Interlude: Where Wisdom Is Found

1There is a mine for silver

and a place where gold is refined.

2Iron is taken from the earth,

and copper is smelted from ore.

3Mortals put an end to the darkness;

they search out the farthest recesses

for ore in the blackest darkness.

4Far from human dwellings they cut a shaft,

in places untouched by human feet;

far from other people they dangle and sway.

5The earth, from which food comes,

is transformed below as by fire;

6lapis lazuli comes from its rocks,

and its dust contains nuggets of gold.

7No bird of prey knows that hidden path,

no falcon’s eye has seen it.

8Proud beasts do not set foot on it,

and no lion prowls there.

9People assault the flinty rock with their hands

and lay bare the roots of the mountains.

10They tunnel through the rock;

their eyes see all its treasures.

11They searchthe sources of the rivers

and bring hidden things to light.

12But where can wisdom be found?

Where does understanding dwell?

13No mortal comprehends its worth;

it cannot be found in the land of the living.

14The deep says, “It is not in me”;

the sea says, “It is not with me.”

15It cannot be bought with the finest gold,

nor can its price be weighed out in silver.

16It cannot be bought with the gold of Ophir,

with precious onyx or lapis lazuli.

17Neither gold nor crystal can compare with it,

nor can it be had for jewels of gold.

18Coral and jasper are not worthy of mention;

the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.

19The topaz of Cush cannot compare with it;

it cannot be bought with pure gold.

20Where then does wisdom come from?

Where does understanding dwell?

21It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing,

concealed even from the birds in the sky.

22Destructionand Death say,

“Only a rumor of it has reached our ears.”

23God understands the way to it

and he alone knows where it dwells,

24for he views the ends of the earth

and sees everything under the heavens.

25When he established the force of the wind

and measured out the waters,

26when he made a decree for the rain

and a path for the thunderstorm,

27then he looked at wisdom and appraised it;

he confirmed it and tested it.

28And he said to the human race,

“The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom,

and to shun evil is understanding.”

Job’s Final Word to His Friends

1And Job continued his discourse:

2“As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice,

the Almighty, who has made my life bitter,

3as long as I have life within me,

the breath of God in my nostrils,

4my lips will not say anything wicked,

and my tongue will not utter lies.

5I will never admit you are in the right;

till I die, I will not deny my integrity.

6I will maintain my innocence and never let go of it;

my conscience will not reproach me as long as I live.

7“May my enemy be like the wicked,

my adversary like the unjust!

8For what hope have the godless when they are cut off,

when God takes away their life?

9Does God listen to their cry

when distress comes upon them?

10Will they find delight in the Almighty?

Will they call on God at all times?

11“I will teach you about the power of God;

the ways of the Almighty I will not conceal.

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:

14However many his children, their fate is the sword;

his offspring will never have enough to eat.

15The plague will bury those who survive him,

and their widows will not weep for them.

16Though he heaps up silver like dust

and clothes like piles of clay,

17what he lays up the righteous will wear,

and the innocent will divide his silver.

18The house he builds is like a moth’s cocoon,

like a hut made by a watchman.

19He lies down wealthy, but will do so no more;

when he opens his eyes, all is gone.

20Terrors overtake him like a flood;

a tempest snatches him away in the night.

21The east wind carries him off, and he is gone;

it sweeps him out of his place.

22It hurls itself against him without mercy

as he flees headlong from its power.

23It claps its hands in derision

and hisses him out of his place.”

Job

1Then Job replied:

2“How you have helped the powerless!

How you have saved the arm that is feeble!

3What advice you have offered to one without wisdom!

And what great insight you have displayed!

4Who has helped you utter these words?

And whose spirit spoke from your mouth?

5“The dead are in deep anguish,

those beneath the waters and all that live in them.

6The realm of the dead is naked before God;

Destructionlies uncovered.

7He spreads out the northern skies over empty space;

he suspends the earth over nothing.

8He wraps up the waters in his clouds,

yet the clouds do not burst under their weight.

9He covers the face of the full moon,

spreading his clouds over it.

10He marks out the horizon on the face of the waters

for a boundary between light and darkness.

11The pillars of the heavens quake,

aghast at his rebuke.

12By his power he churned up the sea;

by his wisdom he cut Rahab to pieces.

13By his breath the skies became fair;

his hand pierced the gliding serpent.

14And these are but the outer fringe of his works;

how faint the whisper we hear of him!

Who then can understand the thunder of his power?”

Bildad

1Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:

2“Dominion and awe belong to God;

he establishes order in the heights of heaven.

3Can his forces be numbered?

On whom does his light not rise?

4How then can a mortal be righteous before God?

How can one born of woman be pure?

5If even the moon is not bright

and the stars are not pure in his eyes,

6how much less a mortal, who is but a maggot—

a human being, who is only a worm!”

1“Why does the Almighty not set times for judgment?

Why must those who know him look in vain for such days?

2There are those who move boundary stones;

they pasture flocks they have stolen.

3They drive away the orphan’s donkey

and take the widow’s ox in pledge.

