Font Size
Job 28-31
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Job 28-31
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Interlude: Where Wisdom Is Found
28 “Surely there is a mine for silver
and a place for gold to be refined.
2 Iron is taken out of the earth,
and copper is smelted from ore.(A)
3 Miners put[a] an end to darkness
and search out to the farthest bound
the ore in gloom and deep darkness.
4 They open shafts in a valley away from human habitation;
they are forgotten by travelers;
they sway suspended, remote from people.
5 As for the earth, out of it comes bread,
but underneath it is turned up as by fire.(B)
6 Its stones are the place of sapphires,[b]
and its dust contains gold.
7 “That path no bird of prey knows,
and the falcon’s eye has not seen it.
8 The proud wild animals have not trodden it;
the lion has not passed over it.
9 “They put their hand to the flinty rock
and overturn mountains by the roots.(C)
10 They cut out channels in the rocks,
and their eyes see every precious thing.
11 The sources of the rivers they probe;[c]
hidden things they bring to light.
12 “But where shall wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?(D)
13 Mortals do not know the way to it,[d]
and it is not found in the land of the living.(E)
14 The deep says, ‘It is not in me,’
and the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’
15 It cannot be gotten for gold,
and silver cannot be weighed out as its price.
16 It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,
in precious onyx or sapphire.[e]
17 Gold and glass cannot equal it,
nor can it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.(F)
18 No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal;
the price of wisdom is above pearls.(G)
19 The chrysolite of Cush cannot compare with it,
nor can it be valued in pure gold.(H)
20 “Where then does wisdom come from?
And where is the place of understanding?(I)
21 It is hidden from the eyes of all living
and concealed from the birds of the air.
22 Abaddon and Death say,
‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’(J)
23 “God understands the way to it,
and he knows its place.(K)
24 For he looks to the ends of the earth
and sees everything under the heavens.(L)
25 When he gave to the wind its weight
and apportioned out the waters by measure,(M)
26 when he made a decree for the rain,
and a way for the thunderbolt,(N)
27 then he saw it and declared it;
he established it and searched it out.
28 And he said to humankind,
‘Truly, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;
and to depart from evil is understanding.’ ”(O)
Job Finishes His Defense
29 Job again took up his discourse and said:(P)
2 “O that I were as in the months of old,
as in the days when God watched over me,(Q)
3 when his lamp shone over my head,
and by his light I walked through darkness,(R)
4 when I was in my prime,
when the friendship of God was upon my tent,(S)
5 when the Almighty[f] was still with me,
when my children were around me,
6 when my steps were washed with milk
and the rock poured out for me streams of oil!(T)
7 When I went out to the gate of the city,
when I took my seat in the square,
8 the young men saw me and withdrew,
and the aged rose up and stood;
9 the nobles refrained from talking
and laid their hands on their mouths;(U)
10 the voices of princes were hushed,
and their tongues stuck to the roofs of their mouths.(V)
11 When the ear heard, it commended me,
and when the eye saw, it approved,
12 because I delivered the poor who cried
and the orphan who had no helper.(W)
13 The blessing of the wretched came upon me,
and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy.(X)
14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me;
my justice was like a robe and a turban.(Y)
15 I was eyes to the blind
and feet to the lame.
16 I was a father to the needy,
and I championed the cause of the stranger.(Z)
17 I broke the fangs of the unrighteous
and made them drop their prey from their teeth.(AA)
18 Then I thought, ‘I shall die in my nest,
and I shall multiply my days like the phoenix;[g](AB)
19 my roots spread out to the waters,
with the dew all night on my branches;(AC)
20 my glory was fresh with me
and my bow ever new in my hand.’(AD)
21 “They listened to me and waited
and kept silence for my counsel.(AE)
22 After I spoke they did not speak again,
and my word dropped upon them like dew.[h](AF)
23 They waited for me as for the rain;
they opened their mouths as for the spring rain.
24 I smiled on them when they had no confidence,
and the light of my countenance they did not extinguish.[i]
25 I chose what they should do and sat as chief,
and I lived like a king among his troops,
like one who comforts mourners.(AG)
30 “But now they make sport of me,
those who are younger than I,
whose fathers I would have disdained
to set with the dogs of my flock.(AH)
2 What could I gain from the strength of their hands?
All their vigor is gone.
