Job 28-31
New American Standard Bible
Job Tells of Earth’s Treasures
28 “Certainly there is a [a]mine for silver
And a place [b]for refining gold.
2 Iron is taken from the dust,
And copper is smelted from rock.
3 Man puts an end to darkness,
And (A)to the farthest limit he searches out
The rock in gloom and deep shadow.
4 He [c]sinks a shaft away from [d]inhabited areas,
Forgotten by the foot;
They hang and swing, away from people.
5 [e]From the earth comes food,
And underneath, it is turned over like fire.
6 Its rocks are the [f]source of sapphires,
And its dust contains gold.
7 No bird of prey knows the path,
Nor has the falcon’s eye caught sight of it.
8 The [g]proud animals have not trodden it,
Nor has the lion passed over it.
9 He puts his hand on the flint;
He overturns the mountains at the [h]base.
10 He carves out channels through the rocks,
And his eye sees anything precious.
11 He dams up the streams from [i]flowing,
And brings to light what is hidden.
The Search for Wisdom Is Harder
12 “But (B)where can wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?
13 (C)Mankind does not know its value,
Nor is it found in the land of the living.
14 The ocean depth says, ‘It is not in me’;
And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’
15 (D)Pure gold cannot be given in exchange for it,
Nor can silver be weighed as its price.
16 It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,
In precious onyx, or sapphire.
17 (E)Gold or glass cannot equal it,
Nor can it be exchanged for articles of pure gold.
18 Coral and crystal are not to be mentioned;
And the acquisition of (F)wisdom is more valuable than pearls.
19 The topaz of [j]Cush cannot equal it,
Nor can it be valued in (G)pure gold.
20 (H)Where then does wisdom come from?
And where is this place of understanding?
21 It is hidden from the eyes of every living creature,
And concealed from the birds of the sky.
22 [k](I)Abaddon and Death say,
‘With our ears we have heard a report of it.’
23 “(J)God understands its way,
And He knows its place.
24 For He (K)looks to the ends of the earth;
He sees everything under the heavens.
25 When He imparted (L)weight to the wind,
And (M)assessed the waters by measure,
26 When He made a (N)limit for the rain,
And a course for the (O)thunderbolt,
27 Then He saw it and declared it;
He established it and also searched it out.
28 And to mankind He said, ‘Behold, the (P)fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;
And to turn away from evil is understanding.’”
Job’s Past Was Glorious
29 Job again took up his (Q)discourse and said,
2 “Oh that I were as in months gone by,
As in the days when God (R)watched over me;
3 When (S)His lamp shone over my head,
And (T)by His light I walked through darkness;
4 Just as I was in the days of my youth,
When the (U)protection of God was over my tent;
5 When [l]the Almighty was still with me,
And my children were around me;
6 When my steps were bathed in (V)cream,
And the (W)rock poured out streams of oil for me!
7 When I went out to (X)the gate of the city,
When I [m]took my seat in the public square,
8 The young men saw me and hid themselves,
And the old men arose and stood.
9 The leaders (Y)stopped talking
And (Z)put their hands on their mouths;
10 The voices of the prominent people were [n](AA)hushed,
And their (AB)tongues stuck to their palates.
11 For when (AC)an ear heard, it called me blessed,
And when an eye saw, it testified in support of me,
12 Because I saved (AD)the poor who cried for help,
And the (AE)orphan who had no helper.
13 The blessing of the one who (AF)was about to perish came upon me,
And I made the (AG)widow’s heart sing for joy.
14 I (AH)put on righteousness, and it clothed me;
My justice was like a robe and a headband.
15 I was (AI)eyes to those who were blind,
And feet to those who [o]could not walk.
16 I was a father to (AJ)the poor,
And I investigated the case which I did not know.
17 I (AK)broke the jaws of the wicked
And rescued the prey from his teeth.
18 Then I [p]thought, ‘I will die with my [q]family,
And I will multiply my days as the sand.
19 My (AL)root is spread out to the waters,
And (AM)dew lies on my branch all night.
20 My glory is ever new with me,
And my (AN)bow is renewed in my hand.’
21 “To me (AO)they listened and waited,
And they kept silent for my advice.
22 After my words (AP)they did not speak again,
And (AQ)my speech dropped on them.
23 They waited for me as for the rain,
And opened their mouths as for the late rain.
24 I smiled at them when they did not believe,
And they did not look at [r]my kindness ungraciously.
25 I chose a way for them and sat as (AR)chief,
And lived as a king among the troops,
As one who (AS)comforted the mourners.
Job’s Present State Is Humiliating
30 “But now those who are younger than I (AT)mock me,
Whose fathers I refused to put with the dogs of my flock.
