Job 25–28: The Debate Dies, and Wisdom Is Not Found in the Land of the Living
Scripture: Berean Standard Bible
Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:
“Dominion and awe belong to God;he establishes harmony in the heights of heaven.Can his troops be numbered?On whom does his light not rise?How then can a man be just before God?How can one born of woman be pure?If even the moon does not shine,and the stars are not pure in his sight,how much less man, who is but a maggot,and the son of man, who is but a worm!”
Then Job answered:
“How you have helped the powerlessand saved the arm that is feeble!How you have counseled the unwiseand provided fully sound insight!To whom have you uttered these words?And whose spirit spoke through you?
The dead tremble—those beneath the waters and those who dwell in them.Sheol is naked before God,and Abaddon has no covering.He stretches out the north over empty space;he hangs the earth upon nothing.He wraps up the waters in his clouds,yet the clouds do not burst under their own weight.He covers the face of the full moon,spreading over it his cloud.He has inscribed a horizon on the face of the watersat the boundary between light and darkness.The foundations of heaven quake,astounded at his rebuke.By his power he stirred the sea;by his understanding he shattered Rahab.By his breath the skies were cleared;his hand pierced the fleeing serpent.Indeed, these are but the fringes of his ways;how faint is the whisper we hear of him!Who then can understandthe thunder of his power?”
Job continued his discourse:
“As surely as God lives, who has deprived me of justice—the Almighty, who has embittered my soul—as long as my breath is still within meand the breath of God remains in my nostrils,my lips will not speak wickedness,and my tongue will not utter deceit.I will never say that you are right;I will maintain my integrity until I die.I will cling to my righteousness and never let go.As long as I live, my conscience will not accuse me.
May my enemy be like the wickedand my opponent like the unjust.For what is the hope of the godless when he is cut off,when God takes away his life?Will God hear his crywhen distress comes upon him?Will he delight in the Almighty?Will he call upon God at all times?I will instruct you in the power of God.I will not conceal the ways of the Almighty.Surely all of you have seen it for yourselves.Why then do you keep up this empty talk?
This is the wicked man’s portion from God—the heritage the ruthless receive from the Almighty.Though his sons are many, they are destined for the sword;and his offspring will never have enough food.His survivors will be buried by the plague,and their widows will not weep for them.Though he heaps up silver like dustand piles up a wardrobe like clay,what he lays up, the righteous will wear,and his silver will be divided by the innocent.The house he built is like a moth’s cocoon,like a hut set up by a watchman.He lies down wealthy, but will do so no more;when he opens his eyes, all is gone.Terrors overtake him like a flood;a tempest sweeps him away in the night.The east wind carries him away, and he is gone;it sweeps him out of his place.It hurls itself against him without mercyas he flees headlong from its power.It claps its hands at himand hisses him out of his place.“Surely there is a mine for silverand a place where gold is refined.Iron is taken from the earth,and copper is smelted from ore.Man puts an end to the darkness;he probes the farthest recessesfor ore in deepest darkness.Far from human habitation he cuts a shaftin places forgotten by the foot of man.Far from men he dangles and sways.Food may come from the earth,but from below it is transformed as by fire.Its rocks are the source of sapphires,containing flecks of gold.No bird of prey knows that path;no falcon’s eye has seen it.Proud beasts have never trodden it;no lion has ever prowled over it.The miner strikes the flint;he overturns mountains at their base.He hews out channels in the rocks,and his eyes spot every treasure.He stops up the sources of the streamsto bring what is hidden to light.
But where can wisdom be found,and where does understanding dwell?No man can know its value,nor is it found in the land of the living.The ocean depths say, ‘It is not in me,’while the sea declares, ‘It is not with me.’It cannot be bought with gold,nor can its price be weighed out in silver.It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,in precious onyx or sapphire.Neither gold nor crystal can compare to it,nor jewels of fine gold be exchanged for it.Coral and quartz are unworthy of mention;the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.Topaz from Cush cannot compare to it,nor can it be valued in pure gold.
From where then does wisdom come,and where does understanding dwell?It is hidden from the eyes of every living thingand concealed from the birds of the air.Abaddon and Death say,‘We have heard a rumor about it.’But God understands its way,and he knows its place.For he looks to the ends of the earthand sees everything under the heavens.When God fixed the weight of the windand measured out the waters,when he set a limit for the rainand a path for the thunderbolt,then he looked at wisdom and appraised it;he established it and searched it out.And he said to man, ‘Behold,the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,and to turn away from evil is understanding.’ ”