Job 27-28

Common English Bible

² As God lives, who rejected my legal claim,
        the Almighty, who made me bitter,
³     as long as breath is in me
        and God’s breath is in my nostrils—
⁴     my lips will utter no wickedness;
        my tongue will mumble no deceit.
⁵ I will not agree that you are right.
    Until my dying day, I won’t give up my integrity.
⁶ I will insist on my innocence, never surrendering it;
    my conscience will never blame me for what I have done.^[a]

⁷ Let my enemy be like the wicked,
    my opposition like the vicious.
⁸ For what hope has the godless when God cuts them off,
    when he takes them away.
⁹ Will God hear their cries
        when distress comes to them;
¹⁰     will they delight in the Almighty,
        call God at any time?

¹¹ I will teach you God’s power,
    not hide what pertains to the Almighty.
¹² Look, those of you who recognize this—
    why then this empty talk?
¹³ This is the wicked’s portion with God,
    the inheritance that the ruthless receive from the Almighty.
¹⁴ If their children increase, they belong to the sword;
    their offspring won’t have enough bread.
¹⁵ Their survivors will be buried with the dead;
    their widows won’t weep.
¹⁶ If they store up silver like dust,
    amass clothing like clay,
¹⁷     they may amass, but the righteous will wear it;
            the innocent will divide the silver.
¹⁸ They built their houses like nests,
    like a hut made by a watchman.
¹⁹ They lie down rich, but no longer;
    open their eyes, but it’s missing.
²⁰ Terrors overtake them like waters;
        a tempest snatches them by night;
²¹     an east wind lifts them, and they are gone,
        removes them from their places,
²²     throws itself on them without mercy;
        they flee desperately from its force.
²³ It claps its hands over them,
    hisses at them from their place.

28 There is a sure source of silver,
    a place where gold is refined.
² Iron is taken from the earth;
    rock is smelted into copper.
³ Humans^[b] put an end to darkness,
    dig for ore to the farthest depths,
        into stone in utter darkness,
⁴     open a shaft away from any inhabitant,
        places forgotten by those on foot,
        apart from any human they hang and sway.
⁵ Earth—from it comes food—
    is turned over below ground as by fire.^[c]
6 Its rocks are the source for lapis lazuli;
    there is gold dust in it.
⁷ A path—
    no bird of prey knows it;
        a hawk’s eye hasn’t seen it;
⁸     proud beasts haven’t trodden on it;
        a lion hasn’t crossed over it.
⁹ Humans thrust their hands into flint,
        pull up mountains from their roots,
¹⁰     cut channels into rocks;
        their eyes see everything precious.
¹¹ They dam up the sources of rivers;
    hidden things come to light.

¹² But wisdom, where can it be found;
    where is the place of understanding?
¹³ Humankind doesn’t know its value;
    it isn’t found in the land of the living.
¹⁴ The Deep^[d] says, “It’s not with me”;
    the Sea^[e] says, “Not alongside me!”
¹⁵ It can’t be bought with gold;
        its price can’t be measured in silver,
¹⁶     can’t be weighed against gold from Ophir,
        with precious onyx or lapis lazuli.
¹⁷ Neither gold nor glass can compare with it;
    she can’t be acquired with gold jewelry.
¹⁸ Coral and jasper shouldn’t be mentioned;
    the price of wisdom is more than rubies.
¹⁹ Cushite topaz won’t compare with her;
    she can’t be set alongside pure gold.
²⁰ But wisdom, where does she come from?
    Where is the place of understanding?
²¹ She’s hidden from the eyes of all the living,
    concealed from birds of the sky.
²² Destruction^[f] and Death have said,
    “We’ve heard a report of her.”
²³ God understands her way;
        he knows her place;
²⁴     for he looks to the ends of the earth
        and surveys everything beneath the heavens.
²⁵ In order to weigh the wind,
        to prepare a measure for waters,
²⁶     when he made a decree for the rain,
        a path for thunderbolts,
²⁷     then he observed it, spoke of it,
            established it, searched it out,
²⁸     and said to humankind: “Look,
        the fear of the Lord is wisdom;
            turning from evil is understanding.”