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Job 27-28
New American Standard Bible
Job 27-28
New American Standard Bible
Job Affirms His Righteousness
27 Job again took up his (A)discourse and said,
2 “As God lives, (B)who has taken away my right,
And the Almighty, (C)who has embittered my soul,
3 For as long as [a]life is in me,
And the [b](D)breath of God is in my nostrils,
4 My lips certainly will not speak unjustly,
Nor will (E)my tongue mutter deceit.
5 Far be it from me that I should declare you right;
Until I die, (F)I will not [c]give up my integrity.
6 I have (G)kept hold of my righteousness and will not let it go.
My heart does not rebuke any of my days.
The State of the Godless
7 “May my enemy be as the wicked,
And [d]my opponent as the criminal.
8 For what is (H)the hope of the godless when he makes an end of life,
When God requires (I)his [e]life?
9 Will God (J)hear his cry
When (K)distress comes upon him?
10 Or will he take (L)pleasure in the Almighty?
Will he call on God at all times?
11 I will instruct you in the [f]power of God;
What is with the Almighty I will not conceal.
12 Behold, all of you have seen it;
Why then do you talk of nothing?
13 “This is (M)the portion of a wicked person from God,
And the inheritance which (N)tyrants receive from the Almighty:
14 Though his sons are many, [g]they are destined (O)for the sword;
And his (P)descendants will not be satisfied with bread.
15 His survivors will be buried because of the plague,
And [h]their (Q)widows will not be able to weep.
16 Though he piles up silver like dust,
And prepares garments as plentiful as the clay,
17 He may prepare it, (R)but the righteous will wear it
And the innocent will divide the silver.
18 He has built his (S)house like the [i]spider’s web,
Or a hut which the watchman has made.
19 He lies down rich, but never [j]again;
He opens his eyes, and (T)it no longer exists.
20 (U)Terrors overtake him like a flood;
A storm steals him away (V)in the night.
21 The east (W)wind carries him away, and he is gone;
For it sweeps him (X)away from his place.
22 For it will hurl at him (Y)without mercy;
He will certainly try to (Z)flee from its [k]power.
23 People will [l]clap their hands at him,
And will (AA)whistle at him from their places.
Job Tells of Earth’s Treasures
28 “Certainly there is a [m]mine for silver
And a place [n]for refining gold.
2 Iron is taken from the dust,
And copper is smelted from rock.
3 Man puts an end to darkness,
And (AB)to the farthest limit he searches out
The rock in gloom and deep shadow.
4 He [o]sinks a shaft away from [p]inhabited areas,
Forgotten by the foot;
They hang and swing, away from people.
5 [q]From the earth comes food,
And underneath, it is turned over like fire.
6 Its rocks are the [r]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 [s]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 [t]base.
10 He carves out channels through the rocks,
And his eye sees anything precious.
11 He dams up the streams from [u]flowing,
And brings to light what is hidden.
The Search for Wisdom Is Harder
12 “But (AC)where can wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?
13 (AD)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 (AE)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 (AF)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 (AG)wisdom is more valuable than pearls.
19 The topaz of [v]Cush cannot equal it,
Nor can it be valued in (AH)pure gold.
20 (AI)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 [w](AJ)Abaddon and Death say,
‘With our ears we have heard a report of it.’
23 “(AK)God understands its way,
And He knows its place.
24 For He (AL)looks to the ends of the earth;
He sees everything under the heavens.
25 When He imparted (AM)weight to the wind,
And (AN)assessed the waters by measure,
26 When He made a (AO)limit for the rain,
And a course for the (AP)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 (AQ)fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;
And to turn away from evil is understanding.’”
Footnotes
- Job 27:3 Lit breath
- Job 27:3 Or spirit
- Job 27:5 Lit remove from me
- Job 27:7 Lit one who rises up against me
- Job 27:8 Or soul
- Job 27:11 Lit hand
- Job 27:14 Lit the sword is for them
- Job 27:15 As in ancient versions; Heb his
- Job 27:18 As in ancient versions; Heb moth
- Job 27:19 As in ancient versions; Heb will be gathered
- Job 27:22 Lit hand
- Job 27:23 I.e., mock and ridicule him
- 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 27-28
New International Version
Job 27-28
New International Version
Job’s Final Word to His Friends
27 And Job continued his discourse:(A)
2 “As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice,(B)
the Almighty,(C) who has made my life bitter,(D)
3 as long as I have life within me,
the breath of God(E) in my nostrils,
4 my lips will not say anything wicked,
and my tongue will not utter lies.(F)
5 I will never admit you are in the right;
till I die, I will not deny my integrity.(G)
6 I will maintain my innocence(H) and never let go of it;
my conscience(I) will not reproach me as long as I live.(J)
7 “May my enemy be like the wicked,(K)
my adversary(L) like the unjust!
