Job 28–30

28TH CHAPTER

Job Continues: Wisdom Is Inaccessible to Humans

¹“There is a place where silver is mined 

and a place where gold is refined. 

²Iron is taken from the ground, 

and rocks are melted for ⸤their⸥ copper. 

³⸤Humans⸥ bring an end to darkness ⸤there⸥ 

and search to the limit of the gloomy, pitch-black rock. 

⁴They open up a mineshaft far from civilization, 

where no one has set foot. 

⸤In this shaft⸥ men dangle and swing back and forth. 

⁵“Above the ground food grows, 

but beneath it the food decays as if ⸤it were burned⸥ by fire. 

⁶That place’s stones are sapphire. 

Its dust contains gold. 

⁷No bird of prey knows the way to it. 

No hawk’s eye has ever seen it. 

⁸No proud beast has ever walked on it. 

No ferocious lion has ever passed over it. 

⁹“Humans exert their power on the flinty rocks 

and overturn mountains at their base. 

¹⁰They cut out mineshafts in the rocks. 

Their eyes see every precious thing. 

¹¹They explore^bthe sources of rivers 

so that they bring hidden treasures to light. 

Wisdom Is Inaccessible to Decay and Death

¹²“Where can wisdom be found? 

Where does understanding live? 

¹³No mortal knows where it is.^c

It cannot be found in this world of the living. 

¹⁴The deep ocean says, ‘It isn’t in me.’ 

The sea says, ‘It isn’t with me.’ 

¹⁵You cannot obtain it with solid gold 

or buy it for any amount of silver. 

¹⁶It can’t be bought with the gold from Ophir 

or with precious onyx or sapphire. 

¹⁷Neither gold nor glass can equal its value. 

Nor can gold ornaments, jewels, or crystal 

¹⁸be exchanged for it. 

Wisdom is more valuable than gems. 

¹⁹Topaz from Ethiopia cannot equal its value. 

It cannot be bought for ⸤any amount of⸥ pure gold. 

²⁰“Where does wisdom come from? 

Where does understanding live? 

²¹It is hidden from the eyes of every living being, 

hidden even from the birds in the air. 

²²Decay and Death say, 

‘We’ve heard a rumor about it.’ 

Wisdom Is Accessible Only to the Creator

²³“God understands the way to it. 

He knows where it lives 

²⁴because he can see to the ends of the earth 

and observe everything under heaven. 

²⁵When he gave the wind its force 

and measured the water ⸤in the sea⸥, 

²⁶when he made rules for the rain 

and set paths for the thunderstorms, 

²⁷then he saw it and announced it. 

He confirmed it and examined it. 

²⁸So he told humans, 

‘The fear of the Lord is wisdom! 

To stay away from evil is understanding.’ ” 

29TH CHAPTER

Job Continues: My Glorious Past

¹Job continued his poems and said, 

²“If only my life could be like it used to be, 

in the days when God watched over me, 

³when he made his lamp shine on my head, 

when I walked through the dark in his light. 

⁴If only I were in the prime of my life ⸤again⸥, 

when God was an adviser in my tent. 

⁵When the Almighty was still with me 

and my children were around me, 

⁶my steps were bathed in buttermilk, 

and the rocks poured streams of olive oil on me. 

⁷When I went through the city gate 

and took my seat in the town square, 

⁸young men saw me and kept out of sight. 

Old men stood up straight out of respect ⸤for me⸥. 

⁹Princes held back ⸤their⸥ words 

and put their hands over their mouths. 

¹⁰The voices of nobles were hushed, 

and their tongues stuck to the roofs of their mouths. 

¹¹“⸤Any⸥ ears that heard me blessed me. 

⸤Any⸥ eyes that saw me spoke well of me, 

¹²because I rescued the poor who called ⸤for help⸥ 

and the orphans who had no one to help them. 

¹³I received a blessing from the dying. 

I made the widow’s heart sing for joy. 

¹⁴I put on righteousness, and it was my clothing. 

