Job 28:12-27

¹² But where can wisdom be found? Where does understanding dwell? ¹³ No mortal comprehends its worth; it cannot be found in the land of the living.

¹⁴ The deep says, "It is not in me"; the sea says, "It is not with me." ¹⁵ It cannot be bought with the finest gold, nor can its price be weighed out in silver. ¹⁶ It cannot be bought with the gold of Ophir, with precious onyx or lapis lazuli. ¹⁷ Neither gold nor crystal can compare with it, nor can it be had for jewels of gold. ¹⁸ Coral and jasper are not worthy of mention; the price of wisdom is beyond rubies. ¹⁹ The topaz of Cush cannot compare with it; it cannot be bought with pure gold.

²⁰ Where then does wisdom come from? Where does understanding dwell? ²¹ It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing, concealed even from the birds in the sky. ²² Destruction [1] and Death say, "Only a rumor of it has reached our ears." ²³ God understands the way to it and he alone knows where it dwells, ²⁴ for he views the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens. ²⁵ When he established the force of the wind and measured out the waters, ²⁶ when he made a decree for the rain and a path for the thunderstorm, ²⁷ then he looked at wisdom and appraised it; he confirmed it and tested it.

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Other Translations of Job 28:12-27

King James Version

¹² But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding? ¹³ Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living.

¹⁴ The depth saith, It is not in me: and the sea saith, It is not with me. ¹⁵ It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof. ¹⁶ It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire. ¹⁷ The gold and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels jewels...: or, vessels of of fine gold. ¹⁸ No mention shall be made of coral, coral: or, Ramoth or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies. ¹⁹ The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold.

²⁰ Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding? ²¹ Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air. air: or, heaven ²² Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears. ²³ God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof. ²⁴ For he looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven; ²⁵ To make the weight for the winds; and he weigheth the waters by measure. ²⁶ When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder: ²⁷ Then did he see it, and declare declare...: or, number it it; he prepared it, yea, and searched it out.

English Standard Version

¹² "But where shall 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 says, 'It is not in me,' and the sea says, 'It is not with me.' ¹⁵ It cannot be bought for gold, and silver cannot be weighed as its price. ¹⁶ It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx or sapphire. ¹⁷ Gold and glass cannot equal it, nor can it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold. ¹⁸ No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal; the price of wisdom is above pearls. ¹⁹ The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it, nor can it be valued in pure gold.

²⁰ "From where, then, does wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding? ²¹ It is hidden from the eyes of all living and concealed from the birds of the air. ²² Abaddon and Death say, 'We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.' ²³ "God understands the way to it, and he knows its place. ²⁴ For he looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens. ²⁵ When he gave to the wind its weight and apportioned the waters by measure, ²⁶ when he made a decree for the rain and a way for the lightning of the thunder, ²⁷ then he saw it and declared it; he established it, and searched it out.

The Message

¹² "But where, oh where, will they find Wisdom? Where does Insight hide? ¹³ Mortals don't have a clue, haven't the slightest idea where to look.

¹⁴ Earth's depths say, 'It's not here'; ocean deeps echo, 'Never heard of it.' ¹⁵ It can't be bought with the finest gold; no amount of silver can get it. ¹⁶ Even famous Ophir gold can't buy it, not even diamonds and sapphires. ¹⁷ Neither gold nor emeralds are comparable; extravagant jewelry can't touch it. ¹⁸ Pearl necklaces and ruby bracelets - why bother? None of this is even a down payment on Wisdom! ¹⁹ Pile gold and African diamonds as high as you will, they can't hold a candle to Wisdom.

²⁰ "So where does Wisdom come from? And where does Insight live? ²¹ It can't be found by looking, no matter how deep you dig, no matter how high you fly. ²² If you search through the graveyard and question the dead, they say, 'We've only heard rumors of it.' ²³ "God alone knows the way to Wisdom, he knows the exact place to find it. ²⁴ He knows where everything is on earth, he sees everything under heaven. ²⁵ After he commanded the winds to blow and measured out the waters, ²⁶ Arranged for the rain and set off explosions of thunder and lightning, ²⁷ He focused on Wisdom, made sure it was all set and tested and ready.

