Job 26:9 kjv
He holdeth back the face of his throne, and spreadeth his cloud upon it.
Job 26:9 nkjv
He covers the face of His throne, And spreads His cloud over it.
Job 26:9 niv
He covers the face of the full moon, spreading his clouds over it.
Job 26:9 esv
He covers the face of the full moon and spreads over it his cloud.
Job 26:9 nlt
He covers the face of the moon,
shrouding it with his clouds.
Job 26 9 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Exod 19:9 | "I will come to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak..." | God descends in a cloud, signifying hidden presence. |
| Exod 19:16 | "...and a thick cloud was on the mountain..." | Cloud conceals God's visible glory on Sinai. |
| Exod 24:15-16 | "...the glory of the Lord dwelt on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it..." | God's glory is shrouded by the cloud. |
| Lev 16:2 | "...for I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat." | God appears within the cloud in the Most Holy Place. |
| Deut 4:11 | "...the mountain burned with fire to the heart of heaven, wrapped in darkness, cloud, and thick darkness." | God's presence is amidst obscurity and clouds. |
| 1 Kgs 8:12 | "The Lord has said that He would dwell in thick darkness." | God chooses to dwell in unapproachable darkness. |
| Psa 18:11-12 | "He made darkness His covering around Him, His canopy thick clouds, dark waters." | God's chariot is covered by dark clouds. |
| Psa 97:2 | "Clouds and thick darkness are around Him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne." | God's throne surrounded by mystery and justice. |
| Isa 45:15 | "Truly, You are a God who hides Himself, O God of Israel, the Savior." | God's nature is partly concealed. |
| Lam 3:44 | "You have wrapped Yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can pass through." | God's apparent withdrawal or hiddenness from humanity. |
| Matt 17:5 | "...a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said..." | The cloud signals God's manifest presence during Transfiguration. |
| Acts 1:9 | "...and a cloud received Him out of their sight." | Christ's ascension, taken by a cloud. |
| Heb 12:2 | "...who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross..." | Christ unveils God partially while experiencing separation from God. |
| 1 Tim 6:16 | "...who alone has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no human being has seen or can see." | God's inherent unseeableness and transcendent majesty. |
| Rev 1:7 | "Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him..." | Future revealing of Christ accompanied by clouds. |
| Rev 4:2-3 | "And behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne." | Description of God's glorious throne in heaven. |
| Gen 32:30 | "...I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered." | Jacob's exceptional, partial encounter with God's presence. |
| Judg 13:22 | "We shall surely die, for we have seen God." | Mortal fear of direct encounter with divine. |
| John 1:18 | "No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, He has made Him known." | Christ as the ultimate revealer of the unseen God. |
| 2 Cor 3:13-16 | "...Moses would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end." | The veil symbolizes the obscurity preventing understanding of God. |
| Psa 104:1-2 | "You are clothed with splendor and majesty, covering yourself with light as with a garment..." | God's glory is his raiment, a glorious but often veiled splendor. |
| Nah 1:3 | "...the Lord has His way in the whirlwind and the storm, and clouds are the dust of His feet." | God's control over creation, with clouds as His powerful instruments. |
Job 26 verses
Job 26 9 Meaning
Job 26:9 describes the transcendent and veiled nature of God's majesty and authority. It speaks of the Creator holding back, or covering, the direct revelation of His majestic throne, extending a cloud over it. This imagery portrays God as both present and incomprehensible, His ultimate glory being inaccessible to direct human sight, demonstrating His awe-inspiring power and hidden sovereignty over creation.
Job 26 9 Context
Job 26 is part of Job’s eloquent final response to Bildad, focusing entirely on God's incomprehensible power and majesty, rather than directly refuting Bildad's arguments about suffering. Job, though deeply afflicted and grappling with God's justice, expresses profound reverence for God’s creative and sustaining might. He extols God's sovereignty over the cosmos, demonstrating that human understanding, even his own, cannot grasp the full extent of God's ways or His transcendent being. Verse 9 specifically highlights the inaccessibility of God's supreme authority, portrayed by the veiled throne. This acknowledgment of God's hidden grandeur serves to humble humanity and underscore the vast chasm between human finitude and divine infinitude.