3 Through want and hard hunger
they gnaw the dry and desolate ground;
4 they pick mallow and the leaves of bushes
and to warm themselves the roots of broom.
5 They are driven out from society;
people shout after them as after a thief.
6 In the gullies of wadis they must live,
in holes in the ground and in the rocks.
7 Among the bushes they bray;
under the nettles they huddle together.
8 A senseless, disreputable brood,
they have been whipped out of the land.
9 “And now they mock me in song;
I am a byword to them.(AI)
10 They abhor me; they keep aloof from me;
they do not hesitate to spit at the sight of me.(AJ)
11 Because God has loosed my bowstring and humbled me,
they have cast off restraint in my presence.(AK)
12 On my right hand the rabble rise up;
they send me sprawling
and build roads for my ruin.(AL)
13 They break up my path;
they promote my calamity;
no one restrains[j] them.
14 As through a wide breach they come;
amid the crash they roll on.
15 Terrors are turned upon me;
my honor is pursued as by the wind,
and my prosperity has passed away like a cloud.(AM)
16 “And now my soul is poured out within me;
days of affliction have taken hold of me.(AN)
17 The night racks my bones,
and the pain that gnaws me takes no rest.
18 With violence he seizes my garment;[k]
he grasps me by[l] the collar of my tunic.
19 He has cast me into the mire,
and I have become like dust and ashes.(AO)
20 I cry to you, and you do not answer me;
I stand, and you merely look at me.(AP)
21 You have turned cruel to me;
with the might of your hand you persecute me.(AQ)
22 You lift me up on the wind, you make me ride on it,
and you toss me about in the roar of the storm.(AR)
23 I know that you will bring me to death,
to the house appointed for all living.(AS)
24 “Surely one does not turn against the needy,[m]
when in disaster they cry for help.[n](AT)
25 Did I not weep for those whose day was hard?
Was not my soul grieved for the poor?(AU)
26 But when I looked for good, evil came,
and when I waited for light, darkness came.(AV)
27 My inward parts are in turmoil and are never still;
days of affliction come to meet me.
28 I go about in sunless gloom;
I stand up in the assembly and cry for help.(AW)
29 I am a brother of jackals
and a companion of ostriches.(AX)
30 My skin turns black and falls from me,
and my bones burn with heat.(AY)
31 My lyre is turned to mourning
and my pipe to the voice of those who weep.(AZ)
31 “I have made a covenant with my eyes;
how, then, could I look upon a virgin?(BA)
2 What would be my portion from God above
and my heritage from the Almighty[o] on high?
3 Does not calamity befall the unrighteous
and disaster the workers of iniquity?
4 Does he not see my ways
and number all my steps?(BB)
5 “If I have walked with falsehood,
and my foot has hurried to deceit—(BC)
6 let me be weighed in a just balance,
and let God know my integrity!—(BD)
7 if my step has turned aside from the way,
and my heart has followed my eyes,
and if any spot has clung to my hands,(BE)
8 then let me sow and another eat,
and let what grows for me be rooted out.(BF)
9 “If my heart has been enticed by a woman
and I have lain in wait at my neighbor’s door,(BG)
10 then let my wife grind for another,
and let other men kneel over her.(BH)
11 For that would be a heinous crime;
that would be a criminal offense;(BI)
12 for that would be a fire consuming down to Abaddon,
and it would burn to the root all my harvest.(BJ)
13 “If I have rejected the cause of my male or female slaves,
when they brought a complaint against me,(BK)
14 what then shall I do when God rises up?
When he makes inquiry, what shall I answer him?
