Job 28:14

14 The Deep says, "It's not with me"; the Sea says, "Not alongside me!"

Job 28:14 Meaning and Commentary

Job 28:14

The depth saith, it [is] not in me
That is, the deep places of the earth, that are dug in it, the mines, and the like, could they speak, they would say there are no metal, nor minerals, no rich treasures of gold and silver ore, of pearls and precious stones, in the bowels of it, that are of the value of wisdom, or to be compared to it:

and the sea saith, [it is] not with me;
had that a voice to speak, it would freely declare, that there is nothing in its vast compass, at the bottom of it, or to be got out of it, as corals that grow in it, and pearls fished from thence, after mentioned, that are a sufficient price for wisdom. Some understand these words, the former part of miners and colliers, and such sort of men, that dig and live in the depths of the earth; and the latter part of mariners, that are employed on the sea, who are generally ignorant and carnal men, and void of the knowledge of wisdom in every view of it; but the sense first given is best.

Job 28:14 In-Context

12 But wisdom, where can it be found; where is the place of understanding?

13 Humankind doesn't know its value; it isn't found in the land of the living.

14 The Deep says, "It's not with me"; the Sea says, "Not alongside me!"

15 It can't be bought with gold; its price can't be measured in silver,

16 can't be weighed against gold from Ophir, with precious onyx or lapis lazuli.

Footnotes

• [a]. Heb Tehom, a reference to a divine being in the grave or underworld
• [b]. Heb Yam, a sea god