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Job 27-28
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Job 27-28
Holman Christian Standard Bible
27 Job continued his discourse, saying:
2 As God lives, who has deprived me of justice,(A)
and the Almighty who has made me bitter,(B)
3 as long as my breath is still in me
and the breath from God remains in my nostrils,(C)
4 my lips will not speak unjustly,
and my tongue will not utter deceit.
5 I will never affirm that you are right.
I will maintain my integrity[a](D) until I die.
6 I will cling to my righteousness and never let it go.
My conscience(E) will not accuse me as long as I live!
7 May my enemy be like the wicked
and my opponent like the unjust.
8 For what hope does the godless man(F) have when he is cut off,
when God takes away his life?(G)
9 Will God hear his cry
when distress comes on him?
10 Will he delight(H) in the Almighty?
Will he call on God at all times?
11 I will teach you about God’s power.
I will not conceal what the Almighty has planned.[b]
12 All of you have seen this for yourselves,
why do you keep up this empty talk?(I)
13 This is a wicked man’s lot(J) from God,
the inheritance the ruthless receive from the Almighty.
14 Even if his children increase, they are destined for the sword;
his descendants will never have enough food.
15 Those who survive him will be buried by the plague,
yet their widows will not weep for them.(K)
16 Though he piles up silver like dust
and heaps up a wardrobe like clay—
17 he may heap it up, but the righteous will wear it,
and the innocent will divide up his silver.(L)
18 The house he built is like a moth’s cocoon
or a booth set up by a watchman.(M)
19 He lies down wealthy, but will do so no more;
when he opens his eyes, it is gone.
20 Terrors overtake him like a flood;(N)
a storm(O) wind sweeps him away at night.
21 An east wind picks him up, and he is gone;
it carries him away from his place.
22 It blasts at him without mercy,
while he flees desperately from its grasp.
23 It claps(P) its hands at him
and scorns him from its place.
Job’s Hymn to Wisdom
28 Surely there is a mine for silver
and a place where gold is refined.
2 Iron is taken from the ground,
and copper is smelted from ore.
3 A miner puts an end to the darkness;
he probes[c] the deepest recesses
for ore in the gloomy darkness.
4 He cuts a shaft far from human habitation,
in places unknown to those who walk above ground.[d]
Suspended far away from people,
the miners swing back and forth.
5 Food may come from the earth,
but below the surface the earth is transformed as by fire.
6 Its rocks are a source of sapphire,[e](Q)
containing flecks of gold.
7 No bird of prey knows that path;
no falcon’s eye has seen it.
8 Proud beasts have never walked on it;
no lion has ever prowled over it.
9 The miner strikes the flint
and transforms the mountains at their foundations.
10 He cuts out channels in the rocks,
and his eyes spot every treasure.
11 He dams up the streams from flowing[f]
so that he may bring to light what is hidden.
12 But where can wisdom(R) be found,
and where is understanding located?
13 No man can know its value,[g]
since it cannot be found in the land of the living.
14 The ocean depths say, “It’s not in me,”
while the sea declares, “I don’t have it.”(S)
15 Gold cannot be exchanged for it,
and silver cannot be weighed out for its price.
16 Wisdom cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,(T)
in precious onyx or sapphire.[h](U)
17 Gold and glass do not compare with it,
and articles of fine gold cannot be exchanged for it.(V)
18 Coral and quartz are not worth mentioning.
The price of wisdom is beyond pearls.
19 Topaz from Cush cannot compare with it,
and it cannot be valued in pure gold.
20 Where then does wisdom come from,
and where is understanding located?
21 It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing
and concealed from the birds of the sky.
22 Abaddon and Death(W) say,
“We have heard news of it with our ears.”
23 But God understands the way to wisdom,
and He knows its location.
24 For He looks to the ends of the earth
and sees everything under the heavens.
25 When God fixed the weight of the wind
and limited the water by measure,(X)
26 when He established a limit[i] for the rain(Y)
and a path for the lightning,
27 He considered wisdom and evaluated it;
He established it and examined it.
28 He said to mankind,
“The fear of the Lord is this: wisdom.
