Job 26-29
English Standard Version
Job Replies: God's Majesty Is Unsearchable
26 Then Job answered and said:
2 “How you have (A)helped him who has no power!
How you have saved (B)the arm that has no strength!
3 How you have (C)counseled him who has no wisdom,
and plentifully declared sound knowledge!
4 With whose help have you uttered words,
and whose breath (D)has come out from you?
5 The (E)dead tremble
under the waters and their inhabitants.
6 Sheol is (F)naked before God,[a]
and (G)Abaddon has no covering.
7 He (H)stretches out the north over (I)the void
and hangs the earth on nothing.
8 He (J)binds up the waters in his thick clouds,
and the cloud is not split open under them.
9 He covers the face of the full moon[b]
and (K)spreads over it his cloud.
10 He has inscribed (L)a circle on the face of the waters
at the boundary between light and darkness.
11 (M)The pillars of heaven tremble
and are astounded at his (N)rebuke.
12 By his power he (O)stilled the sea;
by his understanding he shattered (P)Rahab.
13 (Q)By his wind the heavens were made fair;
his hand pierced (R)the fleeing serpent.
14 Behold, these are but the outskirts of his (S)ways,
and how small (T)a whisper do we hear of him!
But the thunder of his power who can understand?”
Job Continues: I Will Maintain My Integrity
27 And Job again (U)took up his discourse, and said:
2 “As God lives, who has (V)taken away my right,
and the Almighty, who has (W)made my soul bitter,
3 as long as my breath is in me,
and (X)the spirit of God is in my nostrils,
4 my lips will not speak (Y)falsehood,
and my tongue will not utter (Z)deceit.
5 Far be it from me to say that you are right;
till I die I will not put away my (AA)integrity from me.
6 I (AB)hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go;
my heart does not (AC)reproach me for any of my days.
7 “Let my enemy be as the wicked,
and let him who rises up against me be as the unrighteous.
8 (AD)For what is the hope of the godless (AE)when God cuts him off,
when God takes away his life?
9 (AF)Will God hear his cry
when distress comes upon him?
10 Will he (AG)take delight in the Almighty?
Will he call upon God at all times?
11 I will teach you concerning the hand of God;
(AH)what is with the Almighty I will not conceal.
12 Behold, all of you have seen it yourselves;
why then have you become altogether vain?
13 (AI)“This is the portion of a wicked man with God,
and the heritage that (AJ)oppressors receive from the Almighty:
14 If his (AK)children are multiplied, it is for (AL)the sword,
and his descendants have not enough bread.
15 Those who survive him the pestilence buries,
and his (AM)widows do not weep.
16 Though he (AN)heap up silver like dust,
and pile up clothing like clay,
17 he may pile it up, but the righteous will wear it,
and (AO)the innocent will divide the silver.
18 He builds his (AP)house like a moth's,
like (AQ)a booth that (AR)a watchman makes.
19 He goes to bed rich, but will (AS)do so no more;
he opens his eyes, and (AT)his wealth is gone.
20 (AU)Terrors overtake him like (AV)a flood;
in the night a whirlwind (AW)carries him off.
21 (AX)The east wind lifts him up and he is gone;
it (AY)sweeps him out of his place.
22 It[c] hurls at him (AZ)without pity;
he flees from its[d] power in headlong flight.
23 It (BA)claps its hands at him
and (BB)hisses at him from its place.
Job Continues: Where Is Wisdom?
28 “Surely there is a mine for silver,
and a place for gold that they (BC)refine.
2 Iron is taken out of the earth,
and copper is smelted from the ore.
3 Man puts an end to darkness
and searches out to the farthest limit
the ore in (BD)gloom and (BE)deep darkness.
4 He opens shafts in a valley away from where anyone lives;
they are forgotten by travelers;
they hang in the air, far away from mankind; they swing to and fro.
5 As for the earth, (BF)out of it comes bread,
but underneath it is turned up as by fire.
6 Its stones are the place of (BG)sapphires,[e]
and it has dust of gold.
