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III. Job’s Search for Wisdom (28:1-28)
No Known Road to Wisdom[a]
28 “Surely[b] there is a mine[c] for silver,
and a place where gold is refined.[d]
2 Iron is taken from the ground,[e]
and rock is poured out[f] as copper.
3 Man puts an end to the darkness;[g]
he searches the farthest recesses
for the ore in the deepest darkness.[h]
4 Far from where people live[i] he sinks a shaft,
in places travelers have long forgotten,[j]
far from other people he dangles and sways.[k]
5 The earth, from which food comes,
is overturned below as though by fire;[l]
6 a place whose stones are sapphires[m]
that contain dust of gold;[n]
7 a hidden path[o] no bird of prey knows—
no falcon’s[p] eye has spotted it.
8 Proud beasts[q] have not set foot on it,
and no lion has passed along it.
9 On the flinty rock man has set to work[r] with his hand;
he has overturned mountains at their bases.[s]
10 He has cut out channels[t] through the rocks;
his eyes have spotted[u] every precious thing.
11 He has searched[v] the sources[w] of the rivers
and what was hidden he has brought into the light.
No Price Can Buy Wisdom
12 “But wisdom—where can it be found?
Where is the place of understanding?
13 Mankind does not know its place;[x]
it cannot be found in the land of the living.
14 The deep[y] says, ‘It is not with[z] me.’
And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’
15 Fine gold cannot be given in exchange for it,
nor can its price be weighed out in silver.
16 It cannot be measured out for purchase[aa] with the gold of Ophir,
with precious onyx[ab] or sapphires.
17 Neither gold nor crystal[ac] can be compared with it,
nor can a vase[ad] of gold match its worth.
18 Of coral and jasper no mention will be made;
the price[ae] of wisdom is more than pearls.[af]
19 The topaz of Cush[ag] cannot be compared with it;
it cannot be purchased with pure gold.
God Alone Has Wisdom
20 “But wisdom—where does it come from?[ah]
Where is the place of understanding?
21 For[ai] it has been hidden
from the eyes of every living creature,
and from the birds of the sky it has been concealed.
22 Destruction[aj] and Death say,
‘With our ears we have heard a rumor about where it can be found.’[ak]
23 God understands the way to it,
and he alone knows its place.
24 For he looks to the ends of the earth
and observes everything under the heavens.
25 When he made[al] the force of the wind
and measured[am] the waters with a gauge,
26 when he imposed a limit[an] for the rain,
and a path for the thunderstorm,[ao]
27 then he looked at wisdom[ap] and assessed its value;[aq]
he established[ar] it and examined it closely.[as]
28 And he said to mankind,
‘The fear of the Lord[at]—that is wisdom,
and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”[au]
IV. Job’s Concluding Soliloquy (29:1-31:40)
Job Recalls His Former Condition[av]
29 Then Job continued[aw] his speech:
2 “O that I could be[ax] as[ay] I was
in the months now gone,[az]
in the days[ba] when God watched over[bb] me,
3 when[bc] he caused[bd] his lamp[be]
to shine upon my head,
and by his light
I walked[bf] through darkness;[bg]
4 just as I was in my most productive time,[bh]
when God’s intimate friendship[bi] was experienced in my tent,
5 when the Almighty[bj] was still with me
and my children were[bk] around me;
6 when my steps[bl] were bathed[bm] with butter[bn]
and the rock poured out for me streams of olive oil![bo]
7 When I went out to the city gate
and secured my seat in the public square,[bp]
8 the young men would see me and step aside,[bq]
and the old men would get up and remain standing;
9 the chief men refrained from talking
and covered their mouths with their hands;
10 the voices of the nobles fell silent,[br]
and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.
Job’s Benevolence
11 “As soon as the ear heard these things,[bs] it blessed me,[bt]
and when the eye saw them, it bore witness to me,
12 for I rescued the poor who cried out for help,
and the orphan who[bu] had no one to assist him;
13 the blessing of the dying man descended on me,[bv]
and I made the widow’s heart rejoice;[bw]
14 I put on righteousness and it clothed me,[bx]
my just dealing[by] was like a robe and a turban;
15 I was eyes for the blind
and feet for the lame;
16 I was a father[bz] to the needy,
and I investigated the case of the person I did not know;
17 I broke the fangs[ca] of the wicked,
and made him drop[cb] his prey from his teeth.
Job’s Confidence
18 “Then I thought, ‘I will die in my own home,[cc]
my days as numerous as the grains of sand.[cd]
19 My roots reach the water,
and the dew lies on my branches all night long.
20 My glory[ce] will always be fresh[cf] in me,
and my bow ever new in my hand.’
Job’s Reputation
21 “People[cg] listened to me and waited silently;[ch]
they kept silent for my advice.
22 After I had spoken, they did not respond;
my words fell on them drop by drop.[ci]
23 They waited for me as people wait for[cj] the rain,
and they opened their mouths[ck] as for[cl] the spring rains.
24 If I smiled at them, they hardly believed it;[cm]
and they did not cause the light of my face to darken.[cn]
25 I chose[co] the way for them[cp]
and sat as their chief;[cq]
I lived like a king among his troops;
I was like one who comforts mourners.[cr]
Job’s Present Misery
30 “But now they mock me, those who are younger[cs] than I,
whose fathers I disdained too much[ct]
to put with my sheep dogs.[cu]
2 Moreover, the strength of their[cv] hands—
what use was it to me?
