1 “Surely there is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined. 2 Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore. 3 Man puts an end to the darkness; he probes the farthest recesses for ore in deepest darkness. 4 Far from human habitation he cuts a shaft in places forgotten by the foot of man. Far from men he dangles and sways. 5 Food may come from the earth, but from below it is transformed as by fire. 6 Its rocks are the source of sapphires, containing flecks of gold. 7 No bird of prey knows that path; no falcon’s eye has seen it. 8 Proud beasts have never trodden it; no lion has ever prowled over it. 9 The miner strikes the flint; he overturns mountains at their base. 10 He hews out channels in the rocks, and his eyes spot every treasure. 11 He stops up the sources of the streams to bring what is hidden to light. 12 But where can wisdom be found, and where does understanding dwell? 13 No man can know its value, nor is it found in the land of the living. 14 The ocean depths say, ‘It is not in me,’ while the sea declares, ‘It is not with me.’ 15 It cannot be bought with gold, nor can its price be weighed out in silver. 16 It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx or sapphire. 17 Neither gold nor crystal can compare to it, nor jewels of fine gold be exchanged for it. 18 Coral and quartz are unworthy of mention; the price of wisdom is beyond rubies. 19 Topaz from Cush cannot compare to it, nor can it be valued in pure gold. 20 From where then does wisdom come, and where does understanding dwell? 21 It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing and concealed from the birds of the air. 22 Abaddon and Death say, ‘We have heard a rumor about it.’ 23 But God understands its way, and He knows its place. 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 measured out the waters, 26 when He set a limit for the rain and a path for the thunderbolt, 27 then He looked at wisdom and appraised 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 turn away from evil is understanding.’”
Job 28 Berean Standard Bible
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
Cross references (26)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 1 Peter 1:7; Malachi 3:2–3; Proverbs 17:3; Isaiah 48:10; Proverbs 27:21
- 2 Deuteronomy 8:9; Genesis 4:22; Numbers 31:22; 1 Chronicles 22:14
- 3 Ecclesiastes 1:13; Job 38:16–17; Proverbs 2:4; Job 12:22; Matthew 6:33
- 5 Isaiah 28:25–29; Psalm 104:14–15; Genesis 1:11–12; Genesis 1:29; Ezekiel 28:13–14
- 6 Job 28:16; Exodus 24:10; Song of Songs 5:14; Revelation 21:19; Isaiah 54:11
- 7 Job 11:6; Job 28:21–23; Romans 11:33; Job 38:24; Job 38:19
- 9 Nahum 1:4–6
- 10 Proverbs 24:4; Proverbs 14:23; Habakkuk 3:9
- 11 1 Corinthians 4:5; Isaiah 45:2–3; Job 26:8; Isaiah 37:25; Isaiah 44:27
- 12 Proverbs 2:4–6; Job 28:20; James 1:5; Proverbs 3:19; Colossians 2:3
- 13 Proverbs 8:11; Proverbs 8:18–19; Proverbs 3:14–15; Proverbs 23:23; Matthew 13:44–46
- 14 Romans 11:33–34
- 15 Proverbs 16:16; Proverbs 8:19; Proverbs 3:13–15; Proverbs 8:10–11; Proverbs 8:17
- 16 Psalm 45:9; Isaiah 13:12; Ezekiel 28:13; Exodus 28:20; 1 Chronicles 29:4
- 17 Revelation 22:1; Proverbs 16:16; Revelation 4:6; Ezekiel 1:22; Revelation 21:11
- 18 Proverbs 3:15; Proverbs 31:10; Ezekiel 27:16; Lamentations 4:7; Matthew 7:6
- 19 Exodus 39:10; Proverbs 8:19; Exodus 28:17; Ezekiel 28:13; Revelation 21:20
- 20 James 1:5; Job 28:12; Job 28:28; James 1:17; Job 28:23
- 21 Psalm 49:3–4; Matthew 11:25; Colossians 2:3; 1 Corinthians 2:7–10; Matthew 13:35
- 22 Job 26:6; Psalm 83:10–12; Job 28:14
- 23 Proverbs 8:22–31; 1 Corinthians 1:30; Jude 25; Romans 11:33; Proverbs 2:6
- 24 Proverbs 15:3; Zechariah 4:10; Revelation 5:6; 2 Chronicles 16:9; Psalm 33:13–14
- 25 Psalm 135:7; Isaiah 40:12; Job 12:15
- 26 Job 38:25; Job 37:3; Zechariah 10:1; Jeremiah 14:22; Psalm 29:3–10
- 27 Psalm 19:1; Proverbs 8:22–29
- 28 Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 1:7; Proverbs 9:10; Proverbs 3:7; Ecclesiastes 12:13
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
For Thou hast said unto man, "Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;" and desire not to seem wise, because, "Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools." But I had now found the goodly pearl, which, selling all that I had, I ought to have bought; and I hesitated.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 1 (1886)