Job 28-30

¹Surely there is a mine for silver, And a place for gold which they refine.

²Iron is taken out of the earth, And copper is molten out of the stone.

³Man setteth an end to darkness, And searcheth out, to the furthest bound, The stones of obscurity and of thick darkness.

¹Surely there is a vein for the silver, and a place for gold where they fine it.

²Iron is taken out of the earth, and brass is molten out of the stone.

³He setteth an end to darkness, and searcheth out all perfection: the stones of darkness, and the shadow of death.

⁴He breaketh open a shaft away from where men sojourn; They are forgotten of the foot; They hang afar from men, they swing to and fro.

⁵As for the earth, out of it cometh bread; And underneath it is turned up as it were by fire.

⁶The stones thereof are the place of sapphires, And it hath dust of gold.

⁷That path no bird of prey knoweth, Neither hath the falcon’s eye seen it: ⁸The proud beasts have not trodden it, Nor hath the fierce lion passed thereby.

⁹He putteth forth his hand upon the flinty rock; He overturneth the mountains by the roots.

¹⁰He cutteth out channels among the rocks; And his eye seeth every precious thing.

¹¹He bindeth the streams that they trickle not; And the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light.

¹²But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?

¹³Man knoweth not the price thereof; Neither is it found in the land of the living.

⁴The flood breaketh out from the inhabitant; even the waters forgotten of the foot: they are dried up, they are gone away from men.

⁵As for the earth, out of it cometh bread: and under it is turned up as it were fire.

⁶The stones of it are the place of sapphires: and it hath dust of gold.

⁷There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture’s eye hath not seen:

⁸The lion’s whelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it.

⁹He putteth forth his hand upon the rock; he overturneth the mountains by the roots.

¹⁰He cutteth out rivers among the rocks; and his eye seeth every precious thing.

¹¹He bindeth the floods from overflowing; and the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light.

¹²But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding?

¹³Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living.

¹⁴The deep saith, It is not in me; And the sea saith, It is not with me.

¹⁵It cannot be gotten for gold, Neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof.

¹⁶It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, With the precious onyx, or the sapphire.

¹⁷Gold and glass cannot equal it, Neither shall it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.

¹⁸No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal: Yea, the price of wisdom is above rubies.

¹⁹The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, Neither shall it be valued with pure gold.

²⁰Whence then cometh wisdom? And where is the place of understanding?

¹⁴The depth saith, It is not in me: and the sea saith, It is not with me.

¹⁵It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof.

¹⁶It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire.

¹⁷The gold and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold.

¹⁸No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies.

¹⁹The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold.

²⁰Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding?

²¹Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, And kept close from the birds of the heavens.

²²Destruction and Death say, We have heard a rumor thereof with our ears.

²³God understandeth the way thereof, And he knoweth the place thereof.

²⁴For he looketh to the ends of the earth, And seeth under the whole heaven;

²¹Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air.

²²Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears.

²³God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof.

²⁴For he looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven;

²⁵To make a weight for the wind: Yea, he meteth out the waters by measure.

²⁶When he made a decree for the rain, And a way for the lightning of the thunder; ²⁷Then did he see it, and declare it; He established it, yea, and searched it out.

²⁸And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding.

²⁵To make the weight for the winds; and he weigheth the waters by measure.

²⁶When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder:

²⁷Then did he see it, and declare it; he prepared it, yea, and searched it out.

²⁸And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.

¹And Job again took up his parable, and said, ²Oh that I were as in the months of old, As in the days when God watched over me; ³When his lamp shined upon my head, And by his light I walked through darkness;

¹Moreover Job continued his parable, and said,

²Oh that I were as in months past, as in the days when God preserved me;

³When his candle shined upon my head, and when by his light I walked through darkness;

⁴As I was in the ripeness of my days, When the friendship of God was upon my tent; ⁵When the Almighty was yet with me, And my children were about me; ⁶When my steps were washed with butter, And the rock poured me out streams of oil!

