Job 28 - New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995)

Job Tells of Earth’s Treasures

28 “Surely there is a [a]mine for silver
And a place [b]where they refine gold.
2 “Iron is taken from the dust,
And copper is smelted from rock.
3 Man puts an end to darkness,
And (A)to the farthest limit he searches out
The rock in gloom and deep shadow.
4 “He [c]sinks a shaft far from [d]habitation,
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 [e]source 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 [f]proud 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 [g]base.
10 “He hews out channels through the rocks,
And his eye sees anything precious.
11 “He dams up the streams from [h]flowing,
And what is hidden he brings out to the light.

The Search for Wisdom Is Harder

12 “But (B)where can wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?
13 (C)Man 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 (D)Pure 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 (E)Gold 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 (F)wisdom is above that of pearls.
19 “The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it,
Nor can it be valued in (G)pure gold.
20 (H)Where 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.
22 [i](I)Abaddon and Death say,
‘With our ears we have heard a report of it.’

23 (J)God understands its way,
And He knows its place.
24 “For He (K)looks to the ends of the earth
And sees everything under the heavens.
25 “When He imparted (L)weight to the wind
And (M)meted out the waters by measure,
26 When He set a (N)limit for the rain
And a course for the (O)thunderbolt,
27 Then He saw it and declared it;
He established it and also searched it out.
28 “And to man He said, ‘Behold, the (P)fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;
And to depart from evil is understanding.’”

Footnotes

  1. Job 28:1 Or source
  2. Job 28:1 Lit for gold they refine
  3. Job 28:4 Lit breaks open
  4. Job 28:4 Lit sojourning
  5. Job 28:6 Or place
  6. Job 28:8 Lit sons of pride
  7. Job 28:9 Lit roots
  8. Job 28:11 Lit weeping
  9. Job 28:22 I.e. Destruction

Cross references

  1. Job 28:3 : Eccl 1:13
  2. Job 28:12 : Job 28:23, 28; Eccl 7:24
  3. Job 28:13 : Matt 13:44-46
  4. Job 28:15 : Prov 3:13, 14; 8:10, 11; 16:16
  5. Job 28:17 : Prov 8:10; 16:16
  6. Job 28:18 : Prov 8:11
  7. Job 28:19 : Prov 8:19
  8. Job 28:20 : Job 28:23, 28
  9. Job 28:22 : Job 26:6; Prov 8:32-36
  10. Job 28:23 : Job 9:4; Prov 8:22-36
  11. Job 28:24 : Ps 11:4; 33:13, 14; 66:7; Prov 15:3
  12. Job 28:25 : Ps 135:7
  13. Job 28:25 : Job 12:15; 38:8-11
  14. Job 28:26 : Job 37:6, 11, 12; 38:26-28
  15. Job 28:26 : Job 37:3; 38:25
  16. Job 28:28 : Ps 111:10; Prov 1:7; 9:10; Eccl 12:13

You Might Also Like:

Job 28 - Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

28 Surely there is for silver a source, And a place for the gold they refine; 2 Iron from the dust is taken, And [from] the firm stone brass. 3 An end hath he set to darkness, And to all perfection he is searching, A stone of darkness and death-shade. 4 A stream hath broken out from a sojourner, Tho...
Read More

Job 28 - Wycliffe Bible (WYC)

28 Silver hath [the] beginning of his veins (Silver hath the beginning of its veins); and a place is to gold, in which it is welled together. 2 Iron is taken from the earth, and a stone dissolved, or melted, by heat, is turned into money (is turned into bronze). 3 God hath set (a) time to darknesses...
Read More

Job 28 - World English Bible (WEB)

28 “Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place for gold which they refine.2 Iron is taken out of the earth, and copper is smelted out of the ore.3 Man sets an end to darkness, and searches out, to the furthest bound, the stones of obscurity and of thick darkness.4 He breaks open a shaft away fro...
Read More

Job 28 - The Voice (VOICE)

28 Job: There is a place where silver is mined, a place where gold is refined.2 There iron is dug from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore.3 Humans put an end to darkness, and search in every last corner For the ore that is in gloom and darkness.4 In the earth they cut a shaft in a place fo...
Read More

