20 Where then does wisdom come from,
and where is understanding located?
21 It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing
and concealed from the birds of the sky.
22 Abaddon and Death(A) say,
“We have heard news of it with our ears.”
23 But God understands the way to wisdom,
and he knows its location.
24 For he looks to the ends of the earth
and sees everything under the heavens.
25 When God fixed the weight of the wind
and distributed the water by measure,(B)
26 when he established a limit[a] for the rain(C)
and a path for the lightning,
27 he considered wisdom and evaluated it;
he established it and examined it.
28 He said to mankind,
“The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom.
And to turn from evil is understanding.”(D)

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Footnotes

  1. 28:26 Or decree

20 (A)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 [a](B)Abaddon and Death say,
‘With our ears we have heard a report of it.’

23 (C)God understands its way,
And He knows its place.
24 For He (D)looks to the ends of the earth;
He sees everything under the heavens.
25 When He imparted (E)weight to the wind,
And (F)assessed the waters by measure,
26 When He made a (G)limit for the rain,
And a course for the (H)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 (I)fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;
And to turn away from evil is understanding.’”

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Footnotes

  1. Job 28:22 I.e., Destruction