⁷When I went forth to the gate unto the city, When I prepared my seat in the street, ⁸The young men saw me and hid themselves, And the aged rose up and stood;

⁴As I was in the days of my youth, when the secret of God was upon my tabernacle;

⁵When the Almighty was yet with me, when my children were about me;

⁶When I washed my steps with butter, and the rock poured me out rivers of oil;

⁷When I went out to the gate through the city, when I prepared my seat in the street!

⁸The young men saw me, and hid themselves: and the aged arose, and stood up.

⁹The princes refrained from talking, And laid their hand on their mouth; ¹⁰The voice of the nobles was hushed, And their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth.

¹¹For when the ear heard me, then it blessed me; And when the eye saw me, it gave witness unto me:

⁹The princes refrained talking, and laid their hand on their mouth.

¹⁰The nobles held their peace, and their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth.

¹¹When the ear heard me, then it blessed me; and when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me:

¹²Because I delivered the poor that cried, The fatherless also, that had none to help him.

¹³The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me; And I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy.

¹⁴I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: My justice was as a robe and a diadem.

¹⁵I was eyes to the blind, And feet was I to the lame.

¹⁶I was a father to the needy: And the cause of him that I knew not I searched out.

¹⁷And I brake the jaws of the unrighteous, And plucked the prey out of his teeth.

¹²Because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him.

¹³The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me: and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy.

¹⁴I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment was as a robe and a diadem.

¹⁵I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame.

¹⁶I was a father to the poor: and the cause which I knew not I searched out.

¹⁷And I brake the jaws of the wicked, and plucked the spoil out of his teeth.

¹⁸Then I said, I shall die in my nest, And I shall multiply my days as the sand: ¹⁹My root is spread out to the waters, And the dew lieth all night upon my branch: ²⁰My glory is fresh in me, And my bow is renewed in my hand.

²¹Unto me men gave ear, and waited, And kept silence for my counsel.

²²After my words they spake not again; And my speech distilled upon them.

¹⁸Then I said, I shall die in my nest, and I shall multiply my days as the sand.

¹⁹My root was spread out by the waters, and the dew lay all night upon my branch.

²⁰My glory was fresh in me, and my bow was renewed in my hand.

²¹Unto me men gave ear, and waited, and kept silence at my counsel.

²²After my words they spake not again; and my speech dropped upon them.

²³And they waited for me as for the rain; And they opened their mouth wide as for the latter rain.

²⁴I smiled on them, when they had no confidence; And the light of my countenance they cast not down.

²⁵I chose out their way, and sat as chief, And dwelt as a king in the army, As one that comforteth the mourners.

²³And they waited for me as for the rain; and they opened their mouth wide as for the latter rain.

²⁴If I laughed on them, they believed it not; and the light of my countenance they cast not down.

²⁵I chose out their way, and sat chief, and dwelt as a king in the army, as one that comforteth the mourners.

¹But now they that are younger than I have me in derision, Whose fathers I disdained to set with the dogs of my flock.

²Yea, the strength of their hands, whereto should it profit me? Men in whom ripe age is perished.

¹But now they that are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained to have set with the dogs of my flock.

²Yea, whereto might the strength of their hands profit me, in whom old age was perished?

³They are gaunt with want and famine; They gnaw the dry ground, in the gloom of wasteness and desolation.

⁴They pluck salt-wort by the bushes; And the roots of the broom are their food.

⁵They are driven forth from the midst of men; They cry after them as after a thief; ⁶So that they dwell in frightful valleys, In holes of the earth and of the rocks.

⁷Among the bushes they bray; Under the nettles they are gathered together.

⁸They are children of fools, yea, children of base men; They were scourged out of the land.

⁹And now I am become their song, Yea, I am a byword unto them.

¹⁰They abhor me, they stand aloof from me, And spare not to spit in my face.

³For want and famine they were solitary; fleeing into the wilderness in former time desolate and waste.

⁴Who cut up mallows by the bushes, and juniper roots for their meat.

