Old/New Testament
Priceless Wisdom is Sourced in God
28 “Surely there are mines for silver
and places where gold is refined.
2 Iron is taken from the ground;[a]
and copper is smelted from ore.
3 Mankind limits the darkness
as they search the deepest depths
for ore[b] in unfathomable darkness.
4 He sinks his shaft far from human habitations,
in a place[c] forgotten by explorers;
they hang on harnesses
as they swing back and forth.
5 “While the ground produces food,
underneath it is torn up and burning hot,[d]
6 where stones are sapphire
and gold dust can be found,
7 a place where birds of prey never fly,
and the eyes of the falcon have never seen.
8 The proud beasts haven’t walked there;
lions have never passed over it.
9 “Using a flint, he thrusts his hand,
overturning mountains by the roots.
10 He cuts a channel through the rocks,
while his eyes search for anything of value.
11 He dams up flowing rivers,
bringing hidden things to light.”
Wisdom is of Greater Value than Precious Stones
12 “Where can wisdom be found?
Where is understanding’s home?
13 Mankind doesn’t appreciate their value;
and you won’t find it anywhere on earth.[e]
14 The deepest ocean says, ‘It’s not within me.’
and the sea says, ‘You’ll never find it with me.’
15 You can’t buy it with gold,
and its value cannot be calculated in silver.
16 It cannot be compared to gold from Ophir,[f]
with precious onyx, or with sapphire.
17 It cannot be compared to gold and fine glass[g] crystal,
nor can it be exchanged for gold-plated weaponry.[h]
18 Don’t even bother to mention coral and crystal—
wisdom is more valuable than a bag of rubies.[i]
19 It can neither be compared with the topaz of Ethiopia
nor valued in comparison to pure gold.”
Wisdom is from God
20 “From where, then, does wisdom originate?
Where does understanding live?[j]
21 It has been concealed from the sight of every living creature
and hidden even from the birds in the skies.
22 Abaddon[k] and death said,
‘We did hear a rumor about it.’
23 God understands how to get there;
he knows where they live.[l]
24 For he looks as far as the ends of the earth
and sees everything under the sky.[m]
25 “He imparted weight to the wind;
he regulated water by his measurement.
26 He set in place ordinances for the rain;
and determined the pathway for thunder that accompanies lightning.[n]
27 Then he looked at wisdom,
and fixed it in place;
he established it,
and also examined it.
28 He has commanded mankind:
‘To fear the Lord—that is wisdom;
to move away from evil—that is understanding.’”
Job Wishes for the Old Days
29 Then Job continued with his discourse:
2 “I wish I could go back to how things were a few months ago;
when God used to watch over me,
3 when his lamp used to shine over my head,
so I could walk through the dark,
4 like when I was in my prime
and God trusted me with his secrets![o]
5 “The Almighty was still with me back then,
and my children were still around me.
6 I was successful wherever I went,[p]
and even the rocks poured out streams of olive oil for me.”
Job Remembers His Respected Position
7 “Whenever I went out to the city gate,
a seat had been reserved for me in the plaza.[q]
8 The young men would see me and withdraw,
and the aged would rise and stand.
9 Nobles would refrain from speaking,
covering their mouths with their hands.
10 The voices of the commanders-in-chief[r] were hushed,
and their tongues would cling to the roofs of their mouths.”
Job Remembers His Acts of Kindness
11 “When people heard me speak, they blessed me;
when people saw me, they approved me,
12 because I delivered the poor who were crying for help,
along with orphans who had no one to help them.
13 Those who were about to die blessed me,
and I made widows sing for joy.
14 I put on righteousness like clothing;
my just decisions were like a robe and a turban.
15 I served as eyes for the blind
and feet for the lame.
16 I was a father to the needy;
I diligently inquired into the case of those I didn’t know.
17 I broke the fangs of the wicked,
and made him drop the prey.”
Job Remembers His Previous Condition
18 “I used to say: ‘I will die in my home.[s]
I’m going to live as many days
as there are grains of sand on the shore.[t]
19 My roots have spread out and have found water,
and dew settles at night on my branches.
20 My glory renews for me
and my bow is as good as new in my hand.’
21 “They listened and waited for me,
as they remained in silence for my counsel.
22 After I spoke, they had nothing to say,
when what I said hit them.
23 They waited for me as one waits for rain,
as one opens his mouth to drink in a spring rain shower.
24 I smiled at them when they had no confidence,
and no one could discourage me.
25 I set an example of the way to live,[u] as a leader would;
I lived like a king among his army;
like one who comforts mourners.”
Barnabas and Saul Travel to Cyprus
13 Now Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius from Cyrene, Manaen, who grew up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul were prophets and teachers in the church at Antioch. 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set Barnabas and Saul apart for me to do the work for which I called them.” 3 Then they fasted and prayed, laid their hands on them, and let them go. 4 After they had been sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went to Seleucia and from there sailed to Cyprus. 5 Arriving in Salamis, they began to preach God’s word in the Jewish synagogues. They also had John to help them.
6 They went through the whole island as far as Paphos, where they found a Jewish occult practitioner and false prophet named Bar-jesus. 7 He was associated with the proconsul Sergius Paulus, who was an intelligent man. He sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the occult practitioner (that is the meaning of his name) continued to oppose them and tried to turn the proconsul away from the faith. 9 But Saul, also known as[a] Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked him straight in the eye 10 and said, “You’re full of every form of deception and trickery, you son of the Devil, you enemy of all that is right! You’ll never stop perverting the straight ways of the Lord, will you? 11 The[b] Lord is against you now, and you’ll be blind and unable to see the sun for a while!” At that moment a dark mist came over him, and he went around looking for someone to lead him by the hand. 12 When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, because he was astonished at the Lord’s teaching.
Paul and Barnabas Go to Antioch in Pisidia
13 Then Paul and his men set sail from Paphos and arrived in Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them and went back to Jerusalem. 14 They left Perga and arrived in Antioch in Pisidia. On the Sabbath day, they went into the synagogue and sat down. 15 After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the synagogue leaders asked them,[c] “Brothers, if you have any message of encouragement[d] for the people, you may speak.”
16 Then Paul stood up, motioned with his hand, and said:
“Men of Israel and you who fear God, listen! 17 The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors and made them a great people during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with a public display of power[e] he led them out of there. 18 After he had put up with[f] them for 40 years in the wilderness, 19 he destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan. Then God gave their land to the Israelis[g] as an inheritance 20 for about 450 years.
“After that, he gave them judges until the time of the prophet Samuel. 21 When they demanded a king, God gave them Kish’s son Saul, from the tribe of Benjamin, for 40 years. 22 Then God[h] removed Saul[i] and made David their king, about whom he testified, ‘I have found that David, the son of Jesse, is a man after my own heart, who will carry out all my wishes.’[j] 23 It was from this man’s descendants that God, as he promised, brought to Israel a Savior, who is Jesus. 24 Before Jesus’ appearance, John had already preached a baptism of repentance to all the people in Israel. 25 When John was finishing his work, he said, ‘Who do you think I am? I’m not the Messiah.[k] No, but he is coming after me, and I’m not worthy to untie the sandals on his feet.’
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