Job 36:26
New International Version
How great is God—beyond our understanding! The number of his years is past finding out.

New Living Translation
“Look, God is greater than we can understand. His years cannot be counted.

English Standard Version
Behold, God is great, and we know him not; the number of his years is unsearchable.

Berean Standard Bible
Indeed, God is great—beyond our knowledge; the number of His years is unsearchable.

King James Bible
Behold, God is great, and we know him not, neither can the number of his years be searched out.

New King James Version
“Behold, God is great, and we do not know Him; Nor can the number of His years be discovered.

New American Standard Bible
“Behold, God is exalted, and we do not know Him; The number of His years is unsearchable.

NASB 1995
“Behold, God is exalted, and we do not know Him; The number of His years is unsearchable.

NASB 1977
“Behold, God is exalted, and we do not know Him; The number of His years is unsearchable.

Legacy Standard Bible
Behold, God is exalted, and we do not know Him; The number of His years is unsearchable.

Amplified Bible
“Behold, God is exalted, and we do not know Him; The number of His years is unsearchable.

Christian Standard Bible
Yes, God is exalted beyond our knowledge; the number of his years cannot be counted.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Yes, God is exalted beyond our knowledge; the number of His years cannot be counted.

American Standard Version
Behold, God is great, and we know him not; The number of his years is unsearchable.

Contemporary English Version
how great God is--God is more than we imagine; no one can count the years he has lived. *

English Revised Version
Behold, God is great, and we know him not; the number of his years is unsearchable.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"Certainly, God is so great that he is beyond our understanding. The number of his years cannot be counted.

Good News Translation
We cannot fully know his greatness or count the number of his years.

International Standard Version
"God is truly awesome, beyond what we know; the number of his years is unknowable.

Majority Standard Bible
Indeed, God is great—beyond our knowledge; the number of His years is unsearchable.

NET Bible
"Yes, God is great--beyond our knowledge! The number of his years is unsearchable.

New Heart English Bible
Look, God is great, and we do not know him. The number of his years is unsearchable.

Webster's Bible Translation
Behold, God is great, and we know him not, neither can the number of his years be searched out.

World English Bible
Behold, God is great, and we don’t know him. The number of his years is unsearchable.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Behold, God [is] high, "" And we do not know the number of His years, "" Indeed, there [is] no searching.

Young's Literal Translation
Lo, God is high, And we know not the number of His years, Yea, there is no searching.

Smith's Literal Translation
Behold, God is great, and we shall not know the number of his years, and it was not searched out.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Behold, God is great, exceeding our knowledge : the number of his years is inestimable.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Behold, God is great, defeating our knowledge; the number of his years is inestimable.

New American Bible
See, God is great beyond our knowledge, the number of his years past searching out.

New Revised Standard Version
Surely God is great, and we do not know him; the number of his years is unsearchable.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Behold, God is great, and we know him not, the number of his years is unsearchable.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Behold, God is mighty and is not known, and the numbering of his years has no end
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Behold, God is great, beyond our knowledge; The number of His years is unsearchable.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Behold, the Mighty One is great, and we shall not know him: the number of his years is even infinite.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Elihu Declares God's Justice and Power
25All mankind has seen it; men behold it from afar. 26Indeed, God is great— beyond our knowledge; the number of His years is unsearchable. 27For He draws up drops of water which distill the rain from the mist,…

Cross References
Isaiah 40:28
Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary; His understanding is beyond searching out.

Psalm 145:3
Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised; His greatness is unsearchable.

Romans 11:33
O, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and untraceable His ways!

Psalm 147:5
Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding has no limit.

1 Timothy 6:16
He alone is immortal and dwells in unapproachable light. No one has ever seen Him, nor can anyone see Him. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.

Isaiah 55:8-9
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. / “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.

Psalm 139:6
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.

Ecclesiastes 3:11
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men, yet they cannot fathom the work that God has done from beginning to end.

1 Corinthians 2:10-11
But God has revealed it to us by the Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. / For who among men knows the thoughts of man except his own spirit within him? So too, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

Psalm 40:5
Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders You have done, and the plans You have for us—none can compare to You—if I proclaim and declare them, they are more than I can count.

Jeremiah 32:17
“Oh, Lord GOD! You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for You!

Ephesians 3:18-19
will have power, together with all the saints, to comprehend the length and width and height and depth / of the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Psalm 104:1-2
Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, You are very great; You are clothed with splendor and majesty. / He wraps Himself in light as with a garment; He stretches out the heavens like a tent,

Colossians 1:16-17
For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him. / He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

Psalm 90:2
Before the mountains were born or You brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting You are God.


