Job 27:1–28:28
1 Then Job 1continued his adiscourse and said,
2 “As God lives, awho has taken away my right,
And the Almighty, bwho has embittered my soul,
3 For as long as 1life is in me,
And the 2abreath of God is in my nostrils,
4 My lips certainly will not speak unjustly,
Nor will amy tongue mutter deceit.
5 “Far be it from me that I should declare you right;
Till I die aI will not put away my integrity from me.
6 “I ahold fast my righteousness and will not let it go.
My heart does not reproach any of my days.
7 “May my enemy be as the wicked
And 1my opponent as the unjust.
8 “For what is athe hope of the godless 1when he is cut off,
9 “Will God ahear his cry
When bdistress comes upon him?
10 “Will he take adelight in the Almighty?
Will he call on God at all times?
11 “I will instruct you in the 1power of God;
What is with the Almighty I will not conceal.
12 “Behold, all of you have seen it;
Why then do you 1act foolishly?
13 “This is athe portion of a wicked man from God,
And the inheritance which btyrants receive from the Almighty.
14 “Though his sons are many, 1they are destined afor the sword;
And his bdescendants will not be satisfied with bread.
15 “His survivors will be buried because of the plague,
And 1their awidows will not be able to weep.
16 “Though he piles up silver like dust
And prepares garments as plentiful as the clay,
17 He may prepare it, abut the just will wear it
And the innocent will divide the silver.
18 “He has built his ahouse like the 1spider’s web,
Or as a hut which the watchman has made.
19 “He lies down rich, but never 1again;
He opens his eyes, and ait is no longer.
20 “aTerrors overtake him like a flood;
A tempest steals him away bin the night.
21 “The east awind carries him away, and he is gone,
For it whirls him baway from his place.
22 “For it will hurl at him awithout sparing;
He will surely try to bflee from its 1power.
23 “Men will clap their hands at him
And will ahiss him from his place.
Job Tells of Earth’s Treasures
1 “Surely there is a 1mine for silver
And a place 2where they refine gold.
2 “Iron is taken from the dust,
And copper is smelted from rock.
3 “Man puts an end to darkness,
And ato the farthest limit he searches out
The rock in gloom and deep shadow.
4 “He 1sinks a shaft far from 2habitation,
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 1source 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 1proud 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 1base.
10 “He hews out channels through the rocks,
And his eye sees anything precious.
11 “He dams up the streams from 1flowing,
And what is hidden he brings out to the light.
The Search for Wisdom Is Harder
12 “But awhere can wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?
13 “aMan 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 “aPure 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 “aGold 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 awisdom is above that of pearls.
19 “The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it,
Nor can it be valued in apure gold.
20 “aWhere 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 “aGod understands its way,
And He knows its place.
24 “For He alooks to the ends of the earth
And sees everything under the heavens.
25 “When He imparted aweight to the wind
And bmeted out the waters by measure,
26 When He set a alimit for the rain
And a course for the bthunderbolt,
27 Then He saw it and declared it;
He established it and also searched it out.
28 “And to man He said, ‘Behold, the afear of the Lord, that is wisdom;
And to depart from evil is understanding.’ ”