Those whose strength[cw] had perished,
3 gaunt[cx] with want and hunger,
they would roam[cy] the parched land,
by night a desolate waste.[cz]
4 By the brush[da] they would gather[db] herbs from the salt marshes,[dc]
and the root of the broom tree was their food.
5 They were banished from the community[dd]—
people[de] shouted at them
as they would shout at thieves[df]—
6 so that they had to live[dg]
in the dry stream beds,[dh]
in the holes of the ground, and among the rocks.
7 They brayed[di] like animals among the bushes
and were huddled together[dj] under the nettles.
8 Sons of senseless and nameless people,[dk]
they were driven out of the land with whips.[dl]
Job’s Indignities
9 “And now I have become their taunt song;
I have become a byword[dm] among them.
10 They detest me and maintain their distance;[dn]
they do not hesitate to spit in my face.
11 Because God has untied[do] my tent cord and afflicted me,
people throw off all restraint in my presence.[dp]
12 On my right the young rabble[dq] rise up;
they drive me from place to place,[dr]
and build up siege ramps[ds] against me.[dt]
13 They destroy[du] my path;
they succeed in destroying me[dv]
without anyone assisting[dw] them.
14 They come in as through a wide breach;
amid the crash[dx] they come rolling in.[dy]
15 Terrors are turned loose[dz] on me;
they drive away[ea] my honor like the wind,
and as a cloud my deliverance has passed away.
Job’s Despondency
16 “And now my soul pours itself out within me;[eb]
days of suffering take hold of me.
17 Night pierces[ec] my bones;[ed]
my gnawing pains[ee] never cease.
18 With great power God[ef] grasps my clothing;[eg]
he binds me like the collar[eh] of my tunic.
19 He has flung me into the mud,
and I have come to resemble dust and ashes.
20 I cry out to you,[ei] but you do not answer me;
I stand up,[ej] and you only look at me.[ek]
21 You have become cruel to me;[el]
with the strength of your hand you attack me.[em]
22 You pick me up on the wind and make me ride on it;[en]
you toss me about[eo] in the storm.[ep]
23 I know that you are bringing[eq] me to death,
to the meeting place for all the living.
The Contrast With the Past
24 “Surely one does not stretch out his hand
against a broken man[er]
when he cries for help in his distress.[es]
25 Have I not wept for the unfortunate?[et]
Was not my soul grieved for the poor?
26 But when I hoped for good, trouble came;
when I expected light, then darkness came.
27 My heart[eu] is in turmoil[ev] unceasingly;[ew]
the days of my affliction confront me.
28 I go about blackened,[ex] but not by the sun;
in the assembly I stand up and cry for help.
29 I have become a brother to jackals
and a companion of ostriches.[ey]
30 My skin has turned dark on me;[ez]
my body[fa] is hot with fever.[fb]
31 My harp is used for[fc] mourning
and my flute for the sound of weeping.
12 Now when I arrived in Troas[a] to proclaim the gospel of Christ, even though the Lord had opened[b] a door of opportunity[c] for me, 13 I had no relief in my spirit,[d] because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said goodbye to them[e] and set out[f] for Macedonia.
Apostolic Ministry
14 But thanks be to God who always leads us in triumphal procession[g] in Christ[h] and who makes known[i] through us the fragrance that consists of the knowledge of him in every place. 15 For we are a sweet aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing— 16 to the latter an odor[j] from death to death, but to the former a fragrance from life to life. And who is adequate for these things?[k] 17 For we are not like so many others, hucksters who peddle the word of God for profit,[l] but we are speaking in Christ before[m] God as persons of sincerity,[n] as persons sent from God.
Book 2 (Psalms 42-72)
Psalm 42[a]
For the music director, a well-written song[b] by the Korahites.
42 As a deer[c] longs[d] for streams of water,
so I long[e] for you, O God!
2 I thirst[f] for God,
for the living God.
I say,[g] “When will I be able to go and appear in God’s presence?”[h]
3 I cannot eat; I weep day and night.[i]
All day long they say to me,[j] “Where is your God?”
4 I will remember and weep.[k]
For I was once walking along with the great throng to the temple of God,
shouting and giving thanks along with the crowd as we celebrated the holy festival.[l]
5 Why are you depressed,[m] O my soul?[n]
Why are you upset?[o]
Wait[p] for God!
For I will again give thanks
to my God for his saving intervention.[q]
6 I am depressed,[r]
so I will pray to you while in the region of the upper Jordan,[s]
from Hermon,[t] from Mount Mizar.[u]
7 One deep stream calls out to another[v] at the sound of your waterfalls;[w]
all your billows and waves overwhelm me.[x]
8 By day the Lord decrees his loyal love,[y]
and by night he gives me a song,[z]
a prayer[aa] to the God of my life.
9 I will pray[ab] to God, my high ridge:[ac]
“Why do you ignore[ad] me?
Why must I walk around mourning[ae]
because my enemies oppress me?”
10 My enemies’ taunts cut me to the bone,[af]
as they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”[ag]
11 Why are you depressed,[ah] O my soul?[ai]
Why are you upset?[aj]
Wait for God!
For I will again give thanks
to my God for his saving intervention.[ak]
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