Treasury of Scripture

Behold, God is great, and we know him not, neither can the number of his years be searched out.

God

Job 37:5
God thundereth marvellously with his voice; great things doeth he, which we cannot comprehend.

Psalm 145:3
Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.

we

Job 11:7-9
Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? …

Job 26:14
Lo, these are parts of his ways: but how little a portion is heard of him? but the thunder of his power who can understand?

Job 37:23
Touching the Almighty, we cannot find him out: he is excellent in power, and in judgment, and in plenty of justice: he will not afflict.

neither

Psalm 90:2
Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.

Psalm 102:24-27
I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days: thy years are throughout all generations…

Hebrews 1:12
And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.

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Job 36
1. Elihu shows how God is just in his ways
16. How Job's sins hinder God's blessings
24. God's works are to be magnified














Indeed, God is great—
The Hebrew word for "great" here is "gadol," which conveys not only size but also importance, power, and majesty. This phrase sets the tone for the verse, emphasizing the incomprehensible magnitude of God. In the context of the Book of Job, this declaration serves as a reminder of God's supreme authority and the vastness of His being, which surpasses human understanding. Historically, this aligns with the ancient Near Eastern view of deities as beings of immense power and mystery, yet the God of Israel is uniquely personal and involved with His creation.

beyond our knowledge
The Hebrew term "yada" is used for "knowledge," which implies intimate understanding or experiential knowledge. This phrase acknowledges the limitations of human comprehension when it comes to the divine. In the conservative Christian perspective, this is a call to humility, recognizing that while humans are made in the image of God, they cannot fully grasp His essence or His ways. This aligns with the scriptural theme found in Isaiah 55:8-9, where God's thoughts and ways are higher than ours.

the number of His years
This phrase speaks to the eternal nature of God. The Hebrew word "mispar" for "number" suggests a count or enumeration, yet here it is used to highlight the futility of trying to quantify God's existence. In the ancient world, age was often associated with wisdom and authority, and this phrase underscores God's eternal wisdom and sovereignty. From a theological standpoint, it affirms the doctrine of God's eternality, a foundational belief in conservative Christianity that God exists outside of time and is unchanging.

is unsearchable
The Hebrew word "cheqer" is translated as "unsearchable," meaning beyond investigation or discovery. This term reinforces the idea that God's nature and the span of His existence are beyond human exploration or understanding. In the context of Job, this serves as a reminder of the limitations of human wisdom compared to divine wisdom. It encourages believers to trust in God's perfect plan and timing, even when circumstances are difficult to understand. This aligns with Romans 11:33, which speaks of the depth of God's wisdom and knowledge as unsearchable and His judgments as untraceable.

Verses 26-33. - Elihu passes now to a description, which must be allowed to be eloquent, of the power and providence of God, and especially of his power in the natural world. It is suggested that the storm, which ultimately broke at the theophania (Job 38:1), was already beginning to gather, and turned the thoughts of Elihu in this direction. He begins with the consideration of how rain is generated, passes rapidly to the gathering of the clouds from all quarters, and thence to the loud crashing of the thunder, and the dazzling flashes of the lightning, which illumine even the lowest depths of the sea (ver. 30). The effects of the storm are then spoken of, in words the exact meaning of which is very obscure (vers. 31-33). Verse 26. - Behold, God is great, and we know him not. This is the final lesson which Elihu seeks to impress on his hearers. God is so great their fully to comprehend him transcends the power of the human understanding. However much we know of him, there is more that we do not know. His nature is unsearchable; his depths (1 Corinthians 2:10) are inscrutable; try as we may, we can never "find him out" (Job 37:23). Neither can the number of his years be searched out. Even his duration, being eternal, is beyond us. We cannot realize the thought of pre- and post-eternity.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Indeed,
הֶן־ (hen-)
Interjection
Strong's 2005: Lo! behold!

God [is]
אֵ֣ל (’êl)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 410: Strength -- as adjective, mighty, the Almighty

great—
שַׂ֭גִּיא (gî)
Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 7689: Mighty

beyond
וְלֹ֣א (wə·lō)
Conjunctive waw | Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

our knowledge;
נֵדָ֑ע (nê·ḏā‘)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - first person common plural
Strong's 3045: To know

the number
מִסְפַּ֖ר (mis·par)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 4557: A number, definite, indefinite, narration

of His years
שָׁנָ֣יו (šā·nāw)
Noun - feminine plural construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 8141: A year

is unsearchable.
וְלֹא־ (wə·lō-)
Conjunctive waw | Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no


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OT Poetry: Job 36:26 Behold God is great and we don't (Jb)
Job 36:25
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