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.
²Iron is taken from the dust,
And copper is smelted from rock.
³Man puts an end to darkness,
And ^(A)to the farthest limit he searches out
The rock in gloom and deep shadow.
⁴He ^[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.
⁶Its rocks are the ^[f]source of sapphires,
And its dust contains gold.
⁷No bird of prey knows the path,
Nor has the falcon’s eye caught sight of it.
⁸The ^[g]proud animals have not trodden it,
Nor has the lion passed over it.
⁹He puts his hand on the flint;
He overturns the mountains at the ^[h]base.
¹⁰He carves out channels through the rocks,
And his eye sees anything precious.
¹¹He 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.
¹⁴The 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.
¹⁶It 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.
¹⁸Coral and crystal are not to be mentioned;
And the acquisition of ^(F)wisdom is more valuable than pearls.
¹⁹The 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?
²¹It 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.
²⁴For He ^(K)looks to the ends of the earth;
He sees everything under the heavens.
²⁵When He imparted ^(L)weight to the wind,
And ^(M)assessed the waters by measure,
²⁶When He made a ^(N)limit for the rain,
And a course for the ^(O)thunderbolt,
²⁷Then He saw it and declared it;
He established it and also searched it out.
²⁸And to mankind He said, ‘Behold, the ^(P)fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;
And to turn away from evil is understanding.’”

Footnotes

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

1 Corinthians 14

New American Standard Bible

Prophecy a Superior Gift

14 ^(A)Pursue love, yet earnestly ^(B)desire ^(C)spiritual gifts, but especially that you may ^(D)prophesy. ²For the one who ^(E)speaks in a tongue does not speak to people, but to God; for no one ^[a]understands, but ^[b]in his spirit he speaks ^(F)mysteries. ³But the one who prophesies speaks to people for ^(G)edification, ^[c]^(H)exhortation, and consolation. ⁴The one who ^(I)speaks in a tongue ^(J)edifies himself; but the one who ^(K)prophesies ^(L)edifies the church. ⁵Now I wish that you all ^(M)spoke in tongues, but ^(N)rather that you would prophesy; and greater is the one who prophesies than the one who ^(O)speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may receive ^(P)edification.

⁶But now, brothers and sisters, if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you unless I speak to you either by way of ^(Q)revelation, or of ^(R)knowledge, or of ^(S)prophecy, or of ^(T)teaching? ⁷Yet even lifeless instruments, whether flute or harp, in producing a sound, if they do not produce a distinction in the tones, how will it be known what is played on the flute or on the harp? ⁸For if ^(U)the trumpet produces an indistinct sound, who will prepare himself for battle? ⁹So you too, unless you produce intelligible speech by the tongue, how will it be known what is spoken? For you will just be ^(V)talking to the air. ¹⁰There are, perhaps, a great many kinds of ^[d]languages in the world, and none is incapable of meaning. ¹¹So if I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be ^(W)unintelligible to the one who speaks, and the one who speaks will be unintelligible ^[e]to me. ¹²So you too, since you are eager to possess ^[f]spiritual gifts, strive to excel for the ^(X)edification of the church.

¹³Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue is to pray that he may interpret. ¹⁴For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unproductive. ¹⁵^(Y)What is the outcome then? I will pray with the spirit, but I will pray with the mind also; I will ^(Z)sing with the spirit, but I will sing with the mind also. ¹⁶For otherwise, if you bless God ^[g]in the spirit only, how will the one who occupies the place of the ^[h]outsider know to say ^(AA)the “Amen” at your ^(AB)giving of thanks, since he does not understand what you are saying? ¹⁷For you are giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not ^(AC)edified. ¹⁸I thank God, I speak in tongues more than you all; ¹⁹nevertheless, in church I prefer to speak five words with my mind so that I may instruct others also, rather than ten thousand words in a tongue.

Instruction for the Church

²⁰^(AD)Brothers and sisters, ^(AE)do not be children in your thinking; yet in evil ^(AF)be infants, but in your thinking be mature. ²¹In ^(AG)the ^[i]Law it is written: “^(AH)By men of strange tongues and by the lips of strangers I will speak to this people, and even so they will not listen to Me,” says the Lord. ²²So then, tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but ^(AI)prophecy is not for unbelievers, but for those who believe. ²³Therefore if the whole church gathers together and all the people speak in tongues, and ^[j]outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that ^(AJ)you are insane? ²⁴But if all ^(AK)prophesy, and an unbeliever or an ^[k]outsider enters, he is ^(AL)convicted by all, he is called to account by all; ²⁵^(AM)the secrets of his heart are disclosed; and so he will ^(AN)fall on his face and worship God, ^(AO)declaring that God is certainly among you.

²⁶^(AP)What is the outcome then, ^(AQ)brothers and sisters? When you assemble, ^(AR)each one has a ^(AS)psalm, has a ^(AT)teaching, has a ^(AU)revelation, has a ^(AV)tongue, has an ^(AW)interpretation. ^(AX)All things are to be done for edification. ²⁷If anyone speaks in a ^(AY)tongue, it must be by two or at the most three, and each one in turn, and one is to ^(AZ)interpret; ²⁸but if there is no interpreter, he is to keep silent in church; and have him speak to himself and to God. ²⁹Have two or three ^(BA)prophets speak, and have the others ^(BB)pass judgment. ³⁰But if a revelation is made to another who is seated, then the first one is to keep silent. ³¹For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all may be ^[l]exhorted; ³²and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets; ³³for God is not a God of ^(BC)confusion, but of peace.

As in ^(BD)all the churches of the ^[m]^(BE)saints, ³⁴the women are to ^(BF)keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but ^(BG)are to subject themselves, just as ^(BH)the Law also says. ³⁵If they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is ^[n]improper for a woman to speak in church. ³⁶Or was it from you that the word of God first went out? Or has it come to you only?

³⁷^(BI)If anyone thinks that he is a prophet or ^(BJ)spiritual, let him recognize that the things which I write to you ^(BK)are the Lord’s commandment. ³⁸But if anyone does not recognize this, ^[o]he is not recognized.

³⁹Therefore, my brothers and sisters, ^(BL)earnestly desire to ^(BM)prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. ⁴⁰But ^(BN)all things must be done properly and in an orderly way.