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
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Job’s Hymn to Wisdom
28 Surely there is a mine for silver
and a place where gold is refined.
2 Iron is taken from the ground,
and copper is smelted from ore.
3 A miner puts an end to the darkness;
he probes[a] the deepest recesses
for ore in the gloomy darkness.
4 He cuts a shaft far from human habitation,
in places unknown to those who walk above ground.[b]
Suspended far away from people,
the miners swing back and forth.
5 Food may come from the earth,
but below the surface the earth is transformed as by fire.
6 Its rocks are a source of sapphire,[c](A)
containing flecks of gold.
7 No bird of prey knows that path;
no falcon’s eye has seen it.
8 Proud beasts have never walked on it;
no lion has ever prowled over it.
9 The miner strikes the flint
and transforms the mountains at their foundations.
10 He cuts out channels in the rocks,
and his eyes spot every treasure.
11 He dams up the streams from flowing[d]
so that he may bring to light what is hidden.
12 But where can wisdom(B) be found,
and where is understanding located?
13 No man can know its value,[e]
since it cannot be found in the land of the living.
14 The ocean depths say, “It’s not in me,”
while the sea declares, “I don’t have it.”(C)
15 Gold cannot be exchanged for it,
and silver cannot be weighed out for its price.
16 Wisdom cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,(D)
in precious onyx or sapphire.[f](E)
17 Gold and glass do not compare with it,
and articles of fine gold cannot be exchanged for it.(F)
18 Coral and quartz are not worth mentioning.
The price of wisdom is beyond pearls.
19 Topaz from Cush cannot compare with it,
and it cannot be valued in pure gold.
20 Where then does wisdom come from,
and where is understanding located?
21 It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing
and concealed from the birds of the sky.
22 Abaddon and Death(G) say,
“We have heard news of it with our ears.”
23 But God understands the way to wisdom,
and He knows its location.
24 For He looks to the ends of the earth
and sees everything under the heavens.
25 When God fixed the weight of the wind
and limited the water by measure,(H)
26 when He established a limit[g] for the rain(I)
and a path for the lightning,
27 He considered wisdom and evaluated it;
He established it and examined it.
28 He said to mankind,
“The fear of the Lord is this: wisdom.
And to turn from evil is understanding.”(J)
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