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Job 28
Legacy Standard Bible
Job 28
Legacy Standard Bible
Where Can Wisdom Be Found?
28 “[a]Surely there is a [b]mine for silver,
And a place [c]where they refine for 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 thick darkness and shadow of death.
4 He [d]sinks a shaft far from [e]habitation,
Forgotten by the foot;
They hang and swing to and fro far from men.
5 The earth, from it comes food,
And underneath it is overturned as fire.
6 Its rocks are the [f]source of sapphires,
And its dust contains gold.
7 The path no bird of prey knows,
Nor has the falcon’s eye caught sight of it.
8 The [g]proud beasts have not trodden it,
Nor has the fierce lion passed over it.
9 He sends his hand forth to the flint;
He overturns the mountains at the [h]base.
10 He breaks out channels through the rocks,
And his eye sees anything precious.
11 He dams up the streams from [i]flowing,
And what is hidden he brings out to the light.
12 “But (B)where can wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?
13 (C)Man does not know its worth,
And it is not found in the land of the living.
14 The deep says, ‘It is not in me’;
And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’
15 (D)Pure gold cannot be given in place of 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 meet its worth,
Nor can it be exchanged for articles of fine gold.
18 Coral and crystal are not to be mentioned;
And the acquisition of (F)wisdom is above that of pearls.
19 The topaz of [j]Ethiopia cannot meet its worth,
Nor can it be valued in (G)pure gold.
20 (H)Where then does wisdom come from?
And where is the place of understanding?
21 Thus it is hidden from the eyes of all living
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
And sees everything under the heavens.
25 When He set (L)weight to the wind
And (M)meted out the waters by measure,
26 When He set a (N)limit for the rain
And a course for the (O)thunderbolt,
27 Then He saw it and recounted it;
He established it and also searched it out.
28 So He said to man, ‘Behold, the (P)fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;
And to turn away from evil is understanding.’”
Job 28
Evangelical Heritage Version
Job 28
Evangelical Heritage Version
A Poem About Wisdom[a]
28 Yes, there is a mine for silver
and a place where gold is refined.
2 Iron is taken from the ground,
and copper is smelted out of stone.
3 A miner puts an end to darkness by exploring its farthest limits.
He looks for ore in the gloom and in the deep darkness.[b]
4 He breaks open a mineshaft far from where settlers live,
in places no one has walked before.
Far away from other people, he dangles and sways.
5 The earth’s surface produces food,
but its depths are overturned as if by fire,
6 in places where the stones are sapphires[c]
and the dust is gold.
7 No scavenging bird knows the way there,
and the eyes of vultures[d] have not seen it.
8 The king of beasts has not set foot on it.
The lion has not prowled there.
9 The miner’s hand attacks the hard rock.
He overturns the roots of the mountain.
10 He cuts tunnels into the rocks,
and his eyes see every treasure.
11 He dams up even the trickling water from the rivers,
and he brings light to the earth’s hidden places.
12 But wisdom—where can it be found?
Where is the place for understanding?
13 Mankind does not know where it is kept.
It is not found in the land of the living.
14 The deep ocean says, “It is not in me!”
The sea says, “It is not with me!”
15 It cannot be purchased with the best gold,[e]
and silver cannot be weighed out as its price.
16 It cannot be bought with the gold of Ophir[f]
or with precious onyx or sapphires.
17 Gold and crystal cannot be compared to it.
The finest gold jewelry cannot be substituted for it.
18 Coral and quartz are not worth mentioning,
and the value of wisdom is greater than a bag of rubies.
19 The chrysolite of Cush cannot be compared with it.
It cannot be purchased even with pure gold.
20 But what about wisdom—where does it come from?
And where is the place to find understanding?
21 It is hidden from the eyes of all the living.
It is concealed from the birds of the sky.
22 Destruction and Death[g] say,
“With our ears we have heard only a rumor about it.”
23 God understands the way to it,
and he alone knows its place,
24 because he watches the ends of the earth,
and he sees everything under the heavens.
25 He determines the weight of the wind,
and he measures out the waters by volume.
26 He made a decree for the rain
and established a path for the roaring thunderstorm.
27 He saw wisdom and appraised its value.
He established it and also explored it.
28 Then he said to mankind:
Listen carefully. The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom,
and to turn away from evil is understanding.
Footnotes
- Job 28:1 It is uncertain whether the speaker of this poem is Job or the author of the book. It seems likely that it is an intermission inserted by the author to mark the end of the three rounds of speeches.
- Job 28:3 The Hebrew scribes regularly spell this word so that it means shadow of death. Here, however, it may be a similar word, deep darkness.
- Job 28:6 Or lapis lazuli
- Job 28:7 The identification of these birds is uncertain. They may be birds of prey like the falcon.
- Job 28:15 Literally closed [gold]. The precise identification of the various types of gold and gemstones in this section is uncertain.
- Job 28:16 Ophir is a source of gold in Arabia or Africa.
- Job 28:22 Hebrew abaddon and maveth
Job 28
New International Version
Job 28
New International Version
Interlude: Where Wisdom Is Found
28 There is a mine for silver
and a place where gold is refined.(A)
2 Iron is taken from the earth,
and copper is smelted from ore.(B)
3 Mortals put an end to the darkness;(C)
they search out the farthest recesses
for ore in the blackest darkness.(D)
4 Far from human dwellings they cut a shaft,(E)
in places untouched by human feet;
far from other people they dangle and sway.
5 The earth, from which food comes,(F)
is transformed below as by fire;
6 lapis lazuli(G) comes from its rocks,
and its dust contains nuggets of gold.(H)
7 No bird of prey knows that hidden path,
no falcon’s eye has seen it.(I)
8 Proud beasts(J) do not set foot on it,
and no lion prowls there.(K)
9 People assault the flinty rock(L) with their hands
and lay bare the roots of the mountains.(M)
10 They tunnel through the rock;(N)
their eyes see all its treasures.(O)
11 They search[a] the sources of the rivers(P)
and bring hidden things(Q) to light.
12 But where can wisdom be found?(R)
Where does understanding dwell?(S)
13 No mortal comprehends its worth;(T)
it cannot be found in the land of the living.(U)
14 The deep(V) says, “It is not in me”;
the sea(W) says, “It is not with me.”
15 It cannot be bought with the finest gold,
nor can its price be weighed out in silver.(X)
16 It cannot be bought with the gold of Ophir,(Y)
with precious onyx or lapis lazuli.(Z)
17 Neither gold nor crystal can compare with it,(AA)
nor can it be had for jewels of gold.(AB)
18 Coral(AC) and jasper(AD) are not worthy of mention;
the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.(AE)
19 The topaz(AF) of Cush(AG) cannot compare with it;
it cannot be bought with pure gold.(AH)
20 Where then does wisdom come from?
Where does understanding dwell?(AI)
21 It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing,
concealed even from the birds in the sky.(AJ)
22 Destruction[b](AK) and Death(AL) say,
“Only a rumor of it has reached our ears.”
23 God understands the way to it
and he alone(AM) knows where it dwells,(AN)
24 for he views the ends of the earth(AO)
and sees everything under the heavens.(AP)
25 When he established the force of the wind
and measured out the waters,(AQ)
26 when he made a decree for the rain(AR)
and a path for the thunderstorm,(AS)
27 then he looked at wisdom and appraised it;
he confirmed it and tested it.(AT)
28 And he said to the human race,
“The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom,
and to shun evil(AU) is understanding.”(AV)
Legacy Standard Bible (LSB)
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Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)
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New International Version (NIV) 
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