20 “From where, then, does wisdom come?
    And where is the place of understanding?
21 It is hidden from the eyes of (A)all living
    and concealed from the birds of the air.
22 (B)Abaddon and Death say,
    ‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’

23 (C)“God understands the way to it,
    and he knows its place.
24 For he (D)looks to the ends of the earth
    and sees everything under the heavens.
25 When he (E)gave to the wind its weight
    and apportioned the waters by measure,
26 when he made a decree for the rain
    and (F)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, (G)the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,
    and to (H)turn away from evil is understanding.’”

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20 Indeed,[a] from where does wisdom come?
And where in the world[b] 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[c] looks to the end of the earth;
he sees under all the heaven.
25 When he gave[d] weight to the wind
and he apportioned the waters by measure,
26 when he made[e] 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.’”

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Footnotes

  1. Job 28:20 Hebrew “And”
  2. Job 28:20 Literally “where this”
  3. Job 28:24 Emphatic personal pronoun
  4. Job 28:25 Literally “To give”
  5. Job 28:26 Literally “at his making”