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Job 28
Lexham English Bible
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
Tree of Life Version
Job 28
Tree of Life Version
Where Can Wisdom be Found?
28 “Surely there is a mine for silver,
and a place where gold is refined.
2 Iron is taken from the earth,
and copper is smelted from ore.
3 Man puts an end to darkness;
he searches to the farthest reaches
for ore in gloom and blackest darkness.
4 He cuts open a shaft far from dwellings,
in places forgotten by feet.
Far from other people,
they dangle back and forth.
5 The earth, from which food comes,
is transformed as by fire;
6 a place whose rocks are sapphires,
its dust contains gold.
7 No bird of prey knows the path;
nor falcon’s eye has seen it.
8 Proud beasts have not set foot on it,
and no lion has passed there.
9 Man sets his hand against the flinty rock
and overturns mountains by the roots.
10 He carves out tunnels through the rocks;
his eye sees every precious thing.
11 He dams up streams from flowing.
And brings hidden things to light.
12 “But where can wisdom be found?
Where is the place of understanding?
13 No mortal comprehends its worth;
it cannot be found in the land of the living.
14 The deep says, ‘It is not in me’—
The sea says, ‘It’s not with me.’
15 Pure gold cannot be given for it,
nor can its price be weighed in silver.
16 It cannot be weighed in gold from Ophir,
in precious onyx, or sapphire.
17 Neither gold or crystal can compare with it,
nor vessels of fine gold exchanged for it.
18 No mention will be made of coral or jasper;
the price of wisdom is more than pearls.
19 The topaz of Ethiopia cannot compare to it;
nor can it be valued in pure gold.
20 Where then does wisdom come from?
Where is the place of understanding?
21 It has been hidden from the eyes of all living things,
concealed from the birds of the sky.
22 Abaddon and Death say,
‘With our ears we have heard a rumor of it.’
23 “God understands its way
and He knows its place.
24 He looks to the ends of the earth,
and sees everything under the heavens.
25 When He made the force of the wind,
and measured out the waters,
26 when He set a limit for the rain
and a path for the thunderstorm,
27 then He looked at it and assessed it
established it and examined it.
28 And He said to mankind,
‘The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom,
and to turn away 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)
Lexham English Bible (LEB)
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Tree of Life Version (TLV)
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.