Job 28-30
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.
2 Iron is taken from the dust,
And copper is smelted from rock.
3 Man puts an end to darkness,
And (A)to the farthest limit he searches out
The rock in gloom and deep shadow.
4 He [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.
6 Its rocks are the [f]source of sapphires,
And its dust contains gold.
7 No bird of prey knows the path,
Nor has the falcon’s eye caught sight of it.
8 The [g]proud animals have not trodden it,
Nor has the lion passed over it.
9 He puts his hand on the flint;
He overturns the mountains at the [h]base.
10 He carves out channels through the rocks,
And his eye sees anything precious.
11 He 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.
14 The 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.
16 It 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.
18 Coral and crystal are not to be mentioned;
And the acquisition of (F)wisdom is more valuable than pearls.
19 The 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?
21 It 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.
24 For He (K)looks to the ends of the earth;
He sees everything under the heavens.
25 When He imparted (L)weight to the wind,
And (M)assessed the waters by measure,
26 When He made a (N)limit for the rain,
And a course for the (O)thunderbolt,
27 Then He saw it and declared it;
He established it and also searched it out.
28 And to mankind He said, ‘Behold, the (P)fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;
And to turn away from evil is understanding.’”
Job’s Past Was Glorious
29 Job again took up his (Q)discourse and said,
2 “Oh that I were as in months gone by,
As in the days when God (R)watched over me;
3 When (S)His lamp shone over my head,
And (T)by His light I walked through darkness;
4 Just as I was in the days of my youth,
When the (U)protection of God was over my tent;
5 When [l]the Almighty was still with me,
And my children were around me;
6 When my steps were bathed in (V)cream,
And the (W)rock poured out streams of oil for me!
7 When I went out to (X)the gate of the city,
When I [m]took my seat in the public square,
8 The young men saw me and hid themselves,
And the old men arose and stood.
9 The leaders (Y)stopped talking
And (Z)put their hands on their mouths;
10 The voices of the prominent people were [n](AA)hushed,
And their (AB)tongues stuck to their palates.
11 For when (AC)an ear heard, it called me blessed,
And when an eye saw, it testified in support of me,
12 Because I saved (AD)the poor who cried for help,
And the (AE)orphan who had no helper.
13 The blessing of the one who (AF)was about to perish came upon me,
And I made the (AG)widow’s heart sing for joy.
14 I (AH)put on righteousness, and it clothed me;
My justice was like a robe and a headband.
15 I was (AI)eyes to those who were blind,
And feet to those who [o]could not walk.
16 I was a father to (AJ)the poor,
And I investigated the case which I did not know.
17 I (AK)broke the jaws of the wicked
And rescued the prey from his teeth.
18 Then I [p]thought, ‘I will die with my [q]family,
And I will multiply my days as the sand.
19 My (AL)root is spread out to the waters,
And (AM)dew lies on my branch all night.
20 My glory is ever new with me,
And my (AN)bow is renewed in my hand.’
21 “To me (AO)they listened and waited,
And they kept silent for my advice.
22 After my words (AP)they did not speak again,
And (AQ)my speech dropped on them.
23 They waited for me as for the rain,
And opened their mouths as for the late rain.
24 I smiled at them when they did not believe,
And they did not look at [r]my kindness ungraciously.
25 I chose a way for them and sat as (AR)chief,
And lived as a king among the troops,
As one who (AS)comforted the mourners.
Job’s Present State Is Humiliating
30 “But now those who are younger than I (AT)mock me,
Whose fathers I refused to put with the dogs of my flock.
2 Indeed, what good was the strength of their hands to me?
Vigor had perished from them.
3 From poverty and famine they are gaunt,
They who gnaw at the dry ground by night in waste and desolation,
4 Who pluck saltweed by the bushes,
And whose food is the root of the broom shrub.
5 They are driven from the community;
They shout against them as against a thief,
6 So that they live on the slopes of ravines,
In holes in the ground and among the rocks.
7 Among the bushes they [s]cry out;
Under the weeds they are gathered together.