7 “That path no bird of prey knows,
and the falcon's eye has not seen it.
8 (BH)The proud beasts have not trodden it;
(BI)the lion has not passed over it.
9 “Man puts his hand to (BJ)the flinty rock
and overturns mountains by the roots.
10 He cuts out channels in the rocks,
and his eye sees every precious thing.
11 He dams up the streams so that they do not trickle,
and the thing that is hidden he brings out to light.
12 (BK)“But where shall wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?
13 Man does not know its worth,
and it is not found in (BL)the land of the living.
14 (BM)The deep says, ‘It is not in me,’
and the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’
15 It (BN)cannot be bought for gold,
and silver cannot be weighed as its price.
16 It cannot be valued in (BO)the gold of (BP)Ophir,
in precious (BQ)onyx or (BR)sapphire.
17 Gold and glass cannot equal it,
nor can it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.
18 No mention shall be made of (BS)coral or of crystal;
the price of wisdom is above (BT)(BU)pearls.
19 (BV)The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it,
nor can it be valued in pure gold.
20 “From where, then, does wisdom come?
And where is the place of understanding?
21 It is hidden from the eyes of (BW)all living
and concealed from the birds of the air.
22 (BX)Abaddon and Death say,
‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’
23 (BY)“God understands the way to it,
and he knows its place.
24 For he (BZ)looks to the ends of the earth
and sees everything under the heavens.
25 When he (CA)gave to the wind its weight
and apportioned the waters by measure,
26 when he made a decree for the rain
and (CB)a way for the lightning of the thunder,
27 then he saw it and declared it;
he established it, and searched it out.
28 And he said to man,
‘Behold, (CC)the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,
and to (CD)turn away from evil is understanding.’”
Job's Summary Defense
29 And Job again (CE)took up his discourse, and said:
2 “Oh, that I were as in the months of old,
as in the days when God watched over me,
3 when his (CF)lamp shone upon my head,
and by his light I walked through darkness,
4 as I was in my prime,[f]
when the (CG)friendship of God was upon my tent,
5 when the Almighty was yet with me,
when my (CH)children were all around me,
6 when my steps were (CI)washed with (CJ)butter,
and (CK)the rock poured out for me streams of (CL)oil!
7 When I went out to (CM)the gate of the city,
when I prepared my seat in the square,
8 the young men saw me and withdrew,
and the aged rose and stood;
9 the princes refrained from talking
and (CN)laid their hand on their mouth;
10 the voice of the nobles was hushed,
and their (CO)tongue stuck to the roof of their mouth.
11 When the ear heard, it called me blessed,
and when the eye saw, it approved,
12 because I (CP)delivered the poor who cried for help,
and the fatherless who had none to help him.
13 (CQ)The blessing of him who was (CR)about to perish came upon me,
and I caused (CS)the widow's heart to sing for joy.
14 I (CT)put on righteousness, and it clothed me;
my justice was like a robe and (CU)a turban.
15 I was (CV)eyes to the blind
and feet to the lame.
16 I was a father to the needy,
and I searched out (CW)the cause of him whom I did not know.
17 I (CX)broke (CY)the fangs of the unrighteous
and made him drop his prey from his teeth.
18 (CZ)Then I thought, ‘I shall die in my (DA)nest,
and I shall multiply my days as (DB)the sand,
19 my (DC)roots spread out to (DD)the waters,
with the dew all night on my (DE)branches,
20 my glory fresh with me,
and my (DF)bow ever (DG)new in my hand.’
21 “Men listened to me and waited
and kept silence for my counsel.
22 After I spoke they did not speak again,
and my word (DH)dropped upon them.
23 They waited for me as for the rain,
and they (DI)opened their mouths as for the (DJ)spring rain.
24 I smiled on them when they had no confidence,
and (DK)the light of my (DL)face they did not cast down.
25 I chose their way and sat as chief,
and I lived like (DM)a king among his troops,
like one who comforts mourners.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Bible Gateway Recommends
