26:5 Dead things. The word for “dead things” refers to the spirits of the deceased. Some of these are constrained in sheol, or hades, far below the ocean waters. Some seem to inhabit the waters themselves, possibly the nephilim drowned in the great Flood (Genesis 6:4). These two groups may correspond to those seen in his vision by the Apostle John—that is, when he saw that “the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell [that is, hades] delivered up the dead which were in them” (Revelation 20:13). In any case, all were under God’s control.