15 Did not he who made me in the womb make them?
And did not one fashion us in the womb?(BL)
16 “If I have withheld anything that the poor desired
or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail(BM)
17 or have eaten my morsel alone
and the orphan has not eaten from it—(BN)
18 for from my youth I reared the orphan[p] like a father,
and from my mother’s womb I guided the widow[q]—
19 if I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing
or a poor person without covering,
20 whose loins have not blessed me,
and who was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;(BO)
21 if I have raised my hand against the orphan
because I saw I had supporters at the gate;(BP)
22 then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder,
and let my arm be broken from its socket.(BQ)
23 For I was in terror of calamity from God,
and I could not have faced his majesty.(BR)
24 “If I have made gold my trust
or called fine gold my confidence,(BS)
25 if I have rejoiced because my wealth was great
or because my hand had gotten much,(BT)
26 if I have looked at the sun[r] when it shone
or the moon moving in splendor,(BU)
27 and my heart has been secretly enticed,
and my mouth has kissed my hand,
28 this also would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges,
for I should have been false to God above.(BV)
29 “If I have rejoiced at the ruin of those who hated me
or exulted when evil overtook them—(BW)
30 I have not let my mouth sin
by asking for their lives with a curse—(BX)
31 if those of my tent ever said,
‘O that we might be sated with his flesh!’[s]—(BY)
32 the stranger has not lodged in the street;
I have opened my doors to the traveler—(BZ)
33 if I have concealed my transgressions as others do,[t]
by hiding my iniquity in my bosom,(CA)
34 because I stood in great fear of the multitude,
and the contempt of families terrified me,
so that I kept silence and did not go out of doors—(CB)
35 O that I had one to hear me!
(Here is my signature! Let the Almighty[u] answer me!)
O that I had the indictment written by my adversary!(CC)
36 Surely I would carry it on my shoulder;
I would bind it on me like a crown;
37 I would give him an account of all my steps;
like a prince I would approach him.(CD)
38 “If my land has cried out against me
and its furrows have wept together,(CE)
39 if I have eaten its yield without payment
and caused the death of its owners,(CF)
40 let thorns grow instead of wheat
and foul weeds instead of barley.”
The words of Job are ended.(CG)
Footnotes
- 28.3 Heb He puts
- 28.6 Or lapis lazuli
- 28.11 Gk Vg: Heb bind
- 28.13 Gk: Heb its price
- 28.16 Or lapis lazuli
- 29.5 Traditional rendering of Heb Shaddai
- 29.18 Or like sand
- 29.22 Heb lacks like dew
- 29.24 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 30.13 Cn: Heb helps
- 30.18 Gk: Heb my garment is disfigured
- 30.18 Heb like
- 30.24 Heb ruin
- 30.24 Cn: Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 31.2 Traditional rendering of Heb Shaddai
- 31.18 Heb him
- 31.18 Heb her
- 31.26 Heb the light
- 31.31 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 31.33 Or as Adam did
- 31.35 Traditional rendering of Heb Shaddai
Job 28-31
New International Version
Job 28-31
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)
Job’s Final Defense
29 Job continued his discourse:(AW)
2 “How I long for the months gone by,(AX)
for the days when God watched over me,(AY)
3 when his lamp shone on my head
and by his light I walked through darkness!(AZ)
4 Oh, for the days when I was in my prime,
when God’s intimate friendship(BA) blessed my house,(BB)
5 when the Almighty was still with me
and my children(BC) were around me,(BD)
6 when my path was drenched with cream(BE)
and the rock(BF) poured out for me streams of olive oil.(BG)
7 “When I went to the gate(BH) of the city
and took my seat in the public square,
8 the young men saw me and stepped aside(BI)
and the old men rose to their feet;(BJ)
9 the chief men refrained from speaking(BK)
and covered their mouths with their hands;(BL)
10 the voices of the nobles were hushed,(BM)
and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.(BN)
11 Whoever heard me spoke well of me,
and those who saw me commended me,(BO)
12 because I rescued the poor(BP) who cried for help,
and the fatherless(BQ) who had none to assist them.(BR)
13 The one who was dying blessed me;(BS)
I made the widow’s(BT) heart sing.
