Job 28 :: American Standard Version (ASV)

Job Tells of Earth's Treasures

Job 28:1

Surely there is a mine for silver,

And a place for gold which they refine.

Job 28:2

Iron is taken out of the earth,

And copper is molten out of the stone.

Job 28:3

Man setteth an end to darkness,

And searcheth out, to the furthest bound,

The stones of obscurity and of thick darkness.

Job 28:4

He 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.

Job 28:5

As for the earth, out of it cometh bread;

And underneath it is turned up as it were by fire.

Job 28:6

The stones thereof are the place of sapphires,

And it hath dust of gold.

Job 28:7

That path no bird of prey knoweth,

Neither hath the falcon’s eye seen it:

Job 28:8

The proud beasts have not trodden it,

Nor hath the fierce lion passed thereby.

Job 28:9

He putteth forth his hand upon the flinty rock;

He overturneth the mountains by the roots.

Job 28:10

He cutteth out channels among the rocks;

And his eye seeth every precious thing.

Job 28:11

He bindeth the streams that they trickle not;

And the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light.

The Search for Wisdom Is Harder

Job 28:12

But where shall wisdom be found?

And where is the place of understanding?

Job 28:13

Man knoweth not the price thereof;

Neither is it found in the land of the living.

Job 28:14

The deep saith, It is not in me;

And the sea saith, It is not with me.

Job 28:15

It cannot be gotten for gold,

Neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof.

Job 28:16

It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir,

With the precious onyx, or the sapphire.

Job 28:17

Gold and glass cannot equal it,

Neither shall it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.

Job 28:18

No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal:

Yea, the price of wisdom is above rubies.

Job 28:19

The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it,

Neither shall it be valued with pure gold.

Job 28:20

Whence then cometh wisdom?

And where is the place of understanding?

Job 28:21

Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living,

And kept close from the birds of the heavens.

Job 28:22

Destruction and Death say,

We have heard a rumor thereof with our ears.

Job 28:23

God understandeth the way thereof,

And he knoweth the place thereof.

Job 28:24

For he looketh to the ends of the earth,

And seeth under the whole heaven;

Job 28:25

To make a weight for the wind:

Yea, he meteth out the waters by measure.

Job 28:26

When he made a decree for the rain,

And a way for the lightning of the thunder;

Job 28:27

Then did he see it, and declare it;

He established it, yea, and searched it out.

Job 28:28

And unto man he said,

Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;

And to depart from evil is understanding.

Thomas Nelson & Sons first published the American Standard Version in 1901. This translation of the Bible is in the public domain.

Job 28 :: American Standard Version (ASV)

Job Tells of Earth's Treasures

The Search for Wisdom Is Harder

Pericope