2 Indeed, what good was the strength of their hands to me?
Vigor had perished from them.
3 From poverty and famine they are gaunt,
They who gnaw at the dry ground by night in waste and desolation,
4 Who pluck saltweed by the bushes,
And whose food is the root of the broom shrub.
5 They are driven from the community;
They shout against them as against a thief,
6 So that they live on the slopes of ravines,
In holes in the ground and among the rocks.
7 Among the bushes they [s]cry out;
Under the weeds they are gathered together.
8 Worthless [t]fellows, even [u]those without a name,
They were cast out from the land.
9 “And now I have become their [v](AU)taunt,
And I have become a [w](AV)byword to them.
10 They loathe me and stand aloof from me,
And they do not [x]refrain from (AW)spitting in my face.
11 Because He has undone [y]my [z]bowstring and (AX)afflicted me,
They have cast off (AY)the bridle before me.
12 On the right hand their [aa]mob arises;
They (AZ)push aside my feet (BA)and pile up their ways of destruction against me.
13 They (BB)break up my path,
They promote my destruction;
No one restrains them.
14 As through a wide gap they come,
[ab]Amid the storm they roll on.
15 (BC)Sudden terrors are turned upon me;
They chase away my dignity like the wind,
And my [ac]prosperity has passed away (BD)like a cloud.
16 “And now (BE)my soul is poured out [ad]within me;
Days of misery have seized me.
17 At night it pierces (BF)my bones [ae]within me,
And my gnawing pains do not rest.
18 By a great force my garment is (BG)distorted;
It ties me up like the collar of my coat.
19 He has thrown me into the (BH)mire,
And I have become like dust and ashes.
20 I (BI)cry out to You for help, but You do not answer me;
I stand up, and You turn Your attention against me.
21 You have [af]become cruel to me;
With the strength of Your hand You (BJ)persecute me.
22 You (BK)lift me up to the wind and make me ride it;
And You dissolve me in a storm.
23 For I know that You (BL)will bring me to death,
And to the (BM)house of meeting for all living.
24 “Yet does one in a heap of ruins not reach out with his hand,
Or in his disaster does he not (BN)cry out for help?
25 Have I not (BO)wept for the [ag]one whose life is hard?
Was my soul not grieved for (BP)the needy?
26 When I (BQ)expected good, evil came;
When I waited for light, (BR)darkness came.
27 [ah]I am seething (BS)within and cannot rest;
Days of misery confront me.
28 I go about [ai](BT)mourning without comfort;
I stand up in the assembly and (BU)cry out for help.
29 I have become a brother to (BV)jackals,
And a companion of ostriches.
30 My (BW)skin turns black [aj]on me,
And my (BX)bones burn with [ak]fever.
31 Therefore my (BY)harp [al]is turned to mourning,
And my flute to the sound of those who weep.
Job Asserts His Integrity
31 “I have made a covenant with my (BZ)eyes;
How then could I look at a virgin?
2 And what is (CA)the portion of God from above,
Or the inheritance of the Almighty from on high?
3 Is it not (CB)disaster to the criminal,
And misfortune to (CC)those who practice injustice?
4 Does He not (CD)see my ways,
And (CE)count all my steps?
5 “If I have (CF)walked with deception,
And my foot has hurried after deceit,
6 Let Him (CG)weigh me with [am]accurate scales,
And let God know (CH)my integrity.
7 If my step has (CI)turned from the way,
Or my heart [an]followed my eyes,
Or if any (CJ)spot has stuck to my hands,
8 Let me (CK)sow and another eat,
And let my [ao](CL)crops be uprooted.
9 “If my heart has been (CM)enticed by a woman,
Or I have lurked at my neighbor’s doorway,
10 May my wife (CN)grind grain for another,
And let (CO)others [ap]kneel down over her.
11 For that would be a (CP)lustful crime;
Moreover, it would be (CQ)wrongdoing punishable by judges.
12 For it would be (CR)fire that consumes to [aq](CS)Abaddon,
And would (CT)uproot all my [ar]increase.
13 “If I have (CU)rejected the claim of my male or female slaves
When they filed a complaint against me,
14 What then could I do when God arises?
And when He calls me to account, how am I to answer Him?
15 Did (CV)He who made me in the womb not make him,
And the same one create us in the womb?