14 I put on righteousness(BU) as my clothing;
justice was my robe and my turban.(BV)
15 I was eyes(BW) to the blind
and feet to the lame.(BX)
16 I was a father to the needy;(BY)
I took up the case(BZ) of the stranger.(CA)
17 I broke the fangs of the wicked
and snatched the victims(CB) from their teeth.(CC)
18 “I thought, ‘I will die in my own house,
my days as numerous as the grains of sand.(CD)
19 My roots will reach to the water,(CE)
and the dew will lie all night on my branches.(CF)
20 My glory will not fade;(CG)
the bow(CH) will be ever new in my hand.’(CI)
21 “People listened to me expectantly,
waiting in silence for my counsel.(CJ)
22 After I had spoken, they spoke no more;(CK)
my words fell gently on their ears.(CL)
23 They waited for me as for showers
and drank in my words as the spring rain.(CM)
24 When I smiled at them, they scarcely believed it;
the light of my face(CN) was precious to them.[c](CO)
25 I chose the way for them and sat as their chief;(CP)
I dwelt as a king(CQ) among his troops;
I was like one who comforts mourners.(CR)
30 “But now they mock me,(CS)
men younger than I,
whose fathers I would have disdained
to put with my sheep dogs.(CT)
2 Of what use was the strength of their hands to me,
since their vigor had gone from them?
3 Haggard from want and hunger,
they roamed[d] the parched land(CU)
in desolate wastelands(CV) at night.(CW)
4 In the brush they gathered salt herbs,(CX)
and their food[e] was the root of the broom bush.(CY)
5 They were banished from human society,
shouted at as if they were thieves.
6 They were forced to live in the dry stream beds,
among the rocks and in holes in the ground.(CZ)
7 They brayed(DA) among the bushes(DB)
and huddled in the undergrowth.
8 A base and nameless brood,(DC)
they were driven out of the land.(DD)
9 “And now those young men mock me(DE) in song;(DF)
I have become a byword(DG) among them.
10 They detest me(DH) and keep their distance;
they do not hesitate to spit in my face.(DI)
11 Now that God has unstrung my bow(DJ) and afflicted me,(DK)
they throw off restraint(DL) in my presence.
12 On my right(DM) the tribe[f] attacks;
they lay snares(DN) for my feet,(DO)
they build their siege ramps against me.(DP)
13 They break up my road;(DQ)
they succeed in destroying me.(DR)
‘No one can help him,’ they say.
14 They advance as through a gaping breach;(DS)
amid the ruins they come rolling in.
15 Terrors(DT) overwhelm me;(DU)
my dignity is driven away as by the wind,
my safety vanishes like a cloud.(DV)
16 “And now my life ebbs away;(DW)
days of suffering grip me.(DX)
17 Night pierces my bones;
my gnawing pains never rest.(DY)
18 In his great power(DZ) God becomes like clothing to me[g];
he binds me like the neck of my garment.
19 He throws me into the mud,(EA)
and I am reduced to dust and ashes.(EB)
20 “I cry out to you,(EC) God, but you do not answer;(ED)
I stand up, but you merely look at me.
21 You turn on me ruthlessly;(EE)
with the might of your hand(EF) you attack me.(EG)
22 You snatch me up and drive me before the wind;(EH)
you toss me about in the storm.(EI)
23 I know you will bring me down to death,(EJ)
to the place appointed for all the living.(EK)
24 “Surely no one lays a hand on a broken man(EL)
when he cries for help in his distress.(EM)
25 Have I not wept for those in trouble?(EN)
Has not my soul grieved for the poor?(EO)
26 Yet when I hoped for good, evil came;
when I looked for light, then came darkness.(EP)
27 The churning inside me never stops;(EQ)
days of suffering confront me.(ER)
28 I go about blackened,(ES) but not by the sun;
I stand up in the assembly and cry for help.(ET)
29 I have become a brother of jackals,(EU)
a companion of owls.(EV)
30 My skin grows black(EW) and peels;(EX)
my body burns with fever.(EY)
31 My lyre is tuned to mourning,(EZ)
and my pipe(FA) to the sound of wailing.
