Revised
Standard Version of the Holy Bible
Job
Chapter 28 (Revised Standard Version)
Job 28
1 "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 in a valley away from where men live; they are
forgotten by travelers, they hang afar from men, they swing to and fro.
5 As for the earth, out of it comes bread; but underneath it is
turned up as by fire.
6 Its 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.
10 He cuts out channels in the rocks, and his eye sees every precious
thing.
11 He binds up the streams so that they do not trickle, and the thing
that is hid he brings forth to light.
12 "But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of
understanding?
13 Man does not know the way to it, 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.'
15 It cannot be gotten for gold, and silver cannot be weighed as its
price.
16 It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx or
sapphire.
17 Gold and glass cannot equal it, nor can it be exchanged for jewels
of fine gold.
18 No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal; the price of
wisdom is above pearls.
19 The topaz of Ethiopia cannot compare with it, nor can it be valued
in pure gold.
20 "Whence then comes wisdom? And where is the place of
understanding?
21 It is hid 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.
24 For he looks to the ends of the earth, and sees everything under
the heavens.
25 When he gave to the wind its weight, and meted out the waters by
measure;
26 when he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of
the thunder;
27 then he saw it and declared it; he established it, and searched it
out.
28 And he said to man, 'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;
and to depart from evil is understanding.'"
|