They are passed away as the swift ships: as the eagle that hasteth to the prey.
Job 9:26 stands in Job's answer to Bildad's first speech, in which Bildad urges humility and Job answers that afflictions are no proof of sin. It stands in the debate between Job and his three friends on the subject of his afflictions in Job 4-31, consisting of three circles of speeches on the part of each. The book of Job is the oldest book in the Bible and the oldest poetical book come down to us, divided into the prose prologue in chapters 1 and 2, the debate, the speeches of Elihu in chapters 32 to 37, the speeches of the Lord out of the storm-cloud, and the prose epilogue in chapter 42:7-17.
The book shows the great problems of overruling providence and sin and suffering, where God disciplines Job by bringing him through the fire of affliction while his three friends charge him with sin and declare his sufferings are because of sin, a misjudging of fellow humans that humanity still repeats. The verse compares swiftly passing ships and an eagle rushing toward its prey to the rapid passing of human life, showing that life passes with great speed and brevity. It shows that human life passes swiftly, like a ship sailing by.
It compares passing time to swift ships and illustrates how quickly the years of life pass. It shows that human life is fleeting and brief, aptly pictured also by flying clouds, vanishing vapor, an arrow just shot from the string, wintry grass, and a flower whose beauty fades almost as soon as it blooms and whose fragrance is gone almost as soon as it is perceived. The swift-ship image belongs to a series that presents life as short and uncertain. The brevity in the verse applies to the possibility of death at any moment, like a thread suddenly cut.
Job 9:26 stands in Job's answer to Bildad's first speech, in which Bildad urges humility and Job answers that afflictions are no proof of sin. It stands in the debate between Job and his three friends on the subject of his afflictions in Job 4-31, consisting of three circles of speeches on the part of each. The book of Job is the oldest book in the Bible and the oldest poetical book come down to us, divided into the prose prologue in chapters 1 and 2, the debate, the speeches of Elihu in chapters 32 to 37, the speeches of the Lord out of the storm-cloud, and the prose epilogue in chapter 42:7-17.
The book shows the great problems of overruling providence and sin and suffering, where God disciplines Job by bringing him through the fire of affliction while his three friends charge him with sin and declare his sufferings are because of sin, a misjudging of fellow humans that humanity still repeats. The verse compares swiftly passing ships and an eagle rushing toward its prey to the rapid passing of human life, showing that life passes with great speed and brevity. It shows that human life passes swiftly, like a ship sailing by.
It compares passing time to swift ships and illustrates how quickly the years of life pass. It shows that human life is fleeting and brief, aptly pictured also by flying clouds, vanishing vapor, an arrow just shot from the string, wintry grass, and a flower whose beauty fades almost as soon as it blooms and whose fragrance is gone almost as soon as it is perceived. The swift-ship image belongs to a series that presents life as short and uncertain. The brevity in the verse applies to the possibility of death at any moment, like a thread suddenly cut.