31 “I made a covenant with my eyes(FB)
not to look lustfully at a young woman.(FC)
2 For what is our lot(FD) from God above,
our heritage from the Almighty on high?(FE)
3 Is it not ruin(FF) for the wicked,
disaster(FG) for those who do wrong?(FH)
4 Does he not see my ways(FI)
and count my every step?(FJ)
5 “If I have walked with falsehood
or my foot has hurried after deceit(FK)—
6 let God weigh me(FL) in honest scales(FM)
and he will know that I am blameless(FN)—
7 if my steps have turned from the path,(FO)
if my heart has been led by my eyes,
or if my hands(FP) have been defiled,(FQ)
8 then may others eat what I have sown,(FR)
and may my crops be uprooted.(FS)
9 “If my heart has been enticed(FT) by a woman,(FU)
or if I have lurked at my neighbor’s door,
10 then may my wife grind(FV) another man’s grain,
and may other men sleep with her.(FW)
11 For that would have been wicked,(FX)
a sin to be judged.(FY)
12 It is a fire(FZ) that burns to Destruction[h];(GA)
it would have uprooted my harvest.(GB)
13 “If I have denied justice to any of my servants,(GC)
whether male or female,
when they had a grievance against me,(GD)
14 what will I do when God confronts me?(GE)
What will I answer when called to account?(GF)
15 Did not he who made me in the womb make them?(GG)
Did not the same one form us both within our mothers?(GH)
16 “If I have denied the desires of the poor(GI)
or let the eyes of the widow(GJ) grow weary,(GK)
17 if I have kept my bread to myself,
not sharing it with the fatherless(GL)—
18 but from my youth I reared them as a father would,
and from my birth I guided the widow(GM)—
19 if I have seen anyone perishing for lack of clothing,(GN)
or the needy(GO) without garments,
20 and their hearts did not bless me(GP)
for warming them with the fleece(GQ) from my sheep,
21 if I have raised my hand against the fatherless,(GR)
knowing that I had influence in court,(GS)
22 then let my arm fall from the shoulder,
let it be broken off at the joint.(GT)
23 For I dreaded destruction from God,(GU)
and for fear of his splendor(GV) I could not do such things.(GW)
24 “If I have put my trust in gold(GX)
or said to pure gold, ‘You are my security,’(GY)
25 if I have rejoiced over my great wealth,(GZ)
the fortune my hands had gained,(HA)
26 if I have regarded the sun(HB) in its radiance
or the moon(HC) moving in splendor,
27 so that my heart was secretly enticed(HD)
and my hand offered them a kiss of homage,(HE)
28 then these also would be sins to be judged,(HF)
for I would have been unfaithful to God on high.(HG)
29 “If I have rejoiced at my enemy’s misfortune(HH)
or gloated over the trouble that came to him(HI)—
30 I have not allowed my mouth to sin
by invoking a curse against their life(HJ)—
31 if those of my household have never said,
‘Who has not been filled with Job’s meat?’(HK)—
32 but no stranger had to spend the night in the street,
for my door was always open to the traveler(HL)—
33 if I have concealed(HM) my sin as people do,[i]
by hiding(HN) my guilt in my heart
34 because I so feared the crowd(HO)
and so dreaded the contempt of the clans
that I kept silent(HP) and would not go outside—
35 (“Oh, that I had someone to hear me!(HQ)
I sign now my defense—let the Almighty answer me;
let my accuser(HR) put his indictment in writing.
36 Surely I would wear it on my shoulder,(HS)
I would put it on like a crown.(HT)
37 I would give him an account of my every step;(HU)
I would present it to him as to a ruler.(HV))—
38 “if my land cries out against me(HW)
and all its furrows are wet(HX) with tears,
39 if I have devoured its yield without payment(HY)
or broken the spirit of its tenants,(HZ)
40 then let briers(IA) come up instead of wheat
and stinkweed(IB) instead of barley.”
The words of Job are ended.(IC)
Footnotes
- Job 28:11 Septuagint, Aquila and Vulgate; Hebrew They dam up
- Job 28:22 Hebrew Abaddon
- Job 29:24 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.
- Job 30:3 Or gnawed
- Job 30:4 Or fuel
- Job 30:12 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- Job 30:18 Hebrew; Septuagint power he grasps my clothing
- Job 31:12 Hebrew Abaddon
- Job 31:33 Or as Adam did
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.