28
Job Tells of Earth’s Treasures
1 “Surely there is a 1Or sourcemine for silver
And a place 2Lit for gold they refinewhere they refine gold.
2 “Iron is taken from the dust,
And copper is smelted from rock.
3 “Man puts an end to darkness,
And AEccl 1:13to the farthest limit he searches out
The rock in gloom and deep shadow.
Forgotten by the foot;
They hang and swing to and fro far from men.
5 “The earth, from it comes food,
And underneath it is turned up as fire.
6 “Its rocks are the 1Or placesource of sapphires,
And its dust contains gold.
7 “The path no bird of prey knows,
Nor has the falcon’s eye caught sight of it.
8 “The 1Lit sons of prideproud beasts have not trodden it,
Nor has the fierce lion passed over it.
9 “He puts his hand on the flint;
He overturns the mountains at the 1Lit rootsbase.
10 “He hews out channels through the rocks,
And his eye sees anything precious.
11 “He dams up the streams from 1Lit weepingflowing,
And what is hidden he brings out to the light.
The Search for Wisdom Is Harder
12 “But AJob 28:23, 28; Eccl 7:24where can wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?
13 “AMatt 13:44-46Man does not know its value,
Nor is it found in the land of the living.
14 “The deep says, ‘It is not in me’;
And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’
15 “AProv 3:13, 14; 8:10, 11; 16:16Pure gold cannot be given in exchange for it,
Nor can silver be weighed as its price.
16 “It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,
In precious onyx, or sapphire.
17 “AProv 8:10; 16:16Gold or glass cannot equal it,
Nor can it be exchanged for articles of fine gold.
18 “Coral and crystal are not to be mentioned;
And the acquisition of AProv 8:11wisdom is above that of pearls.
19 “The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it,
Nor can it be valued in AProv 8:19pure gold.
20 “AJob 28:23, 28Where then does wisdom come from?
And where is the place of understanding?
21 “Thus it is hidden from the eyes of all living
And concealed from the birds of the sky.
‘With our ears we have heard a report of it.’
23 “AJob 9:4; Prov 8:22-36God understands its way,
And He knows its place.
24 “For He APs 11:4; 33:13, 14; 66:7; Prov 15:3looks to the ends of the earth
And sees everything under the heavens.
25 “When He imparted APs 135:7weight to the wind
And BJob 12:15; 38:8-11meted out the waters by measure,
26 When He set a AJob 37:6, 11, 12; 38:26-28limit for the rain
And a course for the BJob 37:3; 38:25thunderbolt,
27 Then He saw it and declared it;
He established it and also searched it out.
28 “And to man He said, ‘Behold, the APs 111:10; Prov 1:7; 9:10; Eccl 12:13fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;
And to depart from evil is understanding.’ ”
128:1 Or source
228:1 Lit for gold they refine
128:4 Lit breaks open
228:4 Lit sojourning
128:6 Or place
128:8 Lit sons of pride
128:9 Lit roots
128:11 Lit weeping
A28:12 Job 28:23, 28; Eccl 7:24
A28:15 Prov 3:13, 14; 8:10, 11; 16:16
A28:20 Job 28:23, 28
128:22 I.e. Destruction
A28:24 Ps 11:4; 33:13, 14; 66:7; Prov 15:3
A28:26 Job 37:6, 11, 12; 38:26-28
A28:28 Ps 111:10; Prov 1:7; 9:10; Eccl 12:13