Job 28:1-19
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.
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 28:1-19
World English Bible
28 “Surely there is a mine for silver,
and a place for gold which they refine.
2 Iron is taken out of the earth,
and copper is smelted out of the ore.
3 Man sets an end to darkness,
and searches out, to the furthest bound,
the stones of obscurity and of thick darkness.
4 He breaks open a shaft away from where people live.
They are forgotten by the foot.
They hang far from men, they swing back and forth.
5 As for the earth, out of it comes bread.
Underneath it is turned up as it were by fire.
6 Sapphires come from its rocks.
It has dust of gold.
7 That path no bird of prey knows,
neither has the falcon’s eye seen it.
8 The proud animals have not trodden it,
nor has the fierce lion passed by there.
9 He puts his hand on the flinty rock,
and he overturns the mountains by the roots.
10 He cuts out channels among the rocks.
His eye sees every precious thing.
11 He binds the streams that they don’t trickle.
The thing that is hidden he brings out to light.
12 “But where will wisdom be found?
Where is the place of understanding?
13 Man doesn’t know its price;
Neither is it found in the land of the living.
14 The deep says, ‘It isn’t in me.’
The sea says, ‘It isn’t with me.’
15 It can’t be gotten for gold,
neither will silver be weighed for its price.
16 It can’t be valued with the gold of Ophir,
with the precious onyx, or the sapphire.[a]
17 Gold and glass can’t equal it,
neither will it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.
18 No mention will be made of coral or of crystal.
Yes, the price of wisdom is above rubies.
19 The topaz of Ethiopia will not equal it,
nor will it be valued with pure gold.
Footnotes
- 28:16 or, lapis lazuli
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