Job 28
World English Bible
28 “Surely there is a mine for silver,
and a place for gold which they refine.
2 Iron is taken out of the earth,
and copper is smelted out of the ore.
3 Man sets an end to darkness,
and searches out, to the furthest bound,
the stones of obscurity and of thick darkness.
4 He breaks open a shaft away from where people live.
They are forgotten by the foot.
They hang far from men, they swing back and forth.
5 As for the earth, out of it comes bread.
Underneath it is turned up as it were by fire.
6 Sapphires come from its rocks.
It has dust of gold.
7 That path no bird of prey knows,
neither has the falcon’s eye seen it.
8 The proud animals have not trodden it,
nor has the fierce lion passed by there.
9 He puts his hand on the flinty rock,
and he overturns the mountains by the roots.
10 He cuts out channels among the rocks.
His eye sees every precious thing.
11 He binds the streams that they don’t trickle.
The thing that is hidden he brings out to light.
12 “But where will wisdom be found?
Where is the place of understanding?
13 Man doesn’t know its price,
and it isn’t found in the land of the living.
14 The deep says, ‘It isn’t in me.’
The sea says, ‘It isn’t with me.’
15 It can’t be gotten for gold,
neither will silver be weighed for its price.
16 It can’t be valued with the gold of Ophir,
with the precious onyx, or the sapphire.[a]
17 Gold and glass can’t equal it,
neither will it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.
18 No mention will be made of coral or of crystal.
Yes, the price of wisdom is above rubies.
19 The topaz of Ethiopia will not equal it.
It won’t be valued with pure gold.
20 Where then does wisdom come from?
Where is the place of understanding?
21 Seeing it is hidden from the eyes of all living,
and kept close from the birds of the sky.
22 Destruction and Death say,
‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’
23 “God understands its way,
and he knows its place.
24 For he looks to the ends of the earth,
and sees under the whole sky.
25 He establishes the force of the wind.
Yes, he measures out the waters by measure.
26 When he made a decree for the rain,
and a way for the lightning of the thunder,
27 then he saw it, and declared it.
He established it, yes, and searched it out.
28 To man he said,
‘Behold, the fear of the Lord,[b] that is wisdom.
To depart from evil is understanding.’”
Job 28
King James Version
28 Surely there is a vein for the silver, and a place for gold where they fine it.
2 Iron is taken out of the earth, and brass is molten out of the stone.
3 He setteth an end to darkness, and searcheth out all perfection: the stones of darkness, and the shadow of death.
4 The flood breaketh out from the inhabitant; even the waters forgotten of the foot: they are dried up, they are gone away from men.
5 As for the earth, out of it cometh bread: and under it is turned up as it were fire.
6 The stones of it are the place of sapphires: and it hath dust of gold.
7 There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture's eye hath not seen:
8 The lion's whelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it.
9 He putteth forth his hand upon the rock; he overturneth the mountains by the roots.
10 He cutteth out rivers among the rocks; and his eye seeth every precious thing.
11 He bindeth the floods from overflowing; and the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light.
12 But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding?
13 Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living.
14 The depth saith, It is not in me: and the sea saith, It is not with me.
15 It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof.
16 It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire.
17 The gold and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold.
18 No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies.
19 The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold.
20 Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding?
21 Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air.
22 Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears.
23 God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof.
24 For he looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven;
25 To make the weight for the winds; and he weigheth the waters by measure.
26 When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder:
27 Then did he see it, and declare it; he prepared it, yea, and searched it out.
28 And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.
Job 28
International Standard Version
Priceless Wisdom is Sourced in God
28 “Surely there are mines for silver
and places where gold is refined.
2 Iron is taken from the ground;[a]
and copper is smelted from ore.
3 Mankind limits the darkness
as they search the deepest depths
for ore[b] in unfathomable darkness.
4 He sinks his shaft far from human habitations,
in a place[c] forgotten by explorers;
they hang on harnesses
as they swing back and forth.
5 “While the ground produces food,
underneath it is torn up and burning hot,[d]
6 where stones are sapphire
and gold dust can be found,
7 a place where birds of prey never fly,
and the eyes of the falcon have never seen.
8 The proud beasts haven’t walked there;
lions have never passed over it.
9 “Using a flint, he thrusts his hand,
overturning mountains by the roots.
10 He cuts a channel through the rocks,
while his eyes search for anything of value.
11 He dams up flowing rivers,
bringing hidden things to light.”
Wisdom is of Greater Value than Precious Stones
12 “Where can wisdom be found?
Where is understanding’s home?
13 Mankind doesn’t appreciate their value;
and you won’t find it anywhere on earth.[e]
14 The deepest ocean says, ‘It’s not within me.’
and the sea says, ‘You’ll never find it with me.’
15 You can’t buy it with gold,
and its value cannot be calculated in silver.
16 It cannot be compared to gold from Ophir,[f]
with precious onyx, or with sapphire.
17 It cannot be compared to gold and fine glass[g] crystal,
nor can it be exchanged for gold-plated weaponry.[h]
18 Don’t even bother to mention coral and crystal—
wisdom is more valuable than a bag of rubies.[i]
19 It can neither be compared with the topaz of Ethiopia
nor valued in comparison to pure gold.”
Wisdom is from God
20 “From where, then, does wisdom originate?
Where does understanding live?[j]
21 It has been concealed from the sight of every living creature
and hidden even from the birds in the skies.
22 Abaddon[k] and death said,
‘We did hear a rumor about it.’
23 God understands how to get there;
he knows where they live.[l]
24 For he looks as far as the ends of the earth
and sees everything under the sky.[m]
25 “He imparted weight to the wind;
he regulated water by his measurement.
26 He set in place ordinances for the rain;
and determined the pathway for thunder that accompanies lightning.[n]
27 Then he looked at wisdom,
and fixed it in place;
he established it,
and also examined it.
28 He has commanded mankind:
‘To fear the Lord—that is wisdom;
to move away from evil—that is understanding.’”
Footnotes
- Job 28:2 Or dry earth
- Job 28:3 Lit. for darkest stone
- Job 28:4 The Heb. lacks in a place
- Job 28:5 Lit. is turned up as by fire
- Job 28:13 Lit. it in the land of the living
- Job 28:16 I.e. an ancient source of fine gold; cf. 1Chr 29:4
- Job 28:17 The Heb. lacks fine glass
- Job 28:17 Or for refined implements made of gold
- Job 28:18 Or pearls
- Job 28:20 Lit. Where is its place?
- Job 28:22 I.e. the realm of eternal judgment in the afterlife
- Job 28:23 Lit. knows its place
- Job 28:24 Or under heaven
- Job 28:26 Lit. the sound of a thunderbolt
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