said to have taken the Dragon up to heaven, and to have made a constellation of him, as a reward for his faithful services. The origin of the division of the stars into constellations is now unknown.
It has been known from the earliest times, and is found in all nations; and it is remarkable that about the same mode of division is observed, and about the same names are given to the constellations. This would seem to indicate that they had a common origin; and probably that is to be found in Chaldea, Arabia, or Egypt. Sir Isaac Newton regards Egypt as the parental point; Sir William Jones, Chaldea; Mr. Montucla, Arabia. There is probably no book earlier than this of Job, and the mention here of the names of the constellations is probably the first on record. If so, then the first intimation that we have of them was from Arabia; but still it may have been that Job derived his views from Egypt or Chaldea. The sense in the passage before us is, that the greatness and glory of God are seen by forming the beautiful and the glorious constellations that adorn the sky.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Heavens, with stars, &c., Psalm xxxii. 6., and Wisdom…
Heavens, with stars, &c., Psalm xxxii. 6., and Wisdom i. 7. God also sends winds to disperse the clouds, that the heavens may appear. (Calmet) --- Artful, (obstetricante) "being the midwife." The least things are ruled by Providence. (Worthington) --- Serpent; a constellation, lightning, the devil, or rather the leviathan, Isaias xxvii. 1. (Drusius) (Calmet) --- Septuagint, "by his decree, he killed the apostate dragon." (Haydock) --- But there is no need of having recourse to allegory. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain UMBREIT less simply, "By His breath He maketh the…
UMBREIT less simply, "By His breath He maketh the heavens to revive": namely, His wind dissipates the clouds, which obscured the shining stars. And so the next clause in contrast, "His hand doth strangle," that is, obscures the north constellation, the dragon. Pagan astronomy typified the flood trying to destroy the ark by the dragon constellation, about to devour the moon in its eclipsed crescent-shape like a boat (Job 3:8, Margin). But better as English Version (Psa 33:6).
crooked--implying the oblique course, of the stars, or the ecliptic. "Fleeing" or "swift" [UMBREIT] (Isa 27:1). This particular constellation is made to represent the splendor of all the stars.
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Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 13. Garnished the heavens — Literally, By his breath…
13. Garnished the heavens — Literally, By his breath the heavens are bright. At the root of Shiphra, bright, (a woman’s name in Exo_1:15,) lies the idea of beauty. “The word is used,” says Scott, “by the elegant Hariri of a beautiful woman unveiling and shining out to her admirers.”
Formed — חללה, pierced through. So the Syriac, Arabic, Furst, Hirtzel, Dillmann, Ewald, Hitzig, etc. The same word in the participial form is used in Isa_51:9, where it unquestionably signifies the piercing of the dragon. Some, however, give to the word a different root form, and make it to signify, as in the Authorized Version, to “form,” or “create:” — Welte, Renan, Conant, etc.
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Crooked serpent — Better, the fleeing serpent. The Septuagint renders the phrase, “he destroyed the apostate serpent,” which reduced Tyndale to translate it, “With his hand hath he wounded the rebellyous serpent.” In the opinion of some there is a reference to a mythological legend, as in Job_3:8, (see note.). On the contrary, as the mention of the sea suggested its Rahab, so that of the sky suggests its Serpent, a constellation that from the remotest ages has borne either this or kindred names. This constellation, (Draco, the Dragon,) with its nearly a hundred stars and its head beneath the foot of Hercules, winds its way between the greater and lesser Bears, almost half around the polar circle. Popular imagination conceived that the hand of God pierced it through as it strove to escape, and thus transfixed it in its course. The tragical story of the garden is seemingly transferred to the skies. Hitzig links “the fleeing serpent” with “the host of the height,” (Isa_24:21,) and regards it as a veil of a πνευματικον του πονηρου, or, evil intelligences, kindred to Eph_6:12. Prof. Lee and Wordsworth see in the passage a transition from the works of creation to that of redemption. The wounding of the serpent, also paraphrased in Isa_27:1, where this very “fleeing serpent” is said to be pierced with the sword, may harbinger the triumph of the cross, in which Christ bruised the head of the serpent. If so, the sublime description of the works of creation culminates in the vastly greater work of redemption. The two verses, 12 and 13, are thus linked in the one common thought — the final subjugation of evil. Bildad speaks of the uncleanness and hopelessness of man, (Job_26:4;) — Job’s reply, far reaching and in shadowy vision, embraces the cross.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 13. by his spirit he hath garnished] Rather as…
13. by his spirit he hath garnished] Rather as above. The reference is to the clearing away of storm clouds, that darken the heavens, by the breath of God.
hath formed] Rather as above, pierceth. The words express the half poetical, half mythological conception that the darkening in storm or in eclipse of the heavenly bodies was caused by the Dragon swallowing them up. See on ch. Job_3:8, Job_7:12. There is no reason to identify the swift or fleeing serpent with the constellation of the Dragon. Comp. Isa_27:1, with Mr Cheyne’s excellent note.
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Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (13) The crooked serpent.—By this expression is doubtless meant…
(13) The crooked serpent.—By this expression is doubtless meant the forked lightning-flash, though it is difficult to determine whether any, or what mythological ideas may underlie the expression, or whether it is anything more than a figure derived from the natural world, which suggested the similitude of the flying serpent. Others understand by it the constellation of the Northern Dragon, to whose influence storms were ascribed.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; or,…
By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; or, by his spirit the heavens are brightness; i.e. at a breath from his mouth the heavens, lately all cloud and storm (vers. 8-11), recover their serenity, are calm and clear and bright. Our experience says, "After a storm comes a calm." Job notes that both alike are from God. His hand hath formed the crooked serpent; rather, his hand hath pierced the swift serpent (see the Revised Version). The reference is probably to "the war in heaven," already suggested by the mention of" Rahab" (ver. 12). In that war, according to the tradition that had reached Job, a great serpent, like the Egyptian Apepi (Apophis), had borne a part.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 By his breath he made the skies clear
By his breath he made the skies clear
The noun "breath" can be translated with the verb "breathe" or "blow." This image represents God causing the wind to blow away the clouds. AT: "God blew away the clouds so that the skies were clear" (See: Metaphor)
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his hand pierced the fleeing serpent
It is implied that God his holding a sword, and here "his hand" represents that sword. Also, "pierced" represents killing. AT: "With his sword he pierced the fleeing serpent" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information and Metonymy)
the fleeing serpent
"the serpent as it was trying to escape from him." This refers to Rahab, the monster in the sea. See Job 26:12.
See, these are but the fringes of his ways
Here "fringes" represents a small part that we can see of something that is much bigger. AT: "See, these things that God has done show only a small part of his great power" (See: Metaphor)
how small a whisper do we hear of him!
This is an exclamation that expresses Job's amazement of all the great things that God does that we do not even know about. Seeing what God does is spoken of as hearing God's voice. AT: "it is as if we heard only his quiet whisper!" (See: Exclamations and Metaphor)
Who can understand the thunder of his power?
The "thunder of his power" represents God's greatness. Job uses this question to emphasize that God's power is so great that no one can understand it. AT: "The thunder displays the greatness of his power which no one can understand!" (See: Rhetorical Question and Metaphor)
translationWords
breath
hand
serpent
understand
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 26:13 His Spirit (or wind): God’s authority clears the…
26:13 His Spirit (or wind): God’s authority clears the skies after a storm (26:12). • The gliding serpent corresponds to Yam and Rahab (see study note on 7:12); it provides background for the image of Satan as a dragon (Isa 27:1; also Ps 74:13-14; see Gen 3:15; Rom 16:20; Rev 12:9; 20:2).
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