Job 28
1599 Geneva Bible
28 Job showeth that the wisdom of God is unsearchable.
1 The silver surely hath his vein, [a]and the gold his palace, where they take it.
2 Iron is taken out of the dust, and brass is molten out of the stone.
3 God putteth an end to darkness, [b]and he trieth the perfection of all things: he setteth a bond of darkness, and of the shadow of death.
4 The flood breaketh out against the [c]inhabitant, and the waters [d]forgotten of the foot, being higher than man, are gone away.
5 Out of the same earth cometh [e]bread, and under it, as it were fire is turned up.
6 The stones thereof are a place [f]of Sapphires, and the dust of it is gold.
7 There is a path which no fowl hath known, neither hath the kite’s eye seen it.
8 The Lion’s whelps have not walked it, nor the Lion passed thereby.
9 He putteth his hand upon the [g]rocks, and overthroweth the mountains by the roots.
10 He breaketh rivers in the roots, and his eye seeth every precious thing.
11 He bindeth the floods, that they do not overflow, and the thing that is hid, bringeth he to light.
12 But where is wisdom found? [h]and where is the place of understanding?
13 Man knoweth not [i]the price thereof: for it is not found in the land of the living.
14 The depth saith, It is not in me: the Sea also saith, It is not with me.
15 [j]Gold shall not be given for it, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof.
16 It shall not be valued with the wedge of gold of Ophir, nor with the precious onyx, nor the sapphire.
17 The gold nor the crystal shall be equal unto it, nor the exchange shall be for plate of fine gold.
18 No mention shall be made of coral, nor of the [k]gabish: for wisdom is more precious than pearls.
19 The Topaz of Ethiopia shall not be equal unto it, neither shall it be valued with the wedge of pure gold.
20 Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding,
21 Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all the living, and is hid from the [l]fowls of the heaven?
22 Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears.
23 But God understandeth the [m]way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof.
24 For he beholdeth the ends of the world, and seeth all that is under heaven,
25 To make the weight of the winds and to weigh the waters by measure.
26 When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunders,
27 Then did he see it, and counted it: he prepared it, and also considered it.
28 And unto man he said, Behold, (A)the [n]fear of the Lord is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding.
Footnotes
- Job 28:1 His purpose is to declare that man may attain in this world to divers secrets of nature, but man is never able to comprehend the wisdom of God.
- Job 28:3 There is nothing but it is compassed within certain limits, and hath an end, but God’s wisdom.
- Job 28:4 Meaning, him that dwelleth thereby.
- Job 28:4 Which a man cannot wade through.
- Job 28:5 That is, come, and underneath is brimstone or coal, which easily conceiveth fire.
- Job 28:6 He alludeth to the mines and secrets of nature, which are under the earth, whereinto neither fowls nor beasts can enter.
- Job 28:9 After that he hath declared the wisdom of God in the secrets of nature he describeth his power.
- Job 28:12 Though God’s power and wisdom may be understood in earthly things, yet his heavenly wisdom cannot be attained unto.
- Job 28:13 It is too high a thing for man to attain unto in this world.
- Job 28:15 It can neither be bought for gold nor precious stones, but is only the gift of God.
- Job 28:18 Which is thought to be a kind of precious stone.
- Job 28:21 Meaning, that there is no natural means whereby man might attain to the heavenly wisdom: which he meaneth by the souls that fly high.
- Job 28:23 He maketh God only the author of this wisdom, and the giver thereof.
- Job 28:28 He declareth that man hath so much of this heavenly wisdom, as he showeth by fearing God, and departing from evil.
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
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
