Job 28

⁷so that the proven character of your faith—more precious than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

²But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner’s fire, like a launderer’s soap.

³And He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will present offerings to the Lord in righteousness.

³A crucible for silver and a furnace for gold, but the Lord is the tester of hearts.

¹⁰See, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.

²¹A crucible for silver and a furnace for gold, but a man is tested by the praise accorded him.

²¹All King Solomon’s drinking cups were gold, and all the utensils of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. There was no silver, because it was accounted as nothing in the days of Solomon.

⁹a land where you will eat food without scarcity, where you will lack nothing; a land whose rocks are iron and whose hills are ready to be mined for copper.

²²And Zillah gave birth to Tubal-cain, a forger of every implement of bronze and iron. And the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.

²²Only the gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, and lead—

¹⁴Now behold, I have taken great pains to provide for the house of the Lord—100,000 talents of gold, 1,000,000 talents of silver, and bronze and iron too great to be weighed. I have also provided timber and stone, and you may add to them.

¹³And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a miserable task God has laid upon the sons of men to occupy them!

¹⁶Have you journeyed to the vents of the sea or walked in the trenches of the deep?

¹⁷Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?

⁴if you seek it like silver and search it out like hidden treasure,

²²He reveals the deep things of darkness and brings deep shadows into light.

³³But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.

²¹before I go—never to return—to a land of darkness and gloom,

²²to a land of utter darkness, of deep shadow and disorder, where even the light is like darkness.”

²⁵When he has leveled its surface, does he not sow caraway and scatter cumin? He plants wheat in rows and barley in plots, and rye within its border.

²⁶For his God instructs and teaches him properly.

¹⁴He makes the grass grow for the livestock and provides crops for man to cultivate, bringing forth food from the earth:

¹⁵wine that gladdens the heart of man, oil that makes his face to shine, and bread that sustains his heart.

¹¹Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth vegetation: seed-bearing plants and fruit trees, each bearing fruit with seed according to its kind.” And it was so.

¹²The earth produced vegetation: seed-bearing plants according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

²⁹Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit contains seed. They will be yours for food.

¹³You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every kind of precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald. Your mountings and settings were crafted in gold, prepared on the day of your creation.

¹⁴You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for I had ordained you. You were on the holy mountain of God; you walked among the fiery stones.

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

¹⁰and they saw the God of Israel. Under His feet was a work like a pavement made of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself.

¹⁴His arms are rods of gold set with beryl. His body is polished ivory bedecked with sapphires.

¹⁹The foundations of the city walls were adorned with every kind of precious stone: The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald,

¹¹“O afflicted city, lashed by storms, without solace, surely I will set your stones in antimony and lay your foundations with sapphires.

⁶and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom has two sides. Know then that God exacts from you less than your iniquity deserves.

²¹It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing and concealed from the birds of the air.

²²Abaddon and Death say, ‘We have heard a rumor about it.’

³³O, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and untraceable His ways!

²⁴In which direction is the lightning dispersed, or the east wind scattered over the earth?

¹⁹Where is the way to the home of light? Do you know where darkness resides,

⁴He rebukes the sea and dries it up; He makes all the rivers run dry. Bashan and Carmel wither, and the flower of Lebanon wilts.

⁵The mountains quake before Him, and the hills melt away; the earth trembles at His presence—the world and all its dwellers.

⁴through knowledge its rooms are filled with every precious and beautiful treasure.

²³There is profit in all labor, but mere talk leads only to poverty.

⁹You brandished Your bow; You called for many arrows. Selah You split the earth with rivers.

⁵Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.

²“I will go before you and level the mountains; I will break down the gates of bronze and cut through the bars of iron.

³I will give you the treasures of darkness and the riches hidden in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who calls you by name.

⁸He wraps up the waters in His clouds, yet the clouds do not burst under their own weight.

²⁵I have dug wells and drunk foreign waters. With the soles of my feet I have dried up all the streams of Egypt.”

²⁷who says to the depths of the sea, ‘Be dry, and I will dry up your currents,’

⁴if you seek it like silver and search it out like hidden treasure,

⁵then you will discern the fear of the Lord and discover the knowledge of God.

²⁰From where, then, does wisdom come, and where does understanding dwell?

⁵Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

¹⁹The Lord founded the earth by wisdom and established the heavens by understanding.

³in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

¹⁹For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”

²⁰Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

¹¹For wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire compares with her.

¹⁸With me are riches and honor, enduring wealth and righteousness.

¹⁹My fruit is better than gold, pure gold, and my harvest surpasses choice silver.

¹⁴for she is more profitable than silver, and her gain is better than fine gold.

¹⁵She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire compares with her.

²³Invest in truth and never sell it—in wisdom and instruction and understanding.

⁴⁴The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and in his joy he went and sold all he had and bought that field.

⁴⁵Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls.

¹⁶When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe the task that one performs on the earth—though his eyes do not see sleep in the day or even in the night—

¹⁷I saw every work of God, and that a man is unable to comprehend the work that is done under the sun. Despite his efforts to search it out, he cannot find its meaning; even if the wise man claims to know, he is unable to comprehend.

³³O, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and untraceable His ways!

³⁴“Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been His counselor?”

¹⁶How much better to acquire wisdom than gold! To gain understanding is more desirable than silver.

