Job 28

Interlude: Where Wisdom Is Found

1 There is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined.
2 Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore.
3 Mortals put an end to the darkness; they search out the farthest recesses for ore in the blackest darkness.
4 Far from human dwellings they cut a shaft, in places untouched by human feet; far from other people they dangle and sway.
5 The earth, from which food comes, is transformed below as by fire;
6 lapis lazuli comes from its rocks, and its dust contains nuggets of gold.
7 No bird of prey knows that hidden path, no falcon’s eye has seen it.
8 Proud beasts do not set foot on it, and no lion prowls there.
9 People assault the flinty rock with their hands and lay bare the roots of the mountains.
10 They tunnel through the rock; their eyes see all its treasures.
11 They search[a] the sources of the rivers and bring hidden things to light.
12 But where can wisdom be found? Where does understanding dwell?
13 No mortal comprehends its worth; it cannot be found in the land of the living.
14 The deep says, “It is not in me”; the sea says, “It is not with me.”
15 It cannot be bought with the finest gold, nor can its price be weighed out in silver.
16 It cannot be bought with the gold of Ophir, with precious onyx or lapis lazuli.
17 Neither gold nor crystal can compare with it, nor can it be had for jewels of gold.
18 Coral and jasper are not worthy of mention; the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.
19 The topaz of Cush cannot compare with it; it cannot be bought with pure gold.
20 Where then does wisdom come from? Where does understanding dwell?
21 It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing, concealed even from the birds in the sky.
22 Destruction[b] and Death say, “Only a rumor of it has reached our ears.”
23 God understands the way to it and he alone knows where it dwells,
24 for he views the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.
25 When he established the force of the wind and measured out the waters,
26 when he made a decree for the rain and a path for the thunderstorm,
27 then he looked at wisdom and appraised it; he confirmed it and tested it.
28 And he said to the human race, “The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.”

Cross References 48

  • 1. Psalms 12:6; Psalms 66:10; Jeremiah 9:7; Daniel 11:35; Malachi 3:3
  • 2. Deuteronomy 8:9
  • 3. Ecclesiastes 1:13; Ecclesiastes 7:25; Ecclesiastes 8:17
  • 4. S Job 26:10; Job 38:19
  • 5. ver 10; 2 Samuel 5:8
  • 6. Genesis 1:29; Psalms 104:14; Psalms 145:15
  • 7. ver 16; Song of Songs 5:14; Isaiah 54:11
  • 8. S Job 22:24
  • 9. ver 21
  • 10. Job 41:34
  • 11. Isaiah 35:9
  • 12. S Deuteronomy 8:15
  • 13. John 2:6
  • 14. S ver 4
  • 15. Proverbs 2:4
  • 16. S Genesis 7:11
  • 17. Isaiah 48:6; Jeremiah 33:3
  • 18. ver 28; Proverbs 1:20; Proverbs 3:13-20; Proverbs 8:1; Proverbs 9:1-3; Ecclesiastes 7:24
  • 19. ver 20,23
  • 20. Proverbs 3:15; Matthew 13:44-46
  • 21. Deuteronomy 29:29; Psalms 27:13; Psalms 52:5; Psalms 116:9; Psalms 142:5; Isaiah 38:11; Jeremiah 11:19; Ezekiel 26:20; Ezekiel 32:24
  • 22. Psalms 42:7; Romans 10:7
  • 23. Deuteronomy 30:13
  • 24. ver 17; Proverbs 3:13-14; Proverbs 8:10-11; Proverbs 16:16; Acts 8:20
  • 25. S Genesis 10:29
  • 26. S ver 6; S Exodus 24:10
  • 27. Psalms 119:72; Proverbs 8:10
  • 28. S ver 15; Proverbs 16:16
  • 29. Ezekiel 27:16
  • 30. Revelation 21:11
  • 31. Proverbs 3:15; Proverbs 8:11
  • 32. Exodus 28:17
  • 33. Isaiah 11:11
  • 34. Proverbs 3:14-15; Proverbs 8:10-11,19; Proverbs 8:19
  • 35. S Job 9:4; ver 23,28
  • 36. ver 7
  • 37. S Job 20:26; S Revelation 9:11; Job 26:6
  • 38. Proverbs 8:32-36
  • 39. Ecclesiastes 3:11; Ecclesiastes 8:17
  • 40. S Job 9:4; S Job 22:22; Proverbs 8:22-31
  • 41. Job 36:32; Job 37:3; Job 38:18,24,35; Psalms 33:13-14; Psalms 66:7; Isaiah 11:12
  • 42. S Joshua 3:11; S Job 10:4; S Hebrews 4:13; Proverbs 15:3
  • 43. S Job 12:15; Job 38:8-11; Psalms 135:7
  • 44. Job 36:28; Job 37:6; Jeremiah 51:16
  • 45. Job 36:33; Job 37:3,8,11; Job 38:25,27; Psalms 65:12; Psalms 104:14; Psalms 147:8; Isaiah 35:7
  • 46. Proverbs 3:19; Proverbs 8:22-31
  • 47. Psalms 11:5; Psalms 97:10; Proverbs 3:7; Proverbs 8:13
  • 48. S Exodus 20:20; S Deuteronomy 4:6; S Job 37:24; Psalms 111:10; Proverbs 1:7; Proverbs 9:10

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. Septuagint, Aquila and Vulgate; Hebrew "They dam up"
  • [b]. Hebrew "Abaddon"

Job 28 Commentaries

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