Job Affirms His Righteousness

27 Job again took up his (A)discourse and said,

“As God lives, (B)who has taken away my right,
And the Almighty, (C)who has embittered my soul,
For as long as [a]life is in me,
And the [b](D)breath of God is in my nostrils,
My lips certainly will not speak unjustly,
Nor will (E)my tongue mutter deceit.
Far be it from me that I should declare you right;
Until I die, (F)I will not [c]give up my integrity.
I have (G)kept hold of my righteousness and will not let it go.
My heart does not rebuke any of my days.

The State of the Godless

“May my enemy be as the wicked,
And [d]my opponent as the criminal.
For what is (H)the hope of the godless when he makes an end of life,
When God requires (I)his [e]life?
Will God (J)hear his cry
When (K)distress comes upon him?
10 Or will he take (L)pleasure in the Almighty?
Will he call on God at all times?
11 I will instruct you in the [f]power of God;
What is with the Almighty I will not conceal.
12 Behold, all of you have seen it;
Why then do you talk of nothing?

13 “This is (M)the portion of a wicked person from God,
And the inheritance which (N)tyrants receive from the Almighty:
14 Though his sons are many, [g]they are destined (O)for the sword;
And his (P)descendants will not be satisfied with bread.
15 His survivors will be buried because of the plague,
And [h]their (Q)widows will not be able to weep.
16 Though he piles up silver like dust,
And prepares garments as plentiful as the clay,
17 He may prepare it, (R)but the righteous will wear it
And the innocent will divide the silver.
18 He has built his (S)house like the [i]spider’s web,
Or a hut which the watchman has made.
19 He lies down rich, but never [j]again;
He opens his eyes, and (T)it no longer exists.
20 (U)Terrors overtake him like a flood;
A storm steals him away (V)in the night.
21 The east (W)wind carries him away, and he is gone;
For it sweeps him (X)away from his place.
22 For it will hurl at him (Y)without mercy;
He will certainly try to (Z)flee from its [k]power.
23 People will [l]clap their hands at him,
And will (AA)whistle at him from their places.

Job Tells of Earth’s Treasures

28 “Certainly there is a [m]mine for silver
And a place [n]for refining gold.
Iron is taken from the dust,
And copper is smelted from rock.
Man puts an end to darkness,
And (AB)to the farthest limit he searches out
The rock in gloom and deep shadow.
He [o]sinks a shaft away from [p]inhabited areas,
Forgotten by the foot;
They hang and swing, away from people.
[q]From the earth comes food,
And underneath, it is turned over like fire.
Its rocks are the [r]source of sapphires,
And its dust contains gold.
No bird of prey knows the path,
Nor has the falcon’s eye caught sight of it.
The [s]proud animals have not trodden it,
Nor has the lion passed over it.
He puts his hand on the flint;
He overturns the mountains at the [t]base.
10 He carves out channels through the rocks,
And his eye sees anything precious.
11 He dams up the streams from [u]flowing,
And brings to light what is hidden.

The Search for Wisdom Is Harder

12 “But (AC)where can wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?
13 (AD)Mankind does not know its value,
Nor is it found in the land of the living.
14 The ocean depth says, ‘It is not in me’;
And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’
15 (AE)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 (AF)Gold or glass cannot equal it,
Nor can it be exchanged for articles of pure gold.
18 Coral and crystal are not to be mentioned;
And the acquisition of (AG)wisdom is more valuable than pearls.
19 The topaz of [v]Cush cannot equal it,
Nor can it be valued in (AH)pure gold.
20 (AI)Where then does wisdom come from?
And where is this place of understanding?
21 It is hidden from the eyes of every living creature,
And concealed from the birds of the sky.
22 [w](AJ)Abaddon and Death say,
‘With our ears we have heard a report of it.’

23 (AK)God understands its way,
And He knows its place.
24 For He (AL)looks to the ends of the earth;
He sees everything under the heavens.
25 When He imparted (AM)weight to the wind,
And (AN)assessed the waters by measure,
26 When He made a (AO)limit for the rain,
And a course for the (AP)thunderbolt,
27 Then He saw it and declared it;
He established it and also searched it out.
28 And to mankind He said, ‘Behold, the (AQ)fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;
And to turn away from evil is understanding.’”

Footnotes

  1. Job 27:3 Lit breath
  2. Job 27:3 Or spirit
  3. Job 27:5 Lit remove from me
  4. Job 27:7 Lit one who rises up against me
  5. Job 27:8 Or soul
  6. Job 27:11 Lit hand
  7. Job 27:14 Lit the sword is for them
  8. Job 27:15 As in ancient versions; Heb his
  9. Job 27:18 As in ancient versions; Heb moth
  10. Job 27:19 As in ancient versions; Heb will be gathered
  11. Job 27:22 Lit hand
  12. Job 27:23 I.e., mock and ridicule him
  13. Job 28:1 Lit source
  14. Job 28:1 Lit for gold they refine
  15. Job 28:4 Lit breaks open
  16. Job 28:4 Lit sojourning
  17. Job 28:5 Lit Earth, from it
  18. Job 28:6 Or place
  19. Job 28:8 Lit sons of pride
  20. Job 28:9 Lit root
  21. Job 28:11 Lit weeping
  22. Job 28:19 Or Ethiopia
  23. Job 28:22 I.e., Destruction

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