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Job 28
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Job 28
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
V. The Poem on Wisdom
Chapter 28
Where Is Wisdom to Be Found?
1 There is indeed a mine for silver,[a]
and a place for refining gold.
2 Iron is taken from the earth,
and copper smelted out of stone.
3 [b]He sets a boundary for the darkness;
the farthest confines he explores.
4 He breaks open a shaft far from habitation,
unknown to human feet;
suspended, far from people, they sway.
5 The earth, though out of it comes forth bread,
is in fiery upheaval underneath.
6 Its stones are the source of lapis lazuli,
and there is gold in its dust.
7 The path no bird of prey knows,
nor has the hawk’s eye seen it.
8 The proud beasts have not trodden it,
nor has the lion gone that way.
9 He sets his hand to the flinty rock,
and overturns the mountains at their root.
10 He splits channels in the rocks;
his eyes behold all that is precious.
11 He dams up the sources of the streams,
and brings hidden things to light.
12 As for wisdom—where can she be found?
Where is the place of understanding?(A)
13 Mortals do not know her path,
nor is she to be found in the land of the living.
14 The Deep says, “She is not in me”;
and the Sea says, “She is not with me.”
15 Solid gold cannot purchase her,
nor can her price be paid with silver.(B)
16 She cannot be bought with gold of Ophir,[c]
with precious onyx or lapis lazuli,
17 Gold or crystal cannot equal her,
nor can golden vessels be exchanged for her.
18 Neither coral nor crystal should be thought of;
the value of wisdom surpasses pearls.
19 Ethiopian topaz does not equal her,
nor can she be weighed out for pure gold.
20 As for wisdom, where does she come from?
Where is the place of understanding?
21 She is hidden from the eyes of every living thing;
even from the birds of the air she is concealed.
22 Abaddon[d] and Death say,
“Only by rumor have we heard of her.”
23 [e]But God understands the way to her;(C)
it is he who knows her place.(D)
24 For he beholds the ends of the earth
and sees all that is under the heavens.
25 When he weighed out the wind,
and measured out the waters;
26 When he made a rule for the rain
and a path for the thunderbolts,(E)
27 Then he saw wisdom and appraised her,
established her, and searched her out.
28 [f]And to mortals he said:
See: the fear of the Lord is wisdom;
and avoiding evil is understanding.(F)
Footnotes
- 28:1–28 This chapter contains a beautifully vivid description of that Wisdom which is beyond the attainment of creatures and known only to God. The pronouns referring to Wisdom may be translated as either feminine or neuter; in view of Wisdom’s role as God’s companion and partner in creation (see Prv 8:22–30; Sir 24:1–21; Wis 9:9; Bar 3:9–4:4), the feminine is used here. There is no consensus about the authorship of this poem; it may originally have been an independent composition incorporated into the Book of Job.
- 28:3–4 The subject of the verbs in these verses has no clear antecedent; the context of vv. 2–6 suggests miners. The Hebrew of v. 4 is especially difficult. The general sense of vv. 1–11 is that one can find minerals in the earth; in contrast, where is Wisdom to be found (vv. 12, 20)?
- 28:16 Ophir: cf. note on Ps 45:10.
- 28:22 Abaddon: cf. note on Jb 26:6.
- 28:23–27 In reply to the question of vv. 12, 20, these verses indicate that the creator (vv. 24–26) knows the “place” of wisdom and even “established” her, but the specifics are not given. For further development of this theme, cf. Sir 1:1–10 and Bar 3:9–4:4.
- 28:28 This verse may be a later addition expressing a commonplace of the wisdom tradition; see cross-references. The addition seems to tie the poem in with the description of Job as fearing God and avoiding evil (1:1, 8; 2:3).
Job 28
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
Job 28
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
Interlude: Where Wisdom Is Found
28 “Surely there is a mine for silver,
and a place for gold to be refined.
2 Iron is taken out of the earth,
and copper is smelted from ore.
3 Miners put[a] an end to darkness,
and search out to the farthest bound
the ore in gloom and deep darkness.
