Job 28
Lexham English Bible
Job’s Discourse on Wisdom
28 “Indeed, there is a mine for silver
and a place for gold to be refined.[a]
2 Iron is taken from dust,
and he pours out copper from ore.
3 He puts an end to darkness,
and he searches out the farthest limits
for the ore in gloom and deep shadow.
4 He breaks open a mine shaft away from where people dwell;[b]
those who are forgotten by travelers,[c]
they dangle, they sway far away from human beings.
5 As for the earth, from it comes food,[d]
but[e] underneath it, it is turned up as by fire.
6 Its stones are the place of sapphire,
and the earthen dirt has[f] gold.
7 “It is a path a bird of prey does not know
and the black kite’s eye has not seen.
8 Proud wild animals[g] have not trodden it;
the lion in its prime has not prowled over it.
9 He puts his hand on the hard rock;
he overturns mountains by the roots.
10 He cuts out tunnels in the rocks,
and his eye sees every treasure.
11 He dams up rivers from their sources,
and he brings secret things to the light.
12 “But[h] from where will wisdom be found?
And where in the world[i] is the place of understanding?
13 A human being does not know its proper value,
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 “Refined gold cannot be gotten in its place,
and silver cannot be weighed out as its price.
16 It cannot be bought for the gold of Ophir,
for precious onyx or[j] sapphire.
17 Gold and glass cannot be compared with it,
and its substitution cannot be an ornament of refined gold.
18 Black corals and crystal will not be mentioned,
and wisdom’s price is more than red corals.
19 The topaz of Cush cannot be compared with it;
it cannot be bought for pure gold.
20 Indeed,[k] from where does wisdom come?
And where in the world[l] is the place of understanding?
21 It is hidden from the eyes of all living,
and it is concealed from the birds of the heaven.
22 Abaddon and Death say,
‘We heard its rumor with our ears.’
23 “God understands its way,
and he knows its place,
24 for he himself[m] looks to the end of the earth;
he sees under all the heaven.
25 When he gave[n] weight to the wind
and he apportioned the waters by measure,
26 when he made[o] a rule for the rain
and a way for the thunder’s lightning bolt,
27 then he saw it and talked about it;
he established it, and moreover, he explored it.
28 And to the human beings he said,
‘Look, the fear of the Lord is wisdom,
and to depart from evil is understanding.’”
Footnotes
- Job 28:1 Literally “for the gold they refine”
- Job 28:4 Literally “from with dwelling”
- Job 28:4 Literally “by feet”
- Job 28:5 Or “bread”
- Job 28:5 Hebrew “and”
- Job 28:6 Literally “for it”
- Job 28:8 Literally “The sons of pride”
- Job 28:12 Hebrew “And”
- Job 28:12 Literally “where this”
- Job 28:16 Hebrew “and”
- Job 28:20 Hebrew “And”
- Job 28:20 Literally “where this”
- Job 28:24 Emphatic personal pronoun
- Job 28:25 Literally “To give”
- Job 28:26 Literally “at his making”
Job 28
New Century Version
28 “There are mines where people dig silver
and places where gold is made pure.
2 Iron is taken from the ground,
and copper is melted out of rocks.
3 Miners bring lights
and search deep into the mines
for ore in thick darkness.
4 Miners dig a tunnel far from where people live,
where no one has ever walked;
they work far from people, swinging and swaying from ropes.
5 Food grows on top of the earth,
but below ground things are changed as if by fire.
6 Sapphires are found in rocks,
and gold dust is also found there.
7 No hawk knows that path;
the falcon has not seen it.
8 Proud animals have not walked there,
and no lions cross over it.
9 Miners hit the rocks of flint
and dig away at the bottom of the mountains.
10 They cut tunnels through the rock
and see all the treasures there.
11 They search for places where rivers begin
and bring things hidden out into the light.
12 “But where can wisdom be found,
and where does understanding live?
13 People do not understand the value of wisdom;
it cannot be found among those who are alive.
14 The deep ocean says, ‘It’s not in me;’
the sea says, ‘It’s not in me.’
15 Wisdom cannot be bought with gold,
and its cost cannot be weighed in silver.
16 Wisdom cannot be bought with fine gold
or with valuable onyx or sapphire gems.
17 Gold and crystal are not as valuable as wisdom,
and you cannot buy it with jewels of gold.
18 Coral and jasper are not worth talking about,
and the price of wisdom is much greater than rubies.
19 The topaz from Cush cannot compare to wisdom;
it cannot be bought with the purest gold.
20 “So where does wisdom come from,
and where does understanding live?
21 It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing,
even from the birds of the air.
22 The places of destruction and death say,
‘We have heard reports about it.’
23 Only God understands the way to wisdom,
and he alone knows where it lives,
24 because he looks to the farthest parts of the earth
and sees everything under the sky.
25 When God gave power to the wind
and measured the water,
26 when he made rules for the rain
and set a path for a thunderstorm to follow,
27 then he looked at wisdom and decided its worth;
he set wisdom up and tested it.
28 Then he said to humans,
‘The fear of the Lord is wisdom;
to stay away from evil is understanding.’”
2012 by Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
