28 “There are mines where people get silver and places where people melt gold to make it pure. ²Men dig iron from the ground. Copper is melted from the rocks. ³Workers carry lights into the caves. They search deep into the caves. They look for rocks in the deep darkness. ⁴Workers dig deep into the ground, following the veins of ore. They go deep down into the ground far away from where people live, down where no person has been before. They hang {from ropes far below ground}, far away from other men. ⁵Food grows on the ground above. But underground, {it is different}—as if everything were melted by fire. ⁶Underground there are sapphires* and grains of pure gold. ⁷Wild birds know nothing about the paths under the ground. No falcon* has ever seen those dark paths. ⁸Wild animals haven’t walked those paths. Lions haven’t traveled that way. ⁹Workers dig the hardest rocks. Those workers dig away at the mountains and make them bare. ¹⁰Workers cut tunnels through the rocks. They see all the rock’s treasures. ¹¹The workers make dams to stop the water. They bring hidden things out into the light. ¹²“But where can a person find wisdom? Where can we go to find understanding? ¹³We don’t know how valuable wisdom is. People on earth {can’t dig in the ground} and find wisdom. ¹⁴The deep ocean says, ‘Wisdom is not here with me.’ The sea says, ‘Wisdom is not here with me.’ ¹⁵You can’t buy wisdom with even the purest gold. There isn’t enough silver in the world to buy wisdom. ¹⁶You can’t buy wisdom with gold from Ophir or precious onyx* or sapphires.* ¹⁷Wisdom is worth more than gold or crystal. Expensive jewels set in gold can’t buy wisdom. ¹⁸Wisdom is worth more than coral* and jasper.* Wisdom is more precious than rubies. ¹⁹The topaz* from the country of Ethiopia is not as precious as wisdom. You can’t buy wisdom with pure gold. ²⁰“So, where does wisdom come from? Where can we find understanding? ²¹Wisdom is hidden from every living thing on earth. Even birds in the sky can’t see wisdom. ²²Death and destruction* say, ‘We haven’t found wisdom We have only heard rumors about it.’ ²³“Only God knows the way to wisdom. Only God knows where wisdom is. ²⁴God can see to the very ends of the earth. God sees everything under the sky. ²⁵God gave the wind its power. God decided how big to make the oceans. ²⁶God decided where to send the rain, and where the thunderstorms should go. ²⁷At that time God saw wisdom and thought about it. God saw how much wisdom was worth. And God approved of wisdom. ²⁸And God said to people, “Fear and respect the Lord—that is wisdom. Don’t do evil things—that is understanding.”

sapphires A very rare and expensive stone. falcon A kind of bird, like a hawk. onyx A semiprecious stone with many layers of blue or gray. coral A mineral found in the ocean. It is from the skeletons of tiny sea animals. Coral is often pink, red, or black. jasper A semiprecious stone that is often dark green. topaz A semiprecious stone that is usually yellow. Death and destruction Literally, “Abaddon.” The Hebrew word for “death and destruction,” or “destroyer,” or “place of destruction.”

Job Continues His Talk

29 Job continued telling his story. Job said: ²“I wish my life was like it was a few months ago. At that time God watched over me and cared for me. ³At that time, God’s light shined above me so I could walk through the darkness—{God showed me the right way to live}. ⁴I wish for the days when I was successful, and God was my close friend. In those days God blessed my home. ⁵I wish for the time when God All-Powerful was still with me, and my children were all around me. ⁶Life was very good then. I washed my feet in cream, and I had plenty of the finest oils.* ⁷“Those were the days when I went to the city gate and sat with the elders of the city in the public meeting place. ⁸All the people there respected me! The young men stepped out of my way when they saw me coming. And the old men got up. They stood to show they respected me. ⁹The leaders of the people stopped talking and put their hand to their mouth {to make other people be quiet}. ¹⁰Even the most important leaders lowered their voices when they spoke. Yes, it seemed like their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths. ¹¹People listened to what I said and then said good things about me. People watched what I did, and then they praised me. ¹²Why? Because when the poor person cried out for help, I helped. And I helped the child that had no parents and no one to care for him. ¹³The person that was dying blessed me. I helped widows* that were in need. ¹⁴Right living was my clothing. Fairness was like my robe and turban.* ¹⁵I was the eyes for blind people. {I led them where they wanted to go.} I was the feet for crippled people. {I carried them where they wanted to go.} ¹⁶I was like a father for poor people. I helped people I didn’t even know win their arguments in court. ¹⁷I stopped evil people abusing their power and saved innocent people from them.* ¹⁸“I always thought I would live a long life, growing old with my family around me. ¹⁹I thought I would be healthy and virile like a healthy plant with roots that have plenty of water and branches that are wet with dew. ²⁰I thought each new day would be bright and full of new and exciting possibilities.* ²¹“In the past, people listened to me. They were quiet while they waited for my advice. ²²After I had finished speaking, the people listening to me didn’t have anything else to say. My words fell gently into their ears. ²³People waited for me to speak, like they waited for rain. People drank in my words, as if they were rain in the spring time. ²⁴I laughed with those people, and they couldn’t believe it. My smile made them feel better. ²⁵I chose to be with those people, even though I was their leader. I was like a king in camp with his troops, comforting the people who were sad.

I had plenty of the finest oils Literally, “Around the anointed rock near me were streams of oil.” This probably means that Job had so much olive oil that there were streams of oil running down the altar from the part that Job gave as a gift to God. widow(s) Women whose husbands have died. Often these women had no one to care for them. turban A head covering made by wrapping a long piece of cloth around the head or around a cap worn on the head. I stopped … from them Literally, "I shattered the teeth of the crooked and snatched the victims from their teeth.” thought … possibilities Literally, “My Glory is new with me and my bow in my hand renewed.” ‘Glory’ and ‘bow’ might both refer to a rainbow—the promise of good weather after a storm. Or this might be understood as, "My soul feels new every day, my hand always strong enough to shoot a new bow.”