4They thrust the needy from the path

and force all the poor of the land into hiding.

5Like wild donkeys in the desert,

the poor go about their labor of foraging food;

the wasteland provides food for their children.

6They gather fodder in the fields

and glean in the vineyards of the wicked.

7Lacking clothes, they spend the night naked;

they have nothing to cover themselves in the cold.

8They are drenched by mountain rains

and hug the rocks for lack of shelter.

9The fatherless child is snatched from the breast;

the infant of the poor is seized for a debt.

10Lacking clothes, they go about naked;

they carry the sheaves, but still go hungry.

11They crush olives among the terraces;

they tread the winepresses, yet suffer thirst.

12The groans of the dying rise from the city,

and the souls of the wounded cry out for help.

But God charges no one with wrongdoing.

13“There are those who rebel against the light,

who do not know its ways

or stay in its paths.

14When daylight is gone, the murderer rises up,

kills the poor and needy,

and in the night steals forth like a thief.

15The eye of the adulterer watches for dusk;

he thinks, ‘No eye will see me,’

and he keeps his face concealed.

16In the dark, thieves break into houses,

but by day they shut themselves in;

they want nothing to do with the light.

17For all of them, midnight is their morning;

they make friends with the terrors of darkness.

18“Yet they are foam on the surface of the water;

their portion of the land is cursed,

so that no one goes to the vineyards.

19As heat and drought snatch away the melted snow,

so the grave snatches away those who have sinned.

20The womb forgets them,

the worm feasts on them;

the wicked are no longer remembered

but are broken like a tree.

21They prey on the barren and childless woman,

and to the widow they show no kindness.

22But God drags away the mighty by his power;

though they become established, they have no assurance of life.

23He may let them rest in a feeling of security,

but his eyes are on their ways.

24For a little while they are exalted, and then they are gone;

they are brought low and gathered up like all others;

they are cut off like heads of grain.

25“If this is not so, who can prove me false

and reduce my words to nothing?”

Job

1Then Job replied:

2“Even today my complaint is bitter;

his hand is heavy in spite of my groaning.

3If only I knew where to find him;

if only I could go to his dwelling!

4I would state my case before him

and fill my mouth with arguments.

5I would find out what he would answer me,

and consider what he would say to me.

6Would he vigorously oppose me?

No, he would not press charges against me.

7There the upright can establish their innocence before him,

and there I would be delivered forever from my judge.

8“But if I go to the east, he is not there;

if I go to the west, I do not find him.

9When he is at work in the north, I do not see him;

when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him.

10But he knows the way that I take;

when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.

11My feet have closely followed his steps;

I have kept to his way without turning aside.

12I have not departed from the commands of his lips;

I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.

13“But he stands alone, and who can oppose him?

He does whatever he pleases.

14He carries out his decree against me,

and many such plans he still has in store.

15That is why I am terrified before him;

when I think of all this, I fear him.

16God has made my heart faint;

the Almighty has terrified me.

17Yet I am not silenced by the darkness,

by the thick darkness that covers my face.

Eliphaz

1Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:

2“Can a man be of benefit to God?

Can even a wise person benefit him?

3What pleasure would it give the Almighty if you were righteous?

What would he gain if your ways were blameless?

4“Is it for your piety that he rebukes you

and brings charges against you?

5Is not your wickedness great?

Are not your sins endless?

6You demanded security from your relatives for no reason;

you stripped people of their clothing, leaving them naked.

7You gave no water to the weary

and you withheld food from the hungry,

8though you were a powerful man, owning land—

an honored man, living on it.

9And you sent widows away empty-handed

and broke the strength of the fatherless.

10That is why snares are all around you,

why sudden peril terrifies you,

11why it is so dark you cannot see,

and why a flood of water covers you.

12“Is not God in the heights of heaven?

And see how lofty are the highest stars!

13Yet you say, ‘What does God know?

Does he judge through such darkness?

14Thick clouds veil him, so he does not see us

as he goes about in the vaulted heavens.’

15Will you keep to the old path

that the wicked have trod?

16They were carried off before their time,

their foundations washed away by a flood.

17They said to God, ‘Leave us alone!

What can the Almighty do to us?’

18Yet it was he who filled their houses with good things,

so I stand aloof from the plans of the wicked.

19The righteous see their ruin and rejoice;

the innocent mock them, saying,

20‘Surely our foes are destroyed,

and fire devours their wealth.’

21“Submit to God and be at peace with him;

in this way prosperity will come to you.

22Accept instruction from his mouth

and lay up his words in your heart.

23If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored:

If you remove wickedness far from your tent

24and assign your nuggets to the dust,

your gold of Ophir to the rocks in the ravines,

25then the Almighty will be your gold,

the choicest silver for you.

26Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty

and will lift up your face to God.

27You will pray to him, and he will hear you,

and you will fulfill your vows.

28What you decide on will be done,

and light will shine on your ways.

29When people are brought low and you say, ‘Lift them up!’

then he will save the downcast.

30He will deliver even one who is not innocent,

who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.”