And to turn from evil is understanding.”(Z)
Footnotes
- Job 27:5 Lit will not remove my integrity from me
- Job 27:11 Lit what is with the Almighty
- Job 28:3 Lit probes all
- Job 28:4 Lit far from with inhabitant, things forgotten by foot
- Job 28:6 Or lapis lazuli
- Job 28:11 LXX, Vg read He explores the sources of the streams
- Job 28:13 LXX reads way
- Job 28:16 Or lapis lazuli
- Job 28:26 Or decree
Job 27-28
New International Version
Job 27-28
New International Version
Job’s Final Word to His Friends
27 And Job continued his discourse:(A)
2 “As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice,(B)
the Almighty,(C) who has made my life bitter,(D)
3 as long as I have life within me,
the breath of God(E) in my nostrils,
4 my lips will not say anything wicked,
and my tongue will not utter lies.(F)
5 I will never admit you are in the right;
till I die, I will not deny my integrity.(G)
6 I will maintain my innocence(H) and never let go of it;
my conscience(I) will not reproach me as long as I live.(J)
7 “May my enemy be like the wicked,(K)
my adversary(L) like the unjust!
8 For what hope have the godless(M) when they are cut off,
when God takes away their life?(N)
9 Does God listen to their cry
when distress comes upon them?(O)
10 Will they find delight in the Almighty?(P)
Will they call on God at all times?
11 “I will teach you about the power of God;
the ways(Q) of the Almighty I will not conceal.(R)
12 You have all seen this yourselves.
Why then this meaningless talk?
13 “Here is the fate God allots to the wicked,
the heritage a ruthless man receives from the Almighty:(S)
14 However many his children,(T) their fate is the sword;(U)
his offspring will never have enough to eat.(V)
15 The plague will bury those who survive him,
and their widows will not weep for them.(W)
16 Though he heaps up silver like dust(X)
and clothes like piles of clay,(Y)
17 what he lays up(Z) the righteous will wear,(AA)
and the innocent will divide his silver.(AB)
18 The house(AC) he builds is like a moth’s cocoon,(AD)
like a hut(AE) made by a watchman.
19 He lies down wealthy, but will do so no more;(AF)
when he opens his eyes, all is gone.(AG)
20 Terrors(AH) overtake him like a flood;(AI)
a tempest snatches him away in the night.(AJ)
21 The east wind(AK) carries him off, and he is gone;(AL)
it sweeps him out of his place.(AM)
22 It hurls itself against him without mercy(AN)
as he flees headlong(AO) from its power.(AP)
23 It claps its hands(AQ) in derision
and hisses him out of his place.”(AR)
Interlude: Where Wisdom Is Found
28 There is a mine for silver
and a place where gold is refined.(AS)
2 Iron is taken from the earth,
and copper is smelted from ore.(AT)
3 Mortals put an end to the darkness;(AU)
they search out the farthest recesses
for ore in the blackest darkness.(AV)
4 Far from human dwellings they cut a shaft,(AW)
in places untouched by human feet;
far from other people they dangle and sway.
5 The earth, from which food comes,(AX)
is transformed below as by fire;
6 lapis lazuli(AY) comes from its rocks,
and its dust contains nuggets of gold.(AZ)
7 No bird of prey knows that hidden path,
no falcon’s eye has seen it.(BA)
8 Proud beasts(BB) do not set foot on it,
and no lion prowls there.(BC)
9 People assault the flinty rock(BD) with their hands
and lay bare the roots of the mountains.(BE)
10 They tunnel through the rock;(BF)
their eyes see all its treasures.(BG)
11 They search[a] the sources of the rivers(BH)
and bring hidden things(BI) to light.
12 But where can wisdom be found?(BJ)
Where does understanding dwell?(BK)
13 No mortal comprehends its worth;(BL)
it cannot be found in the land of the living.(BM)
14 The deep(BN) says, “It is not in me”;
the sea(BO) says, “It is not with me.”
15 It cannot be bought with the finest gold,
nor can its price be weighed out in silver.(BP)
16 It cannot be bought with the gold of Ophir,(BQ)
with precious onyx or lapis lazuli.(BR)
17 Neither gold nor crystal can compare with it,(BS)
nor can it be had for jewels of gold.(BT)
18 Coral(BU) and jasper(BV) are not worthy of mention;
the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.(BW)
19 The topaz(BX) of Cush(BY) cannot compare with it;
it cannot be bought with pure gold.(BZ)
20 Where then does wisdom come from?
Where does understanding dwell?(CA)
21 It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing,
concealed even from the birds in the sky.(CB)
22 Destruction[b](CC) and Death(CD) say,
“Only a rumor of it has reached our ears.”
23 God understands the way to it
and he alone(CE) knows where it dwells,(CF)
24 for he views the ends of the earth(CG)
and sees everything under the heavens.(CH)
25 When he established the force of the wind
and measured out the waters,(CI)
26 when he made a decree for the rain(CJ)
and a path for the thunderstorm,(CK)
27 then he looked at wisdom and appraised it;
he confirmed it and tested it.(CL)
28 And he said to the human race,
“The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom,
and to shun evil(CM) is understanding.”(CN)
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.