4 They open shafts in a valley away from human habitation;
they are forgotten by travelers,
they sway suspended, remote from people.
5 As for the earth, out of it comes bread;
but underneath it is turned up as by fire.
6 Its stones are the place of sapphires,[b]
and its dust contains gold.
7 “That path no bird of prey knows,
and the falcon’s eye has not seen it.
8 The proud wild animals have not trodden it;
the lion has not passed over it.
9 “They put their hand to the flinty rock,
and overturn mountains by the roots.
10 They cut out channels in the rocks,
and their eyes see every precious thing.
11 The sources of the rivers they probe;[c]
hidden things they bring to light.
12 “But where shall wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?
13 Mortals do not know the way to it,[d]
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 It cannot be gotten for gold,
and silver cannot be weighed out as its price.
16 It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,
in precious onyx or sapphire.[e]
17 Gold and glass cannot equal it,
nor can it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.
18 No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal;
the price of wisdom is above pearls.
19 The chrysolite of Ethiopia[f] cannot compare with it,
nor can it be valued in pure gold.
20 “Where then does wisdom come from?
And where is the place of understanding?
21 It is hidden from the eyes of all living,
and concealed from the birds of the air.
22 Abaddon and Death say,
‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’
23 “God understands the way to it,
and he knows its place.
24 For he looks to the ends of the earth,
and sees everything under the heavens.
25 When he gave to the wind its weight,
and apportioned out the waters by measure;
26 when he made a decree for the rain,
and a way for the thunderbolt;
27 then he saw it and declared it;
he established it, and searched it out.
28 And he said to humankind,
‘Truly, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;
and to depart from evil is understanding.’”
Job 28
Common English Bible
Job 28
Common English Bible
Expertise in mining
28 There is a sure source of silver,
a place where gold is refined.
2 Iron is taken from the earth;
rock is smelted into copper.
3 Humans[a] put an end to darkness,
dig for ore to the farthest depths,
into stone in utter darkness,
4 open a shaft away from any inhabitant,
places forgotten by those on foot,
apart from any human they hang and sway.
5 Earth—from it comes food—
is turned over below ground as by fire.[b]
6 Its rocks are the source for lapis lazuli;
there is gold dust in it.
7 A path—
no bird of prey knows it;
a hawk’s eye hasn’t seen it;
8 proud beasts haven’t trodden on it;
a lion hasn’t crossed over it.
9 Humans thrust their hands into flint,
pull up mountains from their roots,
10 cut channels into rocks;
their eyes see everything precious.
11 They dam up the sources of rivers;
hidden things come to light.
Wisdom’s value
12 But wisdom, where can it be found;
where is the place of understanding?
13 Humankind doesn’t know its value;
it isn’t found in the land of the living.
14 The Deep[c] says, “It’s not with me”;
the Sea[d] says, “Not alongside me!”
15 It can’t be bought with gold;
its price can’t be measured in silver,
16 can’t be weighed against gold from Ophir,
with precious onyx or lapis lazuli.
17 Neither gold nor glass can compare with it;
she can’t be acquired with gold jewelry.
18 Coral and jasper shouldn’t be mentioned;
the price of wisdom is more than rubies.
19 Cushite topaz won’t compare with her;
she can’t be set alongside pure gold.
20 But wisdom, where does she come from?
Where is the place of understanding?
21 She’s hidden from the eyes of all the living,
concealed from birds of the sky.
22 Destruction[e] and Death have said,
“We’ve heard a report of her.”
23 God understands her way;
he knows her place;
24 for he looks to the ends of the earth
and surveys everything beneath the heavens.
25 In order to weigh the wind,
to prepare a measure for waters,
26 when he made a decree for the rain,
a path for thunderbolts,
27 then he observed it, spoke of it,
established it, searched it out,
28 and said to humankind: “Look,
the fear of the Lord is wisdom;
turning from evil is understanding.”
Job 28
New American Standard Bible
Job 28
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 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)
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
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Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
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