Job 28 - Tree of Life Version (TLV)

Where Can Wisdom be Found?28 “Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined.2 Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore.3 Man puts an end to darkness;he searches to the farthest reaches for ore in gloom and blackest darkness.4 He cuts open a shaft far from d...
Read More

Job 28 - Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)

Interlude: Where Wisdom Is Found28 “Surely there is a mine for silver,and a place for gold which they refine.2 Iron is taken out of the earth, and copper is smelted from the ore.3 Men put an end to darkness, and search out to the farthest bound the ore in gloom and deep darkness.4 They open shafts i...
Read More

Job 28 - Revised Standard Version (RSV)

Interlude: Where Wisdom Is Found28 “Surely there is a mine for silver,and a place for gold which they refine.2 Iron is taken out of the earth, and copper is smelted from the ore.3 Men put an end to darkness, and search out to the farthest bound the ore in gloom and deep darkness.4 They open shafts i...
Read More

Job 28 - New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

Interlude: Where Wisdom Is Found28 “Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place for gold to be refined.2 Iron is taken out of the earth, and copper is smelted from ore.3 Miners put[a] an end to darkness, and search out to the farthest bound the ore in gloom and deep darkness.4 They open shafts in...
Read More

Job 28 - New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)

Interlude: Where Wisdom Is Found28 ‘Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place for gold to be refined.2 Iron is taken out of the earth, and copper is smelted from ore.3 Miners put[a] an end to darkness, and search out to the farthest bound the ore in gloom and deep darkness.4 They open shafts in...
Read More

Job 28 - New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Interlude: Where Wisdom Is Found28 “Surely there is a mine for silver and a place for gold to be refined.2 Iron is taken out of the earth, and copper is smelted from ore.(A)3 Miners put[a] an end to darkness and search out to the farthest bound the ore in gloom and deep darkness.4 They open shafts i...
Read More

Job 28 - New Living Translation (NLT)

Job Speaks of Wisdom and Understanding28 “People know where to mine silver and how to refine gold.2 They know where to dig iron from the earth and how to smelt copper from rock.3 They know how to shine light in the darkness and explore the farthest regions of the earth as they search in the dark for...
Read More

Job 28 - New Life Version (NLV)

Where Can Wisdom Be Found?28 “For sure there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is made pure. 2 Iron is taken out of the earth. And copper is melted from the rock. 3 Man looks into the deepest darkness. And he goes out to the farthest part of the earth to look for rocks in the dark place...
Read More

Job 28 - New King James Version (NKJV)

Job’s Discourse on Wisdom28 “Surely there is a mine for silver,And a place where gold is refined.2 Iron is taken from the [a]earth,And copper is smelted from ore.3 Man puts an end to darkness,And searches every recessFor ore in the darkness and the shadow of death.4 He breaks open a shaft away from ...
Read More

Job 28 - New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

Interlude: where wisdom is found28 There is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined.2 Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore.3 Mortals put an end to the darkness; they search out the farthest recesses for ore in the blackest darkness.4 Far from human dwellings they ...
Read More

Job 28 - New International Version (NIV)

Interlude: Where Wisdom Is Found28 There is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined.(A)2 Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore.(B)3 Mortals put an end to the darkness;(C) they search out the farthest recesses for ore in the blackest darkness.(D)4 Far from human dwe...
Read More

Job 28 - New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

The Place Where Wisdom Is Found Is Explained28 There are mines where silver is found. There are places where gold is purified.2 Iron is taken out of the earth. Copper is melted down from ore.3 Human beings light up the darkness. They search for ore in the deepest pits. They look for it in the blacke...
Read More

Job 28 - New English Translation (NET)

III. Job’s Search for Wisdom (28:1-28)No Known Road to Wisdom[a]28 “Surely[b] there is a mine[c] for silver,and a place where gold is refined.[d]2 Iron is taken from the ground,[e]and rock is poured out[f] as copper.3 Man puts an end to the darkness;[g]he searches the farthest recessesfor the ore in...
Read More