⁵They were driven forth from among men, (they cried after them as after a thief;)

⁶To dwell in the clifts of the valleys, in caves of the earth, and in the rocks.

⁷Among the bushes they brayed; under the nettles they were gathered together.

⁸They were children of fools, yea, children of base men: they were viler than the earth.

⁹And now am I their song, yea, I am their byword.

¹⁰They abhor me, they flee far from me, and spare not to spit in my face.

¹¹For he hath loosed his cord, and afflicted me; And they have cast off the bridle before me.

¹²Upon my right hand rise the rabble; They thrust aside my feet, And they cast up against me their ways of destruction.

¹³They mar my path, They set forward my calamity, Even men that have no helper.

¹⁴As through a wide breach they come: In the midst of the ruin they roll themselves upon me.

¹⁵Terrors are turned upon me; They chase mine honor as the wind; And my welfare is passed away as a cloud.

¹⁶And now my soul is poured out within me; Days of affliction have taken hold upon me.

¹⁷In the night season my bones are pierced in me, And the pains that gnaw me take no rest.

¹⁸By God’s great force is my garment disfigured; It bindeth me about as the collar of my coat.

¹⁹He hath cast me into the mire, And I am become like dust and ashes.

²⁰I cry unto thee, and thou dost not answer me: I stand up, and thou gazest at me.

²¹Thou art turned to be cruel to me; With the might of thy hand thou persecutest me.

²²Thou liftest me up to the wind, thou causest me to ride upon it; And thou dissolvest me in the storm.

²³For I know that thou wilt bring me to death, And to the house appointed for all living.

¹¹Because he hath loosed my cord, and afflicted me, they have also let loose the bridle before me.

¹²Upon my right hand rise the youth; they push away my feet, and they raise up against me the ways of their destruction.

¹³They mar my path, they set forward my calamity, they have no helper.

¹⁴They came upon me as a wide breaking in of waters: in the desolation they rolled themselves upon me.

¹⁵Terrors are turned upon me: they pursue my soul as the wind: and my welfare passeth away as a cloud.

¹⁶And now my soul is poured out upon me; the days of affliction have taken hold upon me.

¹⁷My bones are pierced in me in the night season: and my sinews take no rest.

¹⁸By the great force of my disease is my garment changed: it bindeth me about as the collar of my coat.

¹⁹He hath cast me into the mire, and I am become like dust and ashes.

²⁰I cry unto thee, and thou dost not hear me: I stand up, and thou regardest me not.

²¹Thou art become cruel to me: with thy strong hand thou opposest thyself against me.

²²Thou liftest me up to the wind; thou causest me to ride upon it, and dissolvest my substance.

²³For I know that thou wilt bring me to death, and to the house appointed for all living.

²⁴Howbeit doth not one stretch out the hand in his fall? Or in his calamity therefore cry for help?

²⁵Did not I weep for him that was in trouble? Was not my soul grieved for the needy?

²⁶When I looked for good, then evil came; And when I waited for light, there came darkness.

²⁷My heart is troubled, and resteth not; Days of affliction are come upon me.

²⁸I go mourning without the sun: I stand up in the assembly, and cry for help.

²⁹I am a brother to jackals, And a companion to ostriches.

³⁰My skin is black, and falleth from me, And my bones are burned with heat.

³¹Therefore is my harp turned to mourning, And my pipe into the voice of them that weep.

²⁴Howbeit he will not stretch out his hand to the grave, though they cry in his destruction.

²⁵Did not I weep for him that was in trouble? was not my soul grieved for the poor?

²⁶When I looked for good, then evil came unto me: and when I waited for light, there came darkness.

²⁷My bowels boiled, and rested not: the days of affliction prevented me.

²⁸I went mourning without the sun: I stood up, and I cried in the congregation.

²⁹I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls.

³⁰My skin is black upon me, and my bones are burned with heat.

³¹My harp also is turned to mourning, and my organ into the voice of them that weep.