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Job 27-28
New King James Version
Job 27-28
New King James Version
Job Maintains His Integrity
27 Moreover Job continued his discourse, and said:
2 “As God lives, (A)who has taken away my justice,
And the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter,
3 As long as my breath is in me,
And the breath of God in my nostrils,
4 My lips will not speak wickedness,
Nor my tongue utter deceit.
5 Far be it from me
That I should say you are right;
Till I die (B)I will not put away my integrity from me.
6 My righteousness I (C)hold fast, and will not let it go;
(D)My heart shall not [a]reproach me as long as I live.
7 “May my enemy be like the wicked,
And he who rises up against me like the unrighteous.
8 (E)For what is the hope of the hypocrite,
Though he may gain much,
If God takes away his life?
9 (F)Will God hear his cry
When trouble comes upon him?
10 (G)Will he delight himself in the Almighty?
Will he always call on God?
11 “I will teach you [b]about the hand of God;
What is with the Almighty I will not conceal.
12 Surely all of you have seen it;
Why then do you behave with complete nonsense?
13 “This(H) is the portion of a wicked man with God,
And the heritage of oppressors, received from the Almighty:
14 (I)If his children are multiplied, it is for the sword;
And his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread.
15 Those who survive him shall be buried in death,
And (J)their[c] widows shall not weep,
16 Though he heaps up silver like dust,
And piles up clothing like clay—
17 He may pile it up, but (K)the just will wear it,
And the innocent will divide the silver.
18 He builds his house like a [d]moth,
(L)Like a [e]booth which a watchman makes.
19 The rich man will lie down,
[f]But not be gathered up;
He opens his eyes,
And he is (M)no more.
20 (N)Terrors overtake him like a flood;
A tempest steals him away in the night.
21 The east wind carries him away, and he is gone;
It sweeps him out of his place.
22 It hurls against him and does not (O)spare;
He flees desperately from its [g]power.
23 Men shall clap their hands at him,
And shall hiss him out of his place.
Job’s Discourse on Wisdom
28 “Surely there is a mine for silver,
And a place where gold is refined.
2 Iron is taken from the [h]earth,
And copper is smelted from ore.
3 Man puts an end to darkness,
And searches every recess
For ore in the darkness and the shadow of death.
4 He breaks open a shaft away from people;
In places forgotten by feet
They hang far away from men;
They swing to and fro.
5 As for the earth, from it comes bread,
But underneath it is turned up as by fire;
6 Its stones are the source of sapphires,
And it contains gold dust.
7 That path no bird knows,
Nor has the falcon’s eye seen it.
8 The [i]proud lions have not trodden it,
Nor has the fierce lion passed over it.
9 He puts his hand on the flint;
He overturns the mountains [j]at the roots.
10 He cuts out channels in the rocks,
And his eye sees every precious thing.
11 He dams up the streams from trickling;
What is hidden he brings forth to light.
12 “But(P) where can wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?
13 Man does not know its (Q)value,
Nor is it found in the land of the living.
14 (R)The deep says, ‘It is not in me’;
And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’
15 It (S)cannot be purchased for gold,
Nor can silver be weighed for its price.
16 It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,
In precious onyx or sapphire.
17 Neither (T)gold nor crystal can equal it,
Nor can it be exchanged for [k]jewelry of fine gold.
18 No mention shall be made of [l]coral or quartz,
For the price of wisdom is above (U)rubies.
19 The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it,
Nor can it be valued in pure (V)gold.
20 “From(W) where then does wisdom come?
And where is the place of understanding?
21 It is hidden from the eyes of all living,
And concealed from the birds of the [m]air.
22 (X)Destruction[n] and Death say,
‘We have heard a report about it with our ears.’
23 God understands its way,
And He knows its place.
24 For He looks to the ends of the earth,
And (Y)sees under the whole heavens,
25 (Z)To establish a weight for the wind,
And apportion the waters by measure.
26 When He (AA)made a law for the rain,
And a path for the thunderbolt,
27 Then He saw [o]wisdom and declared it;
He prepared it, indeed, He searched it out.
28 And to man He said,
‘Behold, (AB)the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,
And to depart from evil is understanding.’ ”
Footnotes
- Job 27:6 reprove
- Job 27:11 Or by
- Job 27:15 Lit. his
- Job 27:18 So with MT, Vg.; LXX, Syr. spider (cf. 8:14); Tg. decay
- Job 27:18 Temporary shelter
- Job 27:19 So with MT, Tg.; LXX, Syr. But shall not add (i.e., do it again); Vg. But take away nothing
- Job 27:22 Lit. hand
- Job 28:2 Lit. dust
- Job 28:8 Lit. sons of pride, figurative of the great lions
- Job 28:9 At the base
- Job 28:17 vessels
- Job 28:18 Heb. ramoth
- Job 28:21 heaven
- Job 28:22 Heb. Abaddon
- Job 28:27 Lit. it
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)
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.