Job 26: A Rendition

“The dead tremble—those who live beneath the waters.
The underworld is naked in God’s presence.
The place of destruction is uncovered.
God stretches the northern sky over empty space
And hangs the earth on nothing.
He wraps the rain in his thick clouds,
And the clouds don’t burst with the weight.
He covers the face of the moon, shrouding it with his clouds.
He created the horizon when he separated the waters;
He set the boundary between day and night.
The foundations of heaven tremble; they shudder at his rebuke.
By his power the sea grew calm.
By his skill he crushed the great sea monster.
His Spirit made the heavens beautiful,
And his power pierced the gliding serpent.

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?”

God is so powerful it is incomprehensible! We can say that we understand his ways, but by saying that we are merely highlighting our own ignorance. Isaiah talks about how God's ways and thoughts are higher than our own. That means that we cannot fully understand him, no matter how hard we try. Job's friends were trying to convince him that they knew God, or at least knew him enough to tell Job how he should act in his present situation. Then in chapter 38, God challenges Job by pretty much giving a resume of his accomplishments, not because he is cocky, but because God is allowed to reveal to us his glorious nature in order to help us move into a better (and yet not full) understanding of his power, our purpose, and Christ's promise.
So, let me give a rendition of Job 26 as I can see it:

"Everything ever created, whether living or dead, past or present, fears God.
There is nothing God can't see or hear, because he has a hand in his creation.
He took the sky and made it our ceiling, stretching as far as the eye can see.
He suspends the Earth in space, in a seemingly endless nothingness.
He gives the rain a blanket in the clouds,
Harboring it from the elements until its anointed time.
And even with their great and precious cargo, the clouds don't falter.
He created the dark side of the moon,
Hiding it from prying eyes and keeping it as one of his many mysteries.
He made the horizon when he created the seas,
So that human beings could look to it for hope of things to come.
He tells the sun where to rise and where to rest,
And he holds the moon in the clear night sky.

Everything ever created, whether living or dead, past or present, fears God.
All creation trembles at God's anger, for he is immensely powerful.
When the waves became rowdy, he comforted them with sweet whispers.
He slayed the great sea dragon, Rahab, controlling chaos and bringing order.
His Spirit was the inspiration for the great painted sunsets and the beautiful cloudy skies.

And even more amazing is that these are merely a few of his creations,
Only a touch of his glory, a taste of his Spirit, a whisper of his power.
Again, I say, his ways are incomprehensible. Oh! What a beautiful God!"