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Job 27:1-28:28 — Job's Final Defense; The Poem on Wisdom

Job.27.1-28.28

¹Job resumed his discourse and said: ²"As God lives, who has taken away my justice, and the Almighty, who has embittered my soul, ³for as long as my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils, ⁴my lips will not speak injustice, nor will my tongue utter deceit. ⁵Far be it from me that I should declare you right; until I die, I will not put away my integrity from me. ⁶I hold fast to my righteousness and will not let it go; my heart does not reproach me for any of my days. ⁷May my enemy be like the wicked, and my opponent like the unjust. ⁸For what is the hope of the godless when he is cut off, when God takes away his life? ⁹Will God hear his cry when distress comes upon him? ¹⁰Will he delight in the Almighty? Will he call upon God at all times? ¹¹I will teach you about the power of God; what is with the Almighty I will not conceal. ¹²Behold, all of you have seen it yourselves; why then do you speak such absolute nonsense? ¹³This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage that the ruthless receive from the Almighty: ¹⁴If his sons multiply, it is for the sword; and his offspring will not have enough bread. ¹⁵Those who survive him will be buried by pestilence, and his widows will not weep. ¹⁶Though he heaps up silver like dust, and prepares clothing like clay, ¹⁷he may prepare it, but the righteous will wear it, and the innocent will divide the silver. ¹⁸He builds his house like a moth, and like a booth that a watchman makes. ¹⁹He lies down wealthy, but will do so no more; he opens his eyes, and he is gone. ²⁰Terrors overtake him like a flood; in the night a whirlwind steals him away. ²¹The east wind carries him away, and he is gone; it sweeps him out of his place. ²²It hurls itself at him without mercy; he flees headlong from its power. ²³It claps its hands at him, and hisses at him from his place."

Chapter 28

¹"Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place for gold that they refine. ²Iron is taken from the dust, and copper is smelted from stone. ³A miner puts an end to the darkness; he explores to the farthest limit the stones in deep darkness and the shadow of death. ⁴He breaks open a shaft away from where people live; in places forgotten by the foot, they dangle far from men, they swing back and forth. ⁵As for the earth, from it comes bread, but underneath it is turned up as by fire. ⁶Its rocks are the source of sapphires, and it contains dust of gold. ⁷That path no bird of prey knows, and the falcon's eye has not seen it. ⁸The proud beasts have not trodden it; the fierce lion has not passed over it. ⁹He puts his hand to the flinty rock; he overturns mountains by their roots. ¹⁰He cuts out channels in the rocks, and his eye sees every precious thing. ¹¹He dams up the streams from trickling, and brings what is hidden to the light. ¹²But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? ¹³Man does not know its value, nor is it found in the land of the living. ¹⁴The deep says, 'It is not in me,' and the sea says, 'It is not with me.' ¹⁵Pure gold cannot be given in exchange for it, nor can silver be weighed out for its price. ¹⁶It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx, or sapphire. ¹⁷Gold and glass cannot equal it, nor can it be exchanged for articles of fine gold. ¹⁸Coral and crystal are not to be mentioned; the acquisition of wisdom is above rubies. ¹⁹The topaz of Cush cannot equal it, nor can it be valued in pure gold. ²⁰From where then does wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding? ²¹It is hidden from the eyes of all living, and concealed from the birds of the sky. ²²Abaddon and Death say, 'We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.' ²³God understands its way, and He knows its place. ²⁴For He looks to the ends of the earth, and sees everything under the heavens. ²⁵When He imparted weight to the wind, and meted out the waters by measure, ²⁶when He made a decree for the rain, and a path for the thunderbolt, ²⁷then He saw it and declared it; He established it, and also searched it out. ²⁸And He said to mankind , 'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.'

Translation Notes

4/11/2026

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