The pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at his reproof.
Parallel translations
- WEB The pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at his rebuke.
- BSB The foundations of heaven quake, astounded at His rebuke.
- NKJV The pillars of heaven tremble, And are astonished at His rebuke.
- NASB “The pillars of heaven tremble And are amazed at His rebuke.
- NLT The foundations of heaven tremble; they shudder at his rebuke.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The pillars of heaven shake and are stunned at God's rebuke. It matters because even the firmest structures of creation tremble before Him.
Overview
Job pictures the heavens themselves, imagined as supported on pillars, quaking at God's mere rebuke. The poetic image conveys creation's utter dependence on and reverence before its Maker. If the foundations of the sky tremble at His word, how much more should mortals bow before Him in worship.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- 1 Sam 2:8He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD’s, and he hath set the world upon them.
- Ps 18:7Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth.
- Hag 2:21Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth;
- Job 15:15Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints; yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight.
- Heb 12:26–27Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.
- Rev 20:11And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
- 2 Pet 3:10But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Job's cry for a mediator who can lay his hand on both God and man, and his confidence that 'my Redeemer lives' and will stand on the earth, reaches forward to Jesus the living Redeemer.
How Job 26:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.