Job 28
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Surely there is a vein for the silver, and a place for gold where they fine it.
2 Iron is taken out of the earth, and brass is molten out of the stone.
3 He setteth an end to darkness, and searcheth out all perfection: the stones of darkness, and the shadow of death.
4 The flood breaketh out from the inhabitant; even the waters forgotten of the foot: they are dried up, they are gone away from men.
5 As for the earth, out of it cometh bread: and under it is turned up as it were fire.
6 The stones of it are the place of sapphires: and it hath dust of gold.
7 There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture's eye hath not seen:
8 The lion's whelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it.
9 He putteth forth his hand upon the rock; he overturneth the mountains by the roots.
10 He cutteth out rivers among the rocks; and his eye seeth every precious thing.
11 He bindeth the floods from overflowing; and the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light.
12 But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding?
13 Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living.
14 The depth saith, It is not in me: and the sea saith, It is not with me.
15 It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof.
16 It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire.
17 The gold and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold.
18 No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies.
19 The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold.
20 Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding?
21 Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air.
22 Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears.
23 God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof.
24 For he looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven;
25 To make the weight for the winds; and he weigheth the waters by measure.
26 When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder:
27 Then did he see it, and declare it; he prepared it, yea, and searched it out.
28 And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.
Public Domain KJV text from Wordproject.org
Job 28:1-28
Job Continues: Where Is Wisdom?
1“Surely there is a mine for silver,
and a place for gold that they refine.
2Iron is taken out of the earth,
and copper is smelted from the ore.
3Man puts an end to darkness
and searches out to the farthest limit
the ore in gloom and deep darkness.
4He opens shafts in a valley away from where anyone lives;
they are forgotten by travelers;
they hang in the air, far away from mankind; they swing to and fro.
5As for the earth, out of it comes bread,
but underneath it is turned up as by fire.
6Its stones are the place of sapphires,
and it has dust of gold.
7“That path no bird of prey knows,
and the falcon’s eye has not seen it.
8The proud beasts have not trodden it;
the lion has not passed over it.
9“Man puts his hand to the flinty rock
and overturns mountains by the roots.
10He cuts out channels in the rocks,
and his eye sees every precious thing.
11He dams up the streams so that they do not trickle,
and the thing that is hidden he brings out to light.
12“But where shall wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?
13Man does not know its worth,
and it is not found in the land of the living.
14The deep says, ‘It is not in me,’
and the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’
15It cannot be bought for gold,
and silver cannot be weighed as its price.
16It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,
in precious onyx or sapphire.
17Gold and glass cannot equal it,
nor can it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.
18No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal;
the price of wisdom is above pearls.
19The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it,
nor can it be valued in pure gold.
20“From where, then, does wisdom come?
And where is the place of understanding?
21It is hidden from the eyes of all living
and concealed from the birds of the air.
22Abaddon and Death say,
‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’
23“God understands the way to it,
and he knows its place.
24For he looks to the ends of the earth
and sees everything under the heavens.
25When he gave to the wind its weight
and apportioned the waters by measure,
26when he made a decree for the rain
and a way for the lightning of the thunder,
27then he saw it and declared it;
he established it, and searched it out.
28And he said to man,
‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,
and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”
ESV Bible text displayed through the American Bible Society's Global Bible Widget
Job 28:1-28
Interlude: Where Wisdom Is Found
1There is a mine for silver
and a place where gold is refined.
2Iron is taken from the earth,
and copper is smelted from ore.
3Mortals put an end to the darkness;
they search out the farthest recesses
for ore in the blackest darkness.
4Far from human dwellings they cut a shaft,
in places untouched by human feet;
far from other people they dangle and sway.
5The earth, from which food comes,
is transformed below as by fire;
6lapis lazuli comes from its rocks,
and its dust contains nuggets of gold.
7No bird of prey knows that hidden path,
no falcon’s eye has seen it.
8Proud beasts do not set foot on it,
and no lion prowls there.
9People assault the flinty rock with their hands
and lay bare the roots of the mountains.
10They tunnel through the rock;
their eyes see all its treasures.
11They search the sources of the rivers
and bring hidden things to light.
12But where can wisdom be found?
Where does understanding dwell?
13No mortal comprehends its worth;
it cannot be found in the land of the living.
14The deep says, “It is not in me”;
the sea says, “It is not with me.”
15It cannot be bought with the finest gold,
nor can its price be weighed out in silver.
16It cannot be bought with the gold of Ophir,
with precious onyx or lapis lazuli.
17Neither gold nor crystal can compare with it,
nor can it be had for jewels of gold.
18Coral and jasper are not worthy of mention;
the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.
19The topaz of Cush cannot compare with it;
it cannot be bought with pure gold.
20Where then does wisdom come from?
Where does understanding dwell?
21It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing,
concealed even from the birds in the sky.
22Destruction and Death say,
“Only a rumor of it has reached our ears.”
23God understands the way to it
and he alone knows where it dwells,
24for he views the ends of the earth
and sees everything under the heavens.
25When he established the force of the wind
and measured out the waters,
26when he made a decree for the rain
and a path for the thunderstorm,
27then he looked at wisdom and appraised it;
he confirmed it and tested it.
28And he said to the human race,
“The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom,
and to shun evil is understanding.”
NIV Bible text displayed through the American Bible Society's Global Bible Widget
Commentary
Where does wisdom come from? There are many ways humans harvest the wealth of the earth—reaping its vegetation for food, mining its minerals—even to the point of uprooting mountains, as it were, in their quest, manipulating nature in almost manic domination, always seeking a greater good.
But that is not the essence of wisdom. No bird or animal has seen it; the depths of earth or sea, even of death and the grave, are not the place of insight. None who breathes can tell the nature of wisdom, aside from Him who designed it. So God says, “Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to turn away from evil is understanding” (v. 28).
Proverbs 3:18, 19 speak of God’s creating the earth by wisdom, and 8:22-31 offers the perspective of wisdom’s viewpoint on a wide spectrum of that generative
activity, suggesting that wisdom includes the Design Law by which everything operates.
Job 28:25-27 references God’s giving weight to wind,measuring waters, making rules for rain and lightning and thunder, and at that time seeing and establishing
wisdom…indicating great change in nature.
Is Job in these verses reflecting the oral tradition of Noah’s Flood?
Virginia Davidson
Artist (designs and builds stain-glassed windows)
Spokane Valley Seventh-day Adventist Church, Washington USA