8 For what hope have the godless(M) when they are cut off,
when God takes away their life?(N)
9 Does God listen to their cry
when distress comes upon them?(O)
10 Will they find delight in the Almighty?(P)
Will they call on God at all times?
11 “I will teach you about the power of God;
the ways(Q) of the Almighty I will not conceal.(R)
12 You have all seen this yourselves.
Why then this meaningless talk?
13 “Here is the fate God allots to the wicked,
the heritage a ruthless man receives from the Almighty:(S)
14 However many his children,(T) their fate is the sword;(U)
his offspring will never have enough to eat.(V)
15 The plague will bury those who survive him,
and their widows will not weep for them.(W)
16 Though he heaps up silver like dust(X)
and clothes like piles of clay,(Y)
17 what he lays up(Z) the righteous will wear,(AA)
and the innocent will divide his silver.(AB)
18 The house(AC) he builds is like a moth’s cocoon,(AD)
like a hut(AE) made by a watchman.
19 He lies down wealthy, but will do so no more;(AF)
when he opens his eyes, all is gone.(AG)
20 Terrors(AH) overtake him like a flood;(AI)
a tempest snatches him away in the night.(AJ)
21 The east wind(AK) carries him off, and he is gone;(AL)
it sweeps him out of his place.(AM)
22 It hurls itself against him without mercy(AN)
as he flees headlong(AO) from its power.(AP)
23 It claps its hands(AQ) in derision
and hisses him out of his place.”(AR)
Interlude: Where Wisdom Is Found
28 There is a mine for silver
and a place where gold is refined.(AS)
2 Iron is taken from the earth,
and copper is smelted from ore.(AT)
3 Mortals put an end to the darkness;(AU)
they search out the farthest recesses
for ore in the blackest darkness.(AV)
4 Far from human dwellings they cut a shaft,(AW)
in places untouched by human feet;
far from other people they dangle and sway.
5 The earth, from which food comes,(AX)
is transformed below as by fire;
6 lapis lazuli(AY) comes from its rocks,
and its dust contains nuggets of gold.(AZ)
7 No bird of prey knows that hidden path,
no falcon’s eye has seen it.(BA)
8 Proud beasts(BB) do not set foot on it,
and no lion prowls there.(BC)
9 People assault the flinty rock(BD) with their hands
and lay bare the roots of the mountains.(BE)
10 They tunnel through the rock;(BF)
their eyes see all its treasures.(BG)
11 They search[a] the sources of the rivers(BH)
and bring hidden things(BI) to light.
12 But where can wisdom be found?(BJ)
Where does understanding dwell?(BK)
13 No mortal comprehends its worth;(BL)
it cannot be found in the land of the living.(BM)
14 The deep(BN) says, “It is not in me”;
the sea(BO) says, “It is not with me.”
15 It cannot be bought with the finest gold,
nor can its price be weighed out in silver.(BP)
16 It cannot be bought with the gold of Ophir,(BQ)
with precious onyx or lapis lazuli.(BR)
17 Neither gold nor crystal can compare with it,(BS)
nor can it be had for jewels of gold.(BT)
18 Coral(BU) and jasper(BV) are not worthy of mention;
the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.(BW)
19 The topaz(BX) of Cush(BY) cannot compare with it;
it cannot be bought with pure gold.(BZ)
20 Where then does wisdom come from?
Where does understanding dwell?(CA)
21 It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing,
concealed even from the birds in the sky.(CB)
22 Destruction[b](CC) and Death(CD) say,
“Only a rumor of it has reached our ears.”
23 God understands the way to it
and he alone(CE) knows where it dwells,(CF)
24 for he views the ends of the earth(CG)
and sees everything under the heavens.(CH)
25 When he established the force of the wind
and measured out the waters,(CI)
26 when he made a decree for the rain(CJ)
and a path for the thunderstorm,(CK)
27 then he looked at wisdom and appraised it;
he confirmed it and tested it.(CL)
28 And he said to the human race,
“The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom,
and to shun evil(CM) is understanding.”(CN)
New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
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