Job 26 · Verse 7

Job 26:7

He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing.
Job 26:7, King James Version

Job 26:7 in other translations

BSBHe stretches out the north over empty space; He hangs the earth upon nothing.
WEBHe stretches out the north over empty space, and hangs the earth on nothing.
ASVHe stretcheth out the north over empty space, And hangeth the earth upon nothing.
YLTStretching out the north over desolation, Hanging the earth upon nothing,
DARBYHe stretcheth out the north over empty space, he hangeth the earth upon nothing;
BBEBy his hand the north is stretched out in space, and the earth is hanging on nothing.
WebsterHe stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing.

What does Job 26:7 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Job 26:5-14

5-14. As before in the ninth and twelfth chapters, Job had shown himself not inferior to the friends' inability to describe God's greatness, so now he describes it as manifested in hell (the world of the dead), Job 26:5, 6; on earth, Job 26:7; in the sky, Job 26:8-11; the sea, Job 26:12; the heavens, Job 26:13. Dead things are formed--Rather, "The souls of the dead (Rephaim) tremble." Not only does God's power…

Read the full comment on Job 26:5-14 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 7 He stretcheth out the north over the empty place - על תהו al tohu, to the hollow waste. The same word as is used, Gen 1:2, The earth was without form, תהו tohu. The north must here mean the north pole, or northern hemisphere; and perhaps what is here stated may refer to the opinion that the earth was a vast extended plain, and the heavens poised upon it, resting on this plain all round the horizon. Of the south the inhabitants of Idumea knew nothing; nor could they have any notion of inhabitants in that hemisphere. Hangeth the earth upon nothing - The Chaldee says: "He lays the earth upon the waters, nothing sustaining it."

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Job 26:5-14

Many striking instances are here given of the wisdom and power of God, in the creation and preservation of the world. If we look about us, to the earth and waters here below, we see his almighty power. If we consider hell beneath, though out of our sight, yet we may conceive the discoveries of God's power there. If we look up to heaven above, we see displays of God's almighty power. By his Spirit, the eternal Spirit…

Read the full comment on Job 26:5-14 →

Job 26:7 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

נֹטֶ֣הno.Teh[he] stretches outH5186
צָפ֣וֹןtza.Fon[the] northH6828
עַל\־'al-overH5921
תֹּ֑הוּTo.huemptinessH8414
תֹּ֥לֶהTo.leh[he] hangsH8518
אֶ֝֗רֶץ'E.retz[the] earthH776
עַל\־'al-onH5921
בְּלִי\־be.li-notH1097
מָֽה\׃MahwhateverH4100

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Job 26:7

  • Job 9:8

    Which alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the sea.

  • Psalms 104:2-5

    Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain: Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind: Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire: Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever.

  • Isaiah 40:22

    It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:

  • Isaiah 42:5

    Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:

  • Psalms 24:2

    For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.

  • Proverbs 8:23-27

    I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth: While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world. …

  • Genesis 1:1-2

    In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

  • Isaiah 40:26

    Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
9:8; Ge 1:1,2; Ps 24:2; 104:2-5; Pr 8:23-27; Isa 40:22,26; 42:5

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Job 26:6

    Hell is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering.

  • Job 26:7

    He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing.

  • Job 26:8

    He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds; and the cloud is not rent under them.

Read all of Job 26

Job 26:7 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Extiende el aquilón sobre vacío, cuelga la tierra sobre nada.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Il étend le nord sur le vide, il suspend la terre sur le néant.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Er spannt den Norden aus über der Leere, hängt die Erde auf über dem Nichts.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Qui extendit aquilonem super vacuum, et appendit terram super nihilum.