Job 26:11
Translations
King James Version (KJV)
The pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at his reproof.
American King James Version (AKJV)
The pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at his reproof.
American Standard Version (ASV)
The pillars of heaven tremble And are astonished at his rebuke.
Basic English Translation (BBE)
The pillars of heaven are shaking, and are overcome by his sharp words.
Webster's Revision
The pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at his reproof.
World English Bible
The pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at his rebuke.
English Revised Version (ERV)
The pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at his rebuke.
Definitions for Job 26:11
Clarke's Job 26:11 Bible Commentary
The pillars of heaven tremble - This is probably a poetical description either of thunder, or of an earthquake: -
"He shakes creation with his nod;
Earth, sea, and heaven, confess him God."
But there may be an allusion to the high mountains, which were anciently esteemed by the common people as the pillars on which the heavens rested; and when these were shaken with earthquakes, it might be said the pillars of heaven tremble. Mount Atlas was supposed to be one of those pillars, and this gave rise to the fable of Atlas being a man who bore the heavens on his shoulders. The Greek and Roman poets frequently use this image. Thus Silius Italicus, lib. i., ver. 202: -
Atlas subducto tracturus vertice coelum:
Sidera nubiferum fulcit caput, aethereasque
Erigit aeternum compages ardua cervix:
Canet barba gelu, frontemque immanibus umbris
Pinea silva premit; vastant cava tempora venti
Nimbosoque ruunt spumantia flumina rictu.
"Atlas' broad shoulders prop th' incumbent skies:
Around his cloud-girt head the stars arise.
His towering neck supports th' ethereal way;
And o'er his brow black woods their gloom display.
continued...
Barnes's Job 26:11 Bible Commentary
The pillars of Heaven tremble - That is, the mountains, which seem to bear up the heavens. So, among the ancients. Mount Atlas was represented as one of the pillars of heaven. Virgil speaks of "Atlas whose brawny back supports the skies." And Hesiod, ver. 785, advances the same notion:
"Atlas, so hard necessity ordains,
Great, the ponderous vault of stars sustains
Not far from the Hesperides he stands,
Nor from the load retracts his head or hands."
The word "reproof" in this verse refers to the language of God, as if spoken in anger to rebuke the mountains or the earth. Perhaps the reference is to thunder, to storms, and to winds, which seem to be the voice of God; compare Psalm 29:3-8. Similar descriptions of the majesty and glory of God abound in the Scriptures, where he speaks to the earth, the mountains, the hills, and they tremble. Thus, in Psalm 104:32;
He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth;
He toucheth the hills, and they smoke.
So in Habakkuk 3:10 :
The mountains saw thee, and they trembled;
The overflowing of the water passed by;
The deep uttered his voice, and lift up his hands on high.
So in Nahum 1:5, "The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burnt at his presence."
Wesley's Job 26:11 Bible Commentary
26:11 Pillars - Perhaps the mountains which by their height and strength seem to reach and support the heavens. Astonished - When God reproveth not them, but men by them, manifesting his displeasure by thunders, or earthquakes.