Job 26-28

New International Version

Job

26 Then Job replied:

²“How you have helped the powerless!^(A)
    How you have saved the arm that is feeble!^(B)
³What advice you have offered to one without wisdom!
    And what great insight^(C) you have displayed!
⁴Who has helped you utter these words?
    And whose spirit spoke from your mouth?^(D)

⁵“The dead are in deep anguish,^(E)
    those beneath the waters and all that live in them.
⁶The realm of the dead^(F) is naked before God;
    Destruction^[a]^(G) lies uncovered.^(H)
⁷He spreads out the northern skies^(I) over empty space;
    he suspends the earth over nothing.^(J)
⁸He wraps up the waters^(K) in his clouds,^(L)
    yet the clouds do not burst under their weight.
⁹He covers the face of the full moon,
    spreading his clouds^(M) over it.
¹⁰He marks out the horizon on the face of the waters^(N)
    for a boundary between light and darkness.^(O)
¹¹The pillars of the heavens quake,^(P)
    aghast at his rebuke.
¹²By his power he churned up the sea;^(Q)
    by his wisdom^(R) he cut Rahab^(S) to pieces.
¹³By his breath the skies^(T) became fair;
    his hand pierced the gliding serpent.^(U)
¹⁴And these are but the outer fringe of his works;
    how faint the whisper^(V) we hear of him!^(W)
    Who then can understand the thunder of his power?”^(X)

Job’s Final Word to His Friends

27 And Job continued his discourse:^(Y)

²“As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice,^(Z)
    the Almighty,^(AA) who has made my life bitter,^(AB)
³as long as I have life within me,
    the breath of God^(AC) in my nostrils,
⁴my lips will not say anything wicked,
    and my tongue will not utter lies.^(AD)
⁵I will never admit you are in the right;
    till I die, I will not deny my integrity.^(AE)
⁶I will maintain my innocence^(AF) and never let go of it;
    my conscience^(AG) will not reproach me as long as I live.^(AH)

⁷“May my enemy be like the wicked,^(AI)
    my adversary^(AJ) like the unjust!
⁸For what hope have the godless^(AK) when they are cut off,
    when God takes away their life?^(AL)
⁹Does God listen to their cry
    when distress comes upon them?^(AM)
¹⁰Will they find delight in the Almighty?^(AN)
    Will they call on God at all times?

¹¹“I will teach you about the power of God;
the ways^(AO) of the Almighty I will not conceal.^(AP)
¹²You 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:^(AQ)
¹⁴However many his children,^(AR) their fate is the sword;^(AS)
    his offspring will never have enough to eat.^(AT)
¹⁵The plague will bury those who survive him,
    and their widows will not weep for them.^(AU)
¹⁶Though he heaps up silver like dust^(AV)
    and clothes like piles of clay,^(AW)
¹⁷what he lays up^(AX) the righteous will wear,^(AY)
    and the innocent will divide his silver.^(AZ)
¹⁸The house^(BA) he builds is like a moth’s cocoon,^(BB)
    like a hut^(BC) made by a watchman.
¹⁹He lies down wealthy, but will do so no more;^(BD)
    when he opens his eyes, all is gone.^(BE)
²⁰Terrors^(BF) overtake him like a flood;^(BG)
    a tempest snatches him away in the night.^(BH)
²¹The east wind^(BI) carries him off, and he is gone;^(BJ)
    it sweeps him out of his place.^(BK)
²²It hurls itself against him without mercy^(BL)
    as he flees headlong^(BM) from its power.^(BN)
²³It claps its hands^(BO) in derision
    and hisses him out of his place.”^(BP)

Interlude: Where Wisdom Is Found

28 There is a mine for silver
    and a place where gold is refined.^(BQ)
²Iron is taken from the earth,
    and copper is smelted from ore.^(BR)
³Mortals put an end to the darkness;^(BS)
    they search out the farthest recesses
    for ore in the blackest darkness.^(BT)
⁴Far from human dwellings they cut a shaft,^(BU)
    in places untouched by human feet;
    far from other people they dangle and sway.
⁵The earth, from which food comes,^(BV)
    is transformed below as by fire;
⁶lapis lazuli^(BW) comes from its rocks,
    and its dust contains nuggets of gold.^(BX)
⁷No bird of prey knows that hidden path,
    no falcon’s eye has seen it.^(BY)
⁸Proud beasts^(BZ) do not set foot on it,
    and no lion prowls there.^(CA)
⁹People assault the flinty rock^(CB) with their hands
    and lay bare the roots of the mountains.^(CC)
¹⁰They tunnel through the rock;^(CD)
    their eyes see all its treasures.^(CE)
¹¹They search^[b] the sources of the rivers^(CF)
    and bring hidden things^(CG) to light.

¹²But where can wisdom be found?^(CH)
    Where does understanding dwell?^(CI)
¹³No mortal comprehends its worth;^(CJ)
    it cannot be found in the land of the living.^(CK)
¹⁴The deep^(CL) says, “It is not in me”;
    the sea^(CM) says, “It is not with me.”
¹⁵It cannot be bought with the finest gold,
    nor can its price be weighed out in silver.^(CN)
¹⁶It cannot be bought with the gold of Ophir,^(CO)
    with precious onyx or lapis lazuli.^(CP)
¹⁷Neither gold nor crystal can compare with it,^(CQ)
    nor can it be had for jewels of gold.^(CR)
¹⁸Coral^(CS) and jasper^(CT) are not worthy of mention;
    the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.^(CU)
¹⁹The topaz^(CV) of Cush^(CW) cannot compare with it;
    it cannot be bought with pure gold.^(CX)

²⁰Where then does wisdom come from?
    Where does understanding dwell?^(CY)
²¹It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing,
    concealed even from the birds in the sky.^(CZ)
²²Destruction^[c]^(DA) and Death^(DB) say,
    “Only a rumor of it has reached our ears.”
²³God understands the way to it
    and he alone^(DC) knows where it dwells,^(DD)
²⁴for he views the ends of the earth^(DE)
    and sees everything under the heavens.^(DF)
²⁵When he established the force of the wind
    and measured out the waters,^(DG)
²⁶when he made a decree for the rain^(DH)
    and a path for the thunderstorm,^(DI)
²⁷then he looked at wisdom and appraised it;
    he confirmed it and tested it.^(DJ)
²⁸And he said to the human race,
    “The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom,
    and to shun evil^(DK) is understanding.”^(DL)