New King James Version

¹² "But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? ¹³ Man does not know its value, Nor is it found in the land of the living.

¹⁴ The deep says, 'It is not in me'; And the sea says, 'It is not with me.' ¹⁵ It cannot be purchased for gold, Nor can silver be weighed for its price. ¹⁶ It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, In precious onyx or sapphire. ¹⁷ Neither gold nor crystal can equal it, Nor can it be exchanged for jewelry of fine gold. ¹⁸ No mention shall be made of coral or quartz, For the price of wisdom is above rubies. ¹⁹ The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it, Nor can it be valued in pure gold.

²⁰ "From where then does wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding? ²¹ It is hidden from the eyes of all living, And concealed from the birds of the air. ²² Destruction and Death say, 'We have heard a report about it with our ears.' ²³ God understands its way, And He knows its place. ²⁴ For He looks to the ends of the earth, And sees under the whole heavens, ²⁵ To establish a weight for the wind, And apportion the waters by measure. ²⁶ When He made a law for the rain, And a path for the thunderbolt, ²⁷ Then He saw wisdom and declared it; He prepared it, indeed, He searched it out.

New Living Translation

¹² "But do people know where to find wisdom? Where can they find understanding? ¹³ No one knows where to find it, for it is not found among the living.

¹⁴ 'It is not here,' says the ocean. 'Nor is it here,' says the sea. ¹⁵ It cannot be bought with gold. It cannot be purchased with silver. ¹⁶ It's worth more than all the gold of Ophir, greater than precious onyx or lapis lazuli. ¹⁷ Wisdom is more valuable than gold and crystal. It cannot be purchased with jewels mounted in fine gold. ¹⁸ Coral and jasper are worthless in trying to get it. The price of wisdom is far above rubies. ¹⁹ Precious peridot from Ethiopia cannot be exchanged for it. It's worth more than the purest gold.

²⁰ "But do people know where to find wisdom? Where can they find understanding? ²¹ It is hidden from the eyes of all humanity. Even the sharp-eyed birds in the sky cannot discover it. ²² Destruction and Death say, 'We've heard only rumors of where wisdom can be found.' ²³ "God alone understands the way to wisdom; he knows where it can be found, ²⁴ for he looks throughout the whole earth and sees everything under the heavens. ²⁵ He decided how hard the winds should blow and how much rain should fall. ²⁶ He made the laws for the rain and laid out a path for the lightning. ²⁷ Then he saw wisdom and evaluated it. He set it in place and examined it thoroughly.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on Job 28:12-27

Commentary on Job 28:12-19

(Read Job 28:12-19)

Job here speaks of wisdom and understanding, the knowing and enjoying of God and ourselves. Its worth is infinitely more than all the riches in this world. It is a gift of the Holy Ghost which cannot be bought with money. Let that which is most precious in God's account, be so in ours. Job asks after it as one that truly desired to find it, and despaired of finding it any where but in God; any way but by Divine revelation.

Commentary on Job 28:20-28

(Read Job 28:20-28)

There is a two-fold wisdom; one hid in God, which is secret, and belongs not to us; the other made known by him, and revealed to man. One day's events, and one man's affairs, have such reference to, and so hang one upon another, that He only, to whom all is open, and who sees the whole at one view, can rightly judge of every part. But the knowledge of God's revealed will is within our reach, and will do us good. Let man look upon this as his wisdom, To fear the Lord, and to depart from evil. Let him learn that, and he is learned enough. Where is this wisdom to be found? The treasures of it are hid in Christ, revealed by the word, received by faith, through the Holy Ghost. It will not feed pride or vanity, or amuse our vain curiosity. It teaches and encourages sinners to fear the Lord, and to depart from evil, in the exercise of repentance and faith, without desiring to solve all difficulties about the events of this life.