Job 26 9 Word analysis
- He holds back: Hebrew מְאַחֵז (m'akhez), a masculine singular active participle from אָחַז (akhaz), meaning to seize, take hold, hold back, restrain. This indicates an active, intentional act by God. It is not that His throne is accidentally obscured, but God Himself purposely conceals or veils it. This implies a controlled, deliberate hiding of His full majesty, limiting its visibility.
- the face: Hebrew פְּנֵי (p'nei), from פָּנִים (panim), literally "faces," but often used as an idiom for presence, countenance, or appearance. It refers to the visible aspect or immediate manifestation of something. Here, "the face of His throne" points to the very essence or direct display of God's supreme authority.
- of His throne: Hebrew כִּסְאֹו (kisa'o), from כִּסֵּא (kisse'), meaning throne, seat of power, royal authority. The throne is a universal symbol of kingship, rule, and supreme sovereignty. Attributing a "face" to it personifies God's seat of power, emphasizing its glorious and awe-inspiring presence, which is deliberately held back.
- and spreads: Hebrew וּפֹרֵשׁ (uphoresh), from פָּרַשׂ (paras), meaning to spread out, extend, scatter. This verb implies an act of covering or encompassing, creating an enveloping effect.
- His cloud: Hebrew עָנָן (anan), meaning cloud, thick cloud, cloud bank. In biblical contexts, clouds are frequently associated with divine presence, glory (the Shekinah), mystery, revelation, or judgment. Here, it functions as a divine curtain or veil, paradoxically indicating presence while simultaneously obscuring full vision. The cloud is "His cloud," implying it is uniquely part of His nature or under His complete command, serving His purpose of revelation or concealment.
- over it: Hebrew עָלָיו (alav), meaning upon it, over it. This pronoun refers back to the "face of His throne," clarifying that the cloud is strategically placed to cover or veil this specific aspect of divine authority.
Words-group by words-group analysis:
- "He holds back the face of His throne": This phrase communicates that God's immediate and full majesty, the very core of His sovereign presence, is intentionally not fully revealed. It's a deliberate act of divine concealment, signifying that humanity cannot directly or fully perceive the divine authority. It speaks to God's transcendence and His unapproachable nature, not out of absence, but out of His overwhelming glory.
- "and spreads His cloud over it": This second part explains how the throne's face is held back. The "cloud" serves as both a sign of God's presence and a veil. This is a common motif in Scripture, where clouds accompany divine manifestation (e.g., Sinai, the Tabernacle, Christ's transfiguration and ascension), simultaneously pointing to God's reality and veiling His full splendor. The cloud is a tangible manifestation of divine mystery, allowing for partial revelation while maintaining ultimate inscrutability. The imagery suggests God's control even over how He manifests Himself, choosing to remain partly hidden.
Job 26 9 Bonus section
The concept of God's veiled presence, particularly His throne, counters any simplistic or reductionist views of God that might have been prevalent in Job's cultural context, where deities were sometimes imagined in more anthropomorphic or easily manipulable terms. This verse powerfully asserts God's ultimate freedom from human scrutiny and His ability to control His own revelation. The "cloud" often serves in Scripture not only to hide but also to protect: protecting finite beings from being consumed by infinite glory. It reinforces the theme of God's mysterious wisdom throughout the book of Job, ultimately revealed as part of His sovereign plan for all creation, a plan far beyond human understanding.
Job 26 9 Commentary
Job 26:9 is a poetic and profound statement about the nature of God's sovereignty. In the face of his own suffering and the limitations of human theology, Job declares God's incomprehensible majesty. The verse illustrates a core paradox of divine revelation: God reveals Himself, but never fully in His essence. He "holds back the face of His throne," meaning He deliberately chooses not to expose the raw, overwhelming splendor of His supreme rule. Instead, He "spreads His cloud over it," signifying that His presence is often veiled in mystery and inaccessibility. This "cloud" acts as both a sign of His near presence and an impenetrable barrier to direct human vision, affirming His holiness and transcendence. It’s a testament to the infinite gap between the Creator and creation, where even Job, experiencing God's actions, confesses that human comprehension remains ultimately insufficient for the Divine. The verse stands as a humbling reminder that while God makes Himself known through creation and word, His full glory and the depths of His being remain forever beyond human grasp, safeguarding His otherness and supreme holiness.