Job 27:1–28:28

Job Maintains His Integrity

27 Moreover Job continued his discourse, and said:

2 “As God lives, awho has taken away my justice,

And the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter,

3 As long as my breath is in me,

And the breath of God in my nostrils,

4 My lips will not speak wickedness,

Nor my tongue utter deceit.

5 Far be it from me

That I should say you are right;

Till I die bI will not put away my integrity from me.

6 My righteousness I chold fast, and will not let it go;

dMy heart shall not 1reproach me as long as I live.

7 “May my enemy be like the wicked,

And he who rises up against me like the unrighteous.

8 eFor what is the hope of the hypocrite,

Though he may gain much,

If God takes away his life?

9 fWill God hear his cry

When trouble comes upon him?

10 gWill he delight himself in the Almighty?

Will he always call on God?

11 “I will teach you 2about the hand of God;

What is with the Almighty I will not conceal.

12 Surely all of you have seen it;

Why then do you behave with complete nonsense?

13 “This his the portion of a wicked man with God,

And the heritage of oppressors, received from the Almighty:

14 iIf his children are multiplied, it is for the sword;

And his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread.

15 Those who survive him shall be buried in death,

And jtheir 3widows shall not weep,

16 Though he heaps up silver like dust,

And piles up clothing like clay—

17 He may pile it up, but kthe just will wear it,

And the innocent will divide the silver.

18 He builds his house like a 4moth,

lLike a 5booth which a watchman makes.

19 The rich man will lie down,

6But not be gathered up;

He opens his eyes,

And he is mno more.

20 nTerrors overtake him like a flood;

A tempest steals him away in the night.

21 The east wind carries him away, and he is gone;

It sweeps him out of his place.

22 It hurls against him and does not ospare;

He flees desperately from its 7power.

23 Men shall clap their hands at him,

And shall hiss him out of his place.

Job’s Discourse on Wisdom

28 “Surely there is a mine for silver,

And a place where gold is refined.

2 Iron is taken from the 1earth,

And copper is smelted from ore.

3 Man puts an end to darkness,

And searches every recess

For ore in the darkness and the shadow of death.

4 He breaks open a shaft away from people;

In places forgotten by feet

They hang far away from men;

They swing to and fro.

5 As for the earth, from it comes bread,

But underneath it is turned up as by fire;

6 Its stones are the source of sapphires,

And it contains gold dust.

7 That path no bird knows,

Nor has the falcon’s eye seen it.

8 The 2proud lions have not trodden it,

Nor has the fierce lion passed over it.

9 He puts his hand on the flint;

He overturns the mountains 3at the roots.

10 He cuts out channels in the rocks,

And his eye sees every precious thing.

11 He dams up the streams from trickling;

What is hidden he brings forth to light.

12 “But awhere can wisdom be found?

And where is the place of understanding?

13 Man does not know its bvalue,

Nor is it found in the land of the living.

14 cThe deep says, ‘It is not in me’;

And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’

15 It dcannot be purchased for gold,

Nor can silver be weighed for its price.

16 It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,

In precious onyx or sapphire.

17 Neither egold nor crystal can equal it,

Nor can it be exchanged for 4jewelry of fine gold.

18 No mention shall be made of 5coral or quartz,

For the price of wisdom is above frubies.

19 The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it,

Nor can it be valued in pure ggold.

20 “From hwhere then does wisdom come?

And where is the place of understanding?

21 It is hidden from the eyes of all living,

And concealed from the birds of the 6air.

22 iDestruction 7and Death say,

‘We have heard a report about it with our ears.’

23 God understands its way,

And He knows its place.

24 For He looks to the ends of the earth,

And jsees under the whole heavens,

25 kTo establish a weight for the wind,

And apportion the waters by measure.

26 When He lmade a law for the rain,

And a path for the thunderbolt,

27 Then He saw 8wisdom and declared it;

He prepared it, indeed, He searched it out.

28 And to man He said,

‘Behold, mthe fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,

And to depart from evil is understanding.’ ”