¹⁹My fruit is better than gold, pure gold, and my harvest surpasses choice silver.

¹³Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who acquires understanding,

¹⁴for she is more profitable than silver, and her gain is better than fine gold.

¹⁰Receive my instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than pure gold.

¹¹For wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire compares with her.

¹⁷I love those who love me, and those who seek me early shall find me.

¹⁸Coral and quartz are unworthy of mention; the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.

⁹The daughters of kings are among your honored women; the queen stands at your right hand, adorned with the gold of Ophir.

¹²I will make man scarcer than pure gold, and mankind rarer than the gold of Ophir.

¹³You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every kind of precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald. Your mountings and settings were crafted in gold, prepared on the day of your creation.

²⁰and in the fourth row a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. Mount these stones in gold filigree settings.

⁴three thousand talents of gold (the gold of Ophir) and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the buildings,

¹Then the angel showed me a river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb

¹⁶How much better to acquire wisdom than gold! To gain understanding is more desirable than silver.

⁶And before the throne was something like a sea of glass, as clear as crystal. In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, covered with eyes in front and back.

²²Spread out above the heads of the living creatures was the likeness of an awesome expanse, gleaming like crystal.

¹¹shining with the glory of God. Its radiance was like a most precious jewel, like a jasper, as clear as crystal.

¹⁵She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire compares with her.

¹⁰A wife of noble character, who can find? She is far more precious than rubies.

¹⁶Aram was your customer because of your many products; they exchanged turquoise, purple, embroidered work, fine linen, coral, and rubies for your wares.

⁷Her dignitaries were brighter than snow, whiter than milk; their bodies were more ruddy than rubies, their appearance like sapphires.

⁶Do not give dogs what is holy; do not throw your pearls before swine. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.

¹¹For wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire compares with her.

¹⁰And they mounted on it four rows of gemstones: The first row had a ruby, a topaz, and an emerald;

¹⁹My fruit is better than gold, pure gold, and my harvest surpasses choice silver.

¹⁷And mount on it a setting of gemstones, four rows of stones: In the first row there shall be a ruby, a topaz, and an emerald;

¹³You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every kind of precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald. Your mountings and settings were crafted in gold, prepared on the day of your creation.

²⁰the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.

⁵Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

¹²But where can wisdom be found, and where does understanding dwell?

²⁸And He said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”

¹⁷Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.

²³But God understands its way, and He knows its place.

⁶Among the mature, however, we speak a message of wisdom—but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.

⁷No, we speak of the mysterious and hidden wisdom of God, which He destined for our glory before time began.

³My mouth will impart wisdom, and the meditation of my heart will bring understanding.

⁴I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will express my riddle with the harp:

²⁵At that time Jesus declared, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.

³in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

⁷No, we speak of the mysterious and hidden wisdom of God, which He destined for our glory before time began.

⁸None of the rulers of this age understood it. For if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

³⁵So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: “I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.”

¹⁷For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

⁶Sheol is naked before God, and Abaddon has no covering.

¹⁰who perished at Endor and became like dung on the ground.

¹¹Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb, and all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,

¹⁴The ocean depths say, ‘It is not in me,’ while the sea declares, ‘It is not with me.’

²²The Lord created me as His first course, before His works of old.

²³From everlasting I was established, from the beginning, before the earth began.

³⁰It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God: our righteousness, holiness, and redemption.

²⁵to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority through Jesus Christ our Lord before all time, and now, and for all eternity. Amen.

³³O, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and untraceable His ways!

⁶For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

⁵Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding has no limit.

³The eyes of the Lord are in every place, observing the evil and the good.

¹⁰For who has despised the day of small things? But these seven eyes of the Lord, which scan the whole earth, will rejoice when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.”

⁶Then I saw a Lamb who appeared to have been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which represent the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

⁹For the eyes of the Lord roam to and fro over all the earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are fully devoted to Him. You have acted foolishly in this matter. From now on, therefore, you will be at war.”

¹³The Lord looks down from heaven; He sees all the sons of men.

¹⁴From His dwelling place He gazes on all who inhabit the earth.

⁷He causes the clouds to rise from the ends of the earth. He generates the lightning with the rain and brings forth the wind from His storehouses.

¹²Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or marked off the heavens with the span of his hand? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on a scale and the hills with a balance?

¹⁵If He holds back the waters, they dry up, and if He releases them, they overwhelm the land.

²⁵Who cuts a channel for the flood or clears a path for the thunderbolt,

³He unleashes His lightning beneath the whole sky and sends it to the ends of the earth.

¹Ask the Lord for rain in springtime; the Lord makes the storm clouds, and He will give everyone showers of rain and crops in the field.

²²Can the worthless idols of the nations bring rain? Do the skies alone send showers? Is this not by You, O Lord our God? So we put our hope in You, for You have done all these things.

³The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders; the Lord is heard over many waters.

⁴The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is majestic.

³²He fills His hands with lightning and commands it to strike its mark.

¹For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.

²²The Lord created me as His first course, before His works of old.

²³From everlasting I was established, from the beginning, before the earth began.

¹⁰The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His precepts gain rich understanding. His praise endures forever!

⁷The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

¹⁰The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

⁷Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil.

¹³When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: Fear God and keep His commandments, because this is the whole duty of man.

⁶Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding in the sight of the peoples, who will hear of all these statutes and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”