8 Worthless [t]fellows, even [u]those without a name,
They were cast out from the land.
9 “And now I have become their [v](AU)taunt,
And I have become a [w](AV)byword to them.
10 They loathe me and stand aloof from me,
And they do not [x]refrain from (AW)spitting in my face.
11 Because He has undone [y]my [z]bowstring and (AX)afflicted me,
They have cast off (AY)the bridle before me.
12 On the right hand their [aa]mob arises;
They (AZ)push aside my feet (BA)and pile up their ways of destruction against me.
13 They (BB)break up my path,
They promote my destruction;
No one restrains them.
14 As through a wide gap they come,
[ab]Amid the storm they roll on.
15 (BC)Sudden terrors are turned upon me;
They chase away my dignity like the wind,
And my [ac]prosperity has passed away (BD)like a cloud.
16 “And now (BE)my soul is poured out [ad]within me;
Days of misery have seized me.
17 At night it pierces (BF)my bones [ae]within me,
And my gnawing pains do not rest.
18 By a great force my garment is (BG)distorted;
It ties me up like the collar of my coat.
19 He has thrown me into the (BH)mire,
And I have become like dust and ashes.
20 I (BI)cry out to You for help, but You do not answer me;
I stand up, and You turn Your attention against me.
21 You have [af]become cruel to me;
With the strength of Your hand You (BJ)persecute me.
22 You (BK)lift me up to the wind and make me ride it;
And You dissolve me in a storm.
23 For I know that You (BL)will bring me to death,
And to the (BM)house of meeting for all living.
24 “Yet does one in a heap of ruins not reach out with his hand,
Or in his disaster does he not (BN)cry out for help?
25 Have I not (BO)wept for the [ag]one whose life is hard?
Was my soul not grieved for (BP)the needy?
26 When I (BQ)expected good, evil came;
When I waited for light, (BR)darkness came.
27 [ah]I am seething (BS)within and cannot rest;
Days of misery confront me.
28 I go about [ai](BT)mourning without comfort;
I stand up in the assembly and (BU)cry out for help.
29 I have become a brother to (BV)jackals,
And a companion of ostriches.
30 My (BW)skin turns black [aj]on me,
And my (BX)bones burn with [ak]fever.
31 Therefore my (BY)harp [al]is turned to mourning,
And my flute to the sound of those who weep.
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
- Job 29:5 Heb Shaddai
- Job 29:7 Lit set up
- Job 29:10 Lit hidden
- Job 29:15 Or limped
- Job 29:18 Lit said
- Job 29:18 Lit nest
- Job 29:24 Lit the light of my face
- Job 30:7 Or bray
- Job 30:8 Lit sons
- Job 30:8 Lit sons
- Job 30:9 Lit song
- Job 30:9 I.e., prob. a word of insult
- Job 30:10 Lit withhold spit from my face
- Job 30:11 Some mss His
- Job 30:11 Or cord
- Job 30:12 Or youth arise
- Job 30:14 Lit Under
- Job 30:15 Or welfare
- Job 30:16 Lit upon
- Job 30:17 Lit from upon
- Job 30:21 Lit turned to be
- Job 30:25 Lit hard of day
- Job 30:27 Lit My inward parts are boiling
- Job 30:28 Or blackened, but not by the heat of the sun
- Job 30:30 Lit from upon
- Job 30:30 Lit heat
- Job 30:31 Lit becomes
Revelation 18
New American Standard Bible
Babylon Is Fallen
18 After these things I saw another (A)angel (B)coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was (C)illuminated from his glory. 2 And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, “[a](D)Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She (E)has become a dwelling place of demons and a [b]prison of every (F)unclean spirit, and a [c]prison of every unclean and hateful bird. 3 For all the nations have fallen because of the (G)wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and (H)the kings of the earth have committed acts of sexual immorality with her, and the (I)merchants of the earth have become rich from the [d]excessive wealth of her [e](J)luxury.”