I practiced justice, and it was my robe and my turban. 

¹⁵I was eyes for the blind person. 

I was feet for the lame person. 

¹⁶I was father to the needy. 

I carefully investigated cases brought by strangers. 

¹⁷I broke the teeth of the wicked person 

and made him drop the prey out of his mouth. 

¹⁸“I thought, ‘I may die in my own house, 

but I will make my days as numerous as the sand. 

¹⁹My roots will grow toward the water, 

and dew will lie on my branches all night. 

²⁰My power will be fresh ⸤every day⸥, 

and the bow in my hand will remain new.’ 

²¹“People listened to me eagerly, 

quietly waiting for my advice. 

²²After I had spoken, they wouldn’t speak again. 

After all, my words fell gently on them. 

²³They were as eager to hear me as they were for rain. 

They opened their mouths wide as if waiting for a spring shower. 

²⁴When I smiled at them, they could hardly believe it, 

but the expression on my face did not change. 

²⁵I decided how they should live. 

I sat as their leader. 

I lived like a king among his troops, 

like one who comforts mourners. 

30TH CHAPTER

Job Talks about His Present Misery

¹“But now those who are younger than I am laugh at me. 

I didn’t think their fathers were fit to sit with the dogs of my flock. 

²Of what use to me was the strength of their hands? 

Their strength is gone. 

³Shriveled up from need and hunger, 

they gnaw at the dry and barren ground during the night. 

⁴They pick saltwort from the underbrush, 

and the roots of the broom plant are their food.^b

⁵They are driven from the community. 

People shout at them in the same way they shout at thieves. 

⁶They have to live in dry riverbeds, 

in holes in the ground, and among rocks. 

⁷They howl in bushes 

and huddle together under thornbushes. 

⁸Godless fools and worthless people 

are forced out of the land with whips. 

⁹“And now they make fun of me with songs. 

I have become a joke to them. 

¹⁰Since they consider me disgusting, they keep their distance from me 

and don’t hesitate to spit in my face. 

¹¹Because God has untied my cord and has made me suffer, 

they are no longer restrained in my presence. 

¹²They have attacked me on my right side like a mob. 

They trip my feet 

and then prepare ways to destroy me. 

¹³Yes, they remove all traces of my path in order to destroy me. 

No one is there to help me against them. 

¹⁴They come through a wide hole ⸤in the wall⸥. 

They crawl through the ruins. 

¹⁵Terrors are directed toward me. 

They blow away my dignity like the wind. 

My prosperity vanishes like a cloud. 

¹⁶“Now my life is pouring out of me. 

Days of suffering seize me. 

¹⁷At night God pierces my bones. 

My bodydoesn’t rest. 

¹⁸With great strength he grabs my clothes. 

He seizes me by the collar of my robe. 

¹⁹He throws me into the dirt 

so that I become like dust and ashes.” 

Job Calls on God for Help

²⁰“I call to you for help, 

but you don’t answer me. 

I stand up, but you just look at me. 

²¹You have begun to treat me cruelly. 

With your mighty hand you assault me. 

²²You pick me up and let the wind carry me away. 

You toss me around with a storm. 

²³I know you will lead me to death, 

to the dwelling place appointed for all living beings.” 

Job Says: I Am Being Punished by God

²⁴“But God doesn’t stretch out his hand against one who is ruined 

when that person calls for help in his disaster. 

²⁵Didn’t I cry for the person whose days were difficult? 

Didn’t my soul grieve for the poor? 

²⁶When I waited for good, evil came. 

When I looked for light, darkness came. 

²⁷My insides are churning and won’t calm down. 

Days of misery are ahead of me. 

²⁸I walk in the dark without the sun. 

I stand up in public and call for help. 

²⁹I’m a brother to jackals 

and a companion of ostriches. 

³⁰My skin turns dark and peels. 

My body burns with fever. 

³¹So my lyre is used for mourning 

and my flute for loud weeping.