Where Can Wisdom Be Found?

28 “For sure there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is made pure. ² Iron is taken out of the earth. And copper is melted from the rock. ³ Man looks into the deepest darkness. And he goes out to the farthest part of the earth to look for rocks in the dark places. ⁴ Men break open deep holes far from where people live, forgotten by travelers. In the holes they hang and move from side to side far from men. ⁵ As for the earth, out of it comes food. But below, it is turned up as fire. ⁶ Sapphires come from its rocks and its dust has gold. ⁷ No bird who eats meat knows that path. The falcon’s eye has not seen it. ⁸ The proud animals have not stepped on it. The strong lion has not passed over it. ⁹ Man puts his hand on the hard rock. He turns the mountains over at its base. ¹⁰ He makes a path through the rocks, and his eyes see everything of much worth. ¹¹ He stops rivers from flowing. And he brings to light what is hidden.

¹² “But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? ¹³ Man does not know its worth, and it is not found in the land of the living. ¹⁴ The deep waters say, ‘It is not in me.’ The sea says, ‘It is not with me.’ ¹⁵ Pure gold cannot be traded for it and it cannot be bought with silver. ¹⁶ It cannot be compared in worth to the gold of Ophir, onyx of much worth, or sapphire. ¹⁷ Gold or glass cannot be compared to it in worth and it cannot be traded for objects of fine gold. ¹⁸ There is no need to say anything about coral or crystal because wisdom cannot be paid for with rubies. ¹⁹ The topaz of Ethiopia cannot be compared to it in worth and it cannot be compared with the worth of pure gold. ²⁰ Where then does wisdom come from? Where is the place of understanding? ²¹ It is hidden from the eyes of all living. It is hidden from the birds of the sky. ²² The Place That Destroys and Death say, ‘We have only heard about it with our ears.’

²³ “God understands the way to wisdom, and He knows its place. ²⁴ For He looks to the ends of the earth, and sees everything under the heavens. ²⁵ He gave weight to the wind. He decided how much water would be in the sea. ²⁶ He decided how much rain would fall, and the path for the lightning. ²⁷ Then He saw wisdom and made it known. He made it last, and found out all about it. ²⁸ And He said to man, ‘See, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom. And to turn away from sin is understanding.’”

Job Tells of His Past Days

29 Then Job spoke again and said, ² “If only I could be now as I was in the months past when God watched over me! ³ His lamp shined over my head then and by His light I walked through darkness. ⁴ Those days were my best days when God was my friend watching over my tent. ⁵ The All-powerful was still with me, and my children were around me. ⁶ My path was washed with milk, and the rock poured out rivers of oil for me. ⁷ When I went to the city gate and took my place with the leaders of the city, ⁸ the young men saw me and let me go by. The old men rose and stood. ⁹ The leaders stopped talking, and put their hands on their mouths. ¹⁰ The voices of the rulers were quiet. Their tongues held to the roof of their mouths. ¹¹ Those who heard me, honored me. Those who saw me, respected me, ¹² because I helped the poor man when he cried for help and the child without parents who had no one to help him. ¹³ Good came to me from the man who was dying. And I made the heart of the woman whose husband had died sing for joy. ¹⁴ I put on what was right and good, and it clothed me. The right things done were my coat and head-covering. ¹⁵ I was eyes to the blind, and feet to the man who could not walk. ¹⁶ I was a father to those in need. And I helped those I did not know who had a need. ¹⁷ I broke the jaws of the sinful, and took from their teeth what they had taken. ¹⁸ Then I thought, ‘I will die in my nest. My days will be as many as the sand. ¹⁹ My roots go to the water. As the water is on the grass in the early morning, it will be all night on my branches. ²⁰ My honor is always new to me, and my bow is new in my hand.’

²¹ “Men listened to me and waited. They were quiet so they could hear my words of wisdom. ²² After I spoke, they did not speak again. My words stayed with them. ²³ They waited for me as for rain. And they opened their mouths as for the spring rain. ²⁴ I looked at them with joy when they were not sure of themselves, and the light of my face gave them comfort. ²⁵ I decided the way for them and sat as their leader. I lived as a king among his army, and like one who gives comfort to those in sorrow.

Job Keeps On Talking

30 “But now those who are younger than I make fun of me. I thought so little of their fathers that I did not want them with my sheep dogs. ² Yes, what good could I get from the strength of their hands? Their strength was gone. ³ Their bodies are thin and in need of food. At night they bite the dry ground in the waste land. ⁴ They pick plants that taste of salt among the bushes. And they eat the root of the broom bush. ⁵ They are driven away from people. Men call out against them as if they were robbers. ⁶ So they live in valleys made by floods, in caves of the earth and of the rocks. ⁷ Among the bushes they cry out. They gather together under the thistles. ⁸ They are fools and they have no name. They have been driven out of the land.

