Job 28-30

Contemporary English Version

28 Gold and silver are mined,
    then purified;
² the same is done
    with iron and copper.
³ Miners carry lanterns
deep into the darkness
    to search for these metals.
⁴ They dig tunnels
in distant, unknown places,
    where they dangle by ropes.
⁵ Far beneath the grain fields,
    fires are built
to break loose those rocks
⁶     that have jewels or gold.^[a]

^12 (A) But where is wisdom found?
^{13     (B)} No human knows the way.^[c]
14 Nor can it be discovered
    in the deepest sea.
* ¹⁵ It is worth much more
than silver or pure gold
¹⁶     or precious stones.
¹⁷ Nothing is its equal—
    not gold or costly glass.^[d]
18 Wisdom is worth much more than
    coral, jasper,^[e] or rubies.
¹⁹ All the topaz^[f] of Ethiopia^[g]
and the finest gold
    cannot compare with it.
²⁰ Where then is wisdom?
²¹ It is hidden from human eyes
    and even from birds.
²² Death and destruction
have merely heard rumors
    about where it is found.
^23 (C) God is the only one who knows
    the way to wisdom;
²⁴ he alone sees everything
    beneath the heavens.
²⁵ When God divided out
    the wind and the water,
²⁶ and when he decided the path
    for rain and lightning,
^27 (D) he also determined the truth
    and defined wisdom.
^28 (E) God told us, “Wisdom means
that you respect me, the Lord,
    and turn from sin.”

29 Job said:
² I long for the past,
    when God took care of me,
³ and the light from his lamp
showed me the way
    through the dark.
⁴ I was in the prime of life,
God All-Powerful
    was my closest friend,
⁵ and all of my children
    were nearby.
⁶ My herds gave enough milk
    to bathe my feet,
and from my olive harvest
    flowed rivers of oil.
* ⁷ When I sat down at the meeting
    of the city council,
⁸ the young leaders stepped aside,
* ⁹ while the older ones stood
¹⁰     and remained silent.

¹¹ Everyone was pleased
    with what I said and did.
¹² When poor people or orphans
cried out for help,
    I came to their rescue.
¹³ And I was highly praised
for my generosity to widows
    and others in poverty.
¹⁴ Kindness and justice
    were my coat and hat;
¹⁵ I was helpful to the blind
    and to the lame.
¹⁶ I was a father to the needy,
and I defended them in court,
    even if they were strangers.
¹⁷ When criminals attacked,
I broke their teeth
    and set their victims free.

30 Young people now insult me,
    although their fathers
would have been a disgrace
    to my sheep dogs.
² And those who insult me
    are helpless themselves.
³ They must claw the desert sand
in the dark for something
    to satisfy their hunger.^[h]
4 They gather tasteless shrubs
    for food and firewood,
⁵ and they are run out of towns,
    as though they were thieves.
⁶ Their only homes are ditches
    or holes between rocks,
⁷ where they bray like donkeys
    gathering around shrubs.
⁸ And like senseless donkeys
    they are chased away.

⁹ Those worthless nobodies
make up jokes and songs
    to disgrace me.
¹⁰ They are hateful
    and keep their distance,
even while spitting
    in my direction.
¹¹ God has destroyed me,
and so they don't care
    what they do.^[i]
12 Their attacks never stop,
though I am defenseless,
    and my feet are trapped.^[j]
13 Without any help,
    they prevent my escape,
destroying me completely^[k]
14     and leaving me crushed.
¹⁵ Terror has me surrounded;
my reputation and my riches
    have vanished like a cloud.

¹⁶ I am sick at heart!
    Pain has taken its toll.
¹⁷ Night chews on my bones,
    causing endless torment,
¹⁸ and God has shrunk my skin,
    choking me to death.^[l]
19 I have been thrown in the dirt
    and now am dirt myself.
²⁰ I beg God for help,
    but there is no answer;
and when I stand up,
    he simply stares.
²¹ God has turned brutal,
²² stirring up a windstorm
    to toss me about.
²³ Soon he will send me home
to the world of the dead,
    where we all must go.