Job 28:4-27
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 28
4He sinks a shaft away from inhabited areas, Forgotten by the foot; They hang and swing, away from people. 5 From the earth comes food, And underneath, it is turned over like fire. 6Its rocks are the source of sapphires, And its dust contains gold. 7No bird of prey knows the path, Nor has the falcon’s eye caught sight of it. 8The proud animals have not trodden it, Nor has the lion passed over it. 9He puts his hand on the flint; He overturns the mountains at the base. 10He carves out channels through the rocks, And his eye sees anything precious. 11He dams up the streams from flowing, And brings to light what is hidden. 12'But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? 13Mankind does not know its value, Nor is it found in the land of the living. 14The ocean depth says, ‘It is not in me’; And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’ 15Pure gold cannot be given in exchange for it, Nor can silver be weighed as its price. 16It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, In precious onyx, or sapphire. 17Gold or glass cannot equal it, Nor can it be exchanged for articles of pure gold. 18Coral and crystal are not to be mentioned; And the acquisition of wisdom is more valuable than pearls. 19The topaz of Cush cannot equal it, Nor can it be valued in pure gold. 20Where then does wisdom come from? And where is this place of understanding? 21It is hidden from the eyes of every living creature, And concealed from the birds of the sky. 22 Abaddon and Death say, ‘With our ears we have heard a report of it.’ 23'God understands its way, And He knows its place. 24For He looks to the ends of the earth; He sees everything under the heavens. 25When He imparted weight to the wind, And assessed the waters by measure, 26When He made a limit for the rain, And a course for the thunderbolt, 27Then He saw it and declared it; He established it and also searched it out.King James Version
11He bindeth the floods from overflowing; and the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light.
12But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding?
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 28
4He cuts a shaft far from human habitation, in places unknown to those who walk above ground. Suspended far away from people, the miners swing back and forth. 5Food may come from the earth, but below the surface the earth is transformed as by fire. 6Its rocks are a source of lapis lazuli, containing flecks of gold. 7No bird of prey knows that path; no falcon’s eye has seen it. 8Proud beasts have never walked on it; no lion has ever prowled over it. 9The miner uses a flint tool and turns up ore from the root of the mountains. 10He cuts out channels in the rocks, and his eyes spot every treasure.
11He dams up the streams from flowing so that he may bring to light what is hidden.
12But where can wisdom be found, and where is understanding located?
13No one can know its value, since it cannot be found in the land of the living.
14The ocean depths say, "It’s not in me," while the sea declares, "I don’t have it."
15Gold cannot be exchanged for it, and silver cannot be weighed out for its price.
16Wisdom cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx or lapis lazuli.
17Gold and glass do not compare with it, and articles of fine gold cannot be exchanged for it.
18Coral and quartz are not worth mentioning. The price of wisdom is beyond pearls.
19Topaz from Cush cannot compare with it, and it cannot be valued in pure gold.
20Where then does wisdom come from, and where is understanding located?
21It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing and concealed from the birds of the sky.
22Abaddon and Death say, "We have heard news of it with our ears."
23But God understands the way to wisdom, and he knows its location.
24For he looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.
25When God fixed the weight of the wind and distributed the water by measure,
26when he established a limit for the rain and a path for the lightning,
27he considered wisdom and evaluated it; he established it and examined it.
New Living Translation
Chapter 28
4They sink a mine shaft into the earth far from where anyone lives. They descend on ropes, swinging back and forth. 5Food is grown on the earth above, but down below, the earth is melted as by fire. 6Here the rocks contain precious lapis lazuli, and the dust contains gold. 7These are treasures no bird of prey can see, no falcon’s eye observe. 8No wild animal has walked upon these treasures; no lion has ever set his paw there. 9People know how to tear apart flinty rocks and overturn the roots of mountains. 10They cut tunnels in the rocks and uncover precious stones. 11They dam up the trickling streams and bring to light the hidden treasures.
12'But do people know where to find wisdom? Where can they find understanding?
13No one knows where to find it, for it is not found among the living.
14‘It is not here,’ says the ocean. ‘Nor is it here,’ says the sea.
15It cannot be bought with gold. It cannot be purchased with silver.
16It’s worth more than all the gold of Ophir, greater than precious onyx or lapis lazuli.
17Wisdom is more valuable than gold and crystal. It cannot be purchased with jewels mounted in fine gold.
18Coral and jasper are worthless in trying to get it. The price of wisdom is far above rubies.
19Precious peridot from Ethiopia cannot be exchanged for it. It’s worth more than the purest gold.
20'But do people know where to find wisdom? Where can they find understanding?
21It is hidden from the eyes of all humanity. Even the sharp-eyed birds in the sky cannot discover it.
22Destruction and Death say, ‘We’ve heard only rumors of where wisdom can be found.’
23'God alone understands the way to wisdom; he knows where it can be found,
24for he looks throughout the whole earth and sees everything under the heavens.
25He decided how hard the winds should blow and how much rain should fall.
26He made the laws for the rain and laid out a path for the lightning.
27Then he saw wisdom and evaluated it. He set it in place and examined it thoroughly.
English Standard Version
Chapter 28
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. 8 The 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. 14 The 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. 19 The 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. 22 Abaddon 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.New International Version
Chapter 28
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.
New King James Version