4 I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “(K)Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive any of her plagues; 5 for her sins have [f](L)piled up as high as heaven, and God has (M)remembered her offenses. 6 (N)Pay her back even as she has paid, and [g]give back to her double according to her deeds; in the (O)cup which she has mixed, mix twice as much for her. 7 (P)To the extent that she glorified herself and (Q)lived luxuriously, to the same extent give her torment and mourning; for she says in her heart, ‘(R)I sit as a queen and I am not a widow, and will never see mourning.’ 8 For this reason (S)in one day her plagues will come, [h]plague and mourning and famine, and she will be (T)burned up with fire; for the Lord God who judges her (U)is strong.
Grief over Babylon
9 “And (V)the kings of the earth, who committed acts of sexual immorality and (W)lived luxuriously with her, will (X)weep and mourn over her when they (Y)see the smoke of her burning, 10 (Z)standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment, saying, ‘(AA)Woe, woe, (AB)the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in (AC)one hour your judgment has come.’
11 “And the (AD)merchants of the earth (AE)weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargo any more— 12 cargo of (AF)gold, silver, precious [i]stones, and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet; every kind of citron wood, every article of ivory, and every article made from very valuable wood, [j]bronze, iron, and marble; 13 cinnamon, [k]spice, incense, perfume, frankincense, wine, olive oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle, sheep, and cargo of horses, carriages, [l]slaves, and (AG)human lives. 14 The fruit [m]you long for has left you, and all things that were luxurious and splendid have passed away from you and people will no longer find them. 15 The (AH)merchants of (AI)these things, who became rich from her, will (AJ)stand at a distance because of the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning, 16 saying, ‘(AK)Woe, woe, (AL)the great city, she who (AM)was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and [n]adorned with gold, precious [o]stones, and pearls; 17 for in (AN)one hour such great wealth has been laid (AO)waste!’ And (AP)every shipmaster and every [p]passenger and sailor, and all who [q]make their living by the sea, (AQ)stood at a distance, 18 and were (AR)crying out as they (AS)saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘(AT)What city is like (AU)the great city?’ 19 And they threw (AV)dust on their heads and were crying out, weeping and mourning, saying, ‘(AW)Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who had ships at sea (AX)became rich from her prosperity, for in (AY)one hour she has been laid (AZ)waste!’ 20 (BA)Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you [r]saints and (BB)apostles and prophets, because (BC)God has [s]pronounced judgment for you against her.”
21 Then [t]a (BD)strong angel (BE)picked up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “So will Babylon, (BF)the great city, be thrown down with violence, and (BG)will never be found again. 22 And (BH)the sound of harpists, musicians, flute players, and trumpeters will never be heard in you again; and no craftsman of any craft will ever be found in you again; and the (BI)sound of a mill will never be heard in you again; 23 and the light of a lamp will never shine in you again; and the (BJ)voice of the groom and bride will never be heard in you again; for your (BK)merchants were the powerful people of the earth, because all the nations were deceived (BL)by your witchcraft. 24 And in her was found the (BM)blood of prophets and of [u]saints, and of (BN)all who have been slaughtered on the earth.”
Footnotes
- Revelation 18:2 Lit Babylon...fell, fell
- Revelation 18:2 Or haunt
- Revelation 18:2 Or haunt
- Revelation 18:3 Lit power
- Revelation 18:3 Or sensuality
- Revelation 18:5 Lit joined together
- Revelation 18:6 Lit double to her
- Revelation 18:8 Lit death; i.e., a particular kind of death
- Revelation 18:12 Lit stone
- Revelation 18:12 Or brass
- Revelation 18:13 Gr amomon, an Indian spice plant
- Revelation 18:13 Lit bodies
- Revelation 18:14 Lit of your soul’s desire
- Revelation 18:16 Lit gilded
- Revelation 18:16 Lit stone and pearl
- Revelation 18:17 Lit one who sails to a place
- Revelation 18:17 Lit work the sea
- Revelation 18:20 Lit holy ones; i.e., God’s people
- Revelation 18:20 Lit judged your judgment of her
- Revelation 18:21 Lit one
- Revelation 18:24 Lit holy ones; i.e., God’s people
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
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