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Job 28
New Catholic Bible
Job 28
New Catholic Bible
The Praise of Wisdom[a]
Chapter 28
Where Can Wisdom Be Found?[b]
1 “There are mines for silver
and places where gold is refined.
2 Iron is extracted from the earth,
and copper is smelted from ore.
3 Miners penetrate the darkness;
they search to the farthest recesses
to discover the ore hidden in gloom and shadow.
4 They open shafts in uninhabited places,
swinging suspended, far away from anyone.
5 “While grain is coming forth from the earth above,
what lies beneath is ravaged by fire.
6 Its rocks are the enclosure for sapphires,
and there is gold contained in its dust.
7 No bird of prey knows the path there;
the eye of a falcon has not seen it.
8 Proud beasts have not trodden it;
no lion has ever passed over it.
9 “Man begins to assail the granite rock
and overturns the mountains at their foundations.
10 He cuts channels into the rocks,
and his eyes behold precious gems.
11 He explores the sources of the streams
and brings hidden riches to light.
12 But where can wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?
Wisdom Cannot Be Purchased[c]
13 “No one knows the way to it,
nor is it to be found in the land of the living.
14 The abyss declares, ‘It is not in me.’
The sea says, ‘I do not have it.’
15 It cannot be purchased with gold,
nor can its price be weighed out in silver.
16 “It cannot be acquired with the gold of Ophir,
nor with precious onyx or sapphire.
17 Gold or crystal[d] cannot be compared to it,
nor can it be exchanged for vessels of gold.
18 Neither coral nor alabaster deserve to be mentioned;
the price of wisdom is beyond pearls.
19 Topaz from Ethiopia is worthless in comparison to it,
nor can it be valued in terms of pure gold.
20 “Where then is the source of wisdom?
Where is intelligence to be found?
God Alone Knows Where Wisdom Can Be Found[e]
21 “It cannot be seen by the eye of any living creature;
it is even concealed from the birds of the air.
22 Abaddon and the netherworld[f] admit,
‘We have only heard rumors of it.’
23 “God alone understands the path to wisdom;
he alone knows where it can be found.
24 For he can observe the farthest ends of the earth,
and he sees everything under the heavens.
25 “When God regulated the force of the wind
and measured out the waters,
26 when he imposed a limit for the rain
and cleared a path for the thunderbolt,
27 then he saw wisdom and evaluated it,
established it and assessed it completely.
28 And then he declared to man:
‘The fear of the Lord is wisdom,
and to turn from evil is understanding.’ ”
Footnotes
- Job 28:1 This praise of wisdom breaks into the debate between Job and his friends. This passage is related to other important passages in other Books dealing with the same subject (Prov 8:22-36; Sir 24; Bar 3:9—4:4). Wisdom is imagined as a person who dwells with God and is consulted by him. It is an image of God’s own thought, in comparison with which all human efforts to discover things seem trivial.
- Job 28:1 The exploitation of mines in the search for gold or precious stones has amazed people from antiquity and led them to use the contribution of slaves and prisoners in pursuit of this difficult work (v. 4). However, it is not by such searches that one can extract the secret of wisdom.
- Job 28:13 Wisdom is not found along the route of human discoveries; all the treasures of the world are of no avail in acquiring it.
- Job 28:17 Crystal: the text actually speaks of “glass,” but in antiquity this was very rare and valuable.
- Job 28:21 God alone knows where wisdom is found. Indeed, she was the inspiration of his work of creation (Prov 8:22-31)!
- Job 28:22 Abaddon and the netherworld: see note on Job 26:6.
Job 28
New King James Version
Job 28
New King James Version
Job’s Discourse on Wisdom
28 “Surely there is a mine for silver,
And a place where gold is refined.
2 Iron is taken from the [a]earth,
And copper is smelted from ore.
3 Man puts an end to darkness,
And searches every recess
For ore in the darkness and the shadow of death.
4 He breaks open a shaft away from people;
In places forgotten by feet
They hang far away from men;
They swing to and fro.
5 As for the earth, from it comes bread,
But underneath it is turned up as by fire;
6 Its stones are the source of sapphires,
And it contains gold dust.
7 That path no bird knows,
Nor has the falcon’s eye seen it.
8 The [b]proud lions have not trodden it,
Nor has the fierce lion passed over it.
9 He puts his hand on the flint;
He overturns the mountains [c]at the roots.
10 He cuts out channels in the rocks,
And his eye sees every precious thing.
11 He dams up the streams from trickling;
What is hidden he brings forth to light.
12 “But(A) where can wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?
13 Man does not know its (B)value,
Nor is it found in the land of the living.
14 (C)The deep says, ‘It is not in me’;
And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’
15 It (D)cannot be purchased for gold,
Nor can silver be weighed for its price.
16 It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,
In precious onyx or sapphire.
17 Neither (E)gold nor crystal can equal it,
Nor can it be exchanged for [d]jewelry of fine gold.
18 No mention shall be made of [e]coral or quartz,
For the price of wisdom is above (F)rubies.
19 The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it,
Nor can it be valued in pure (G)gold.
20 “From(H) where then does wisdom come?
And where is the place of understanding?
21 It is hidden from the eyes of all living,
And concealed from the birds of the [f]air.
22 (I)Destruction[g] and Death say,
‘We have heard a report about it with our ears.’
23 God understands its way,
And He knows its place.
24 For He looks to the ends of the earth,
And (J)sees under the whole heavens,
25 (K)To establish a weight for the wind,
And apportion the waters by measure.
26 When He (L)made a law for the rain,
And a path for the thunderbolt,
27 Then He saw [h]wisdom and declared it;
He prepared it, indeed, He searched it out.
28 And to man He said,
‘Behold, (M)the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,
And to depart 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)
Job 28
English Standard Version
Job 28
English Standard Version
Job Continues: Where Is Wisdom?
28 “Surely there is a mine for silver,
and a place for gold that they (A)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 (B)gloom and (C)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, (D)out of it comes bread,
but underneath it is turned up as by fire.
6 Its stones are the place of (E)sapphires,[a]
and it has dust of gold.
7 “That path no bird of prey knows,
and the falcon's eye has not seen it.
8 (F)The proud beasts have not trodden it;
(G)the lion has not passed over it.
9 “Man puts his hand to (H)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 (I)“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 (J)the land of the living.
14 (K)The deep says, ‘It is not in me,’
and the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’
15 It (L)cannot be bought for gold,
and silver cannot be weighed as its price.
16 It cannot be valued in (M)the gold of (N)Ophir,
in precious (O)onyx or (P)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 (Q)coral or of crystal;
the price of wisdom is above (R)(S)pearls.
19 (T)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 (U)all living
and concealed from the birds of the air.
22 (V)Abaddon and Death say,
‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’
23 (W)“God understands the way to it,
and he knows its place.
24 For he (X)looks to the ends of the earth
and sees everything under the heavens.
25 When he (Y)gave to the wind its weight
and apportioned the waters by measure,
26 when he made a decree for the rain
and (Z)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, (AA)the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,
and to (AB)turn away from evil is understanding.’”
Footnotes
- Job 28:6 Or lapis lazuli; also verse 16
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.