The Book of Job

Chapter-28

Job 28:1 Silver has its fissures where it is first found, and gold has a place where it is melted.

 

Job 28:2 Iron is taken from the earth, and ore, unbound by heat, is turned into brass.

 

Job 28:3 He has established a time for darkness, and he has settled on an end for all things, as well as for the stone that is in the gloom and shadow of death.

 

Job 28:4 The burning separates a pilgrim people from those who have been forgotten by the feet of the destitute man and from the unapproachable.

 

Job 28:5 The land, where bread appeared in its place, has been destroyed by fire.

 

Job 28:6 Its stones are embedded with sapphires, and its soil, with gold.

 

Job 28:7 The bird does not know its path, nor has the eye of the vulture beheld it.

 

Job 28:8 The sons of merchants have not walked there, nor has the lioness traveled through it.

 

Job 28:9 He has stretched out his hand to the rocks; he has overturned the foundations of the mountains.

 

Job 28:10 He has cut rivers through the rocks, and his eye has seen all precious things.

 

Job 28:11 The depths of rivers he has also examined, and he has brought hidden things into the light.

 

Job 28:12 But, in truth, where is wisdom to be found, and where is the place of understanding?

 

Job 28:13 Man does not know its price, nor is it found in the land of those who live in sweetness.

 

Job 28:14 The abyss declares, “It is not in me.” And the sea says, “It is not with me.”

 

Job 28:15 The finest gold will not be paid for it, nor will silver be weighed in exchange for it.

 

Job 28:16 It will not be compared with the dyed colors of India, nor with the very costly stone sardonyx, nor with the sapphire.

 

Job 28:17 Neither gold nor crystal will be its equal; neither will vessels of gold be fitted for it.

 

Job 28:18 The exalted and the eminent will not be remembered in comparison with it. Yet wisdom is drawn out of concealment.

 

Job 28:19 The topaz of Ethiopia will not be equal to it, nor will it be compared to the purest dyes.

 

Job 28:20 So then, where does wisdom begin, and where is the place of understanding?

 

Job 28:21 It has been hidden from the eyes of all living things, just as the birds of the heavens escape notice.

 

Job 28:22 Perdition and death have said, “With our ears, we have heard its fame.”

 

Job 28:23 God understands its way, and he knows its location.

 

Job 28:24 For he beholds the limits of the world, and he looks upon all things that are under heaven.

 

Job 28:25 He created a counterweight for the winds, and he suspended the waters to measure them.

 

Job 28:26 At that time, he gave a law to the rain and a path to the resounding storms.

 

Job 28:27 Then he saw and explained it, and he made ready and examined it.

 

Job 28:28 And he said to man, “Behold the fear of the Lord. Such is wisdom. And to withdraw from evil, this is understanding.”