⁹ “Now they make fun of me in song. They laugh at me. ¹⁰ They hate me and keep away from me, but they spit in my face. ¹¹ Because God has made the string of my bow loose and has troubled me, they have thrown off their respect for me. ¹² Their bad group comes to my right. They push me away and trip my feet, and make ways to destroy me. ¹³ They break up my path. They make trouble for me, and no one stops them. ¹⁴ They come as if through a wide hole in the wall, and roll on with much noise. ¹⁵ Fears come upon me. They go after my honor like the wind. And my well-being has passed away like a cloud.

¹⁶ “Now my soul is poured out within me. Days of trouble have taken hold of me. ¹⁷ Night cuts into my bones with pain. The pain keeps on and takes no rest. ¹⁸ My clothing is torn by a strong power. It pulls against me like the top of my coat. ¹⁹ God has thrown me into the mud, and I have become like dust and ashes. ²⁰ I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer me. I stand up, and You turn away from me. ²¹ You work against me. With the power of Your hand you make it hard for me. ²² You lift me up to the wind and make it carry me. You throw me around in the storm. ²³ For I know that You will bring me to death, to the place for all the living.

²⁴ “Yet does not one in a destroyed place put out his hand, and in his trouble cry out for help? ²⁵ Have I not cried for the one whose life is hard? Was not my soul filled with sorrow for the poor? ²⁶ When I expected good, then trouble came. When I waited for light, darkness came. ²⁷ My heart is troubled and does not rest. Days of trouble are before me. ²⁸ I go about full of sorrow without comfort. I stand up where the people are gathered and cry out for help. ²⁹ I have become a brother to wild dogs, and a friend of ostriches. ³⁰ My skin becomes black and falls from me. My bones burn because I am sick. ³¹ So my harp is turned to sorrow, and my horn to the sound of crying.

Job Keeps On Talking

31 “I have made an agreement with my eyes not to look with desire at a young woman. ² What would be my share from God above? What would my gift be from the All-powerful on high? ³ Does not trouble come to those who are not right and good? Do not hard times come to those who do wrong? ⁴ Does He not see my ways and number all my steps?

⁵ “If I have walked in ways that are false, and my foot has been quick to follow false ways, ⁶ let Him weigh me with a true weight. Let God know that I am honest. ⁷ If my step has turned from the way, and my heart has followed my eyes, or if my hands have held on to sin, ⁸ then let me plant and another eat. Let what grows be pulled out by the roots.

⁹ “If my heart has been tempted by a woman, or I have waited at my neighbor’s door, ¹⁰ may my wife grind grain for another. And let others bow down upon her. ¹¹ For that would be a very sinful thing to do. It would be a sin that would be punished by the judges. ¹² For that would be a fire that burns at the Place That Destroys. It would dig out all I have planted.

¹³ “If I did not listen to my men servants and women servants when they complained against me, ¹⁴ what will I do when God speaks to me? When He asks me why, what will I answer Him? ¹⁵ Did not He Who made me inside my mother make him also? Did not the same One give us life from our mothers?

¹⁶ “If I have kept what the poor should have or have caused the eyes of the woman whose husband has died to be tired, ¹⁷ if I have eaten my food alone without sharing it with the child who has no parents, ¹⁸ (but from the time I was young, he grew up with me as a father, and I have helped the woman without a husband since I was born,) ¹⁹ if I have seen anyone die because he had no clothing, or left any poor person without clothes, ²⁰ if he has not thanked me for the clothing on his body, and been made warm with the wool of my sheep, ²¹ if I have not done these things, or if I have lifted up my hand against the child who has no parents, because I saw I had help in the gate, ²² let my shoulder fall out of place, and let my arm be broken off at the joint. ²³ For trouble sent by God fills me with fear. Because of His great power I could not do these things.

²⁴ “If I have put my faith in gold and said fine gold is my trust, ²⁵ if I have had pride because of my many riches and have received much by my hand, ²⁶ if I have looked at the sun shining or the bright moon going on its way, ²⁷ and have in secret worshiped them in my heart, and have honored them by throwing them a kiss with my hand, ²⁸ these also would be sins to be judged. It would say I did not know the God above.

²⁹ “Have I been glad when a person who hated me was destroyed? Have I been filled with joy when trouble came to him? ³⁰ No, I have not allowed my mouth to sin by asking his life to be cursed. ³¹ Have the men of my tent not said, ‘Who can find one who has not been filled with his meat’? ³² The stranger has not stayed in the street, for I have opened my doors to the traveler. ³³ Have I hidden my sins like Adam? Have I hidden my wrong-doing in my heart, ³⁴ because I was afraid of all the people, and of families who hated me? Did I keep quiet and not go out of the door? ³⁵ If only I had one to hear me! See, here my name is written. Let the All-powerful answer me! May what is against me be written down! ³⁶ For sure I would carry it on my shoulder. I would tie it around my head like a crown. ³⁷ I would tell Him the number of my every step. I would come near Him like a prince.

³⁸ “If my land cries out against me and the ditches made by the plow cry together, ³⁹ if I have eaten its fruit without paying for it, and caused its owners to die, ⁴⁰ let thorns grow instead of grain. And let weeds with a bad smell grow instead of barley.”

The words of Job are finished.