16 “If I have kept (CW)the poor from their desire,
Or have caused the eyes of (CX)the widow to fail,
17 Or have (CY)eaten my morsel alone,
And (CZ)the orphan has not [as]shared it
18 (But from my youth he grew up with me as with a father,
And from [at]my infancy I guided her),
19 If I have seen anyone perish (DA)for lack of clothing,
Or that (DB)the needy had no covering,
20 If his waist has not [au]thanked me,
And if he has not been warmed with the fleece of my sheep,
21 If I have lifted up my hand against (DC)the orphan,
Because I saw [av]I had support (DD)in the gate,
22 May my shoulder fall from its [aw]socket,
And my (DE)arm be broken off [ax]at the elbow.
23 For (DF)disaster from God is a terror to me,
And because of (DG)His majesty I can do nothing.
24 “If I have put my confidence in (DH)gold,
And called fine gold my trust,
25 If I have (DI)gloated because my wealth was great,
And because my hand had obtained so much;
26 If I have (DJ)looked at the [ay]sun when it shone,
Or the moon going in splendor,
27 And my heart was secretly enticed,
And my hand [az]threw a kiss from my mouth,
28 That too would have been (DK)a guilty deed calling for [ba]judgment,
For I would have (DL)denied God above.
29 “Have I (DM)rejoiced at the misfortune of my enemy,
Or become excited when evil found him?
30 [bb]No, (DN)I have not [bc]allowed my mouth to sin
By asking for his life in (DO)a curse.
31 Have the people of my tent not said,
‘Who can [bd]find one who has not been (DP)satisfied with his meat’?
32 The stranger has not spent the night outside,
For I have opened my doors to the [be]traveler.
33 Have I (DQ)covered my wrongdoings like a man,
By hiding my guilt in my shirt pocket,
34 Because I (DR)feared the great multitude
And the contempt of families terrified me,
And I kept silent and did not go out of doors?
35 Oh that I had one to hear me!
Here is my [bf]signature;
(DS)Let the Almighty answer me!
And the indictment which my (DT)adversary has written,
36 I would certainly carry it on my shoulder,
I would tie it to myself like a garland.
37 I would declare to Him (DU)the number of my steps;
Like (DV)a prince, I would approach Him.
38 “If my (DW)land cries out against me,
And its furrows weep together;
39 If I have (DX)eaten its [bg]fruit without money,
Or have (DY)caused [bh]its owners to lose their lives,
40 May the (DZ)thorn-bush [bi]grow instead of wheat,
And stinkweed instead of barley.”
The words of Job are ended.
Footnotes
- Job 28:1 Lit source
- Job 28:1 Lit for gold they refine
- Job 28:4 Lit breaks open
- Job 28:4 Lit sojourning
- Job 28:5 Lit Earth, from it
- Job 28:6 Or place
- Job 28:8 Lit sons of pride
- Job 28:9 Lit root
- Job 28:11 Lit weeping
- Job 28:19 Or Ethiopia
- Job 28:22 I.e., Destruction
- Job 29:5 Heb Shaddai
- Job 29:7 Lit set up
- Job 29:10 Lit hidden
- Job 29:15 Or limped
- Job 29:18 Lit said
- Job 29:18 Lit nest
- Job 29:24 Lit the light of my face
- Job 30:7 Or bray
- Job 30:8 Lit sons
- Job 30:8 Lit sons
- Job 30:9 Lit song
- Job 30:9 I.e., prob. a word of insult
- Job 30:10 Lit withhold spit from my face
- Job 30:11 Some mss His
- Job 30:11 Or cord
- Job 30:12 Or youth arise
- Job 30:14 Lit Under
- Job 30:15 Or welfare
- Job 30:16 Lit upon
- Job 30:17 Lit from upon
- Job 30:21 Lit turned to be
- Job 30:25 Lit hard of day
- Job 30:27 Lit My inward parts are boiling
- Job 30:28 Or blackened, but not by the heat of the sun
- Job 30:30 Lit from upon
- Job 30:30 Lit heat
- Job 30:31 Lit becomes
- Job 31:6 Lit just
- Job 31:7 Lit walked after
- Job 31:8 Or offspring
- Job 31:10 I.e., have sexual relations with her
- Job 31:12 I.e., the place of destruction
- Job 31:12 Or yield
- Job 31:17 Lit eaten from it
- Job 31:18 Lit my mother’s womb
- Job 31:20 Lit blessed; i.e., for clothing
- Job 31:21 Lit my help
- Job 31:22 Lit neck-joint
- Job 31:22 Lit from the bone of the upper arm
- Job 31:26 Lit light
- Job 31:27 Lit kissed my mouth
- Job 31:28 Lit judges
- Job 31:30 Lit And
- Job 31:30 Lit given my palate
- Job 31:31 Lit give
- Job 31:32 MT way
- Job 31:35 Lit mark
- Job 31:39 Lit strength
- Job 31:39 Lit the soul of its owners to expire
- Job 31:40 Lit come forth
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