Morning Bible Study: Job 28:12-19

12 But where can wisdom be found,

and where is understanding located?

13 No one can know its value,

since it cannot be found in the land of the living.

14 The ocean depths say, “It’s not in me,”

while the sea declares, “I don’t have it.”

15 Gold cannot be exchanged for it,

and silver cannot be weighed out for its price.

16 Wisdom cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,

in precious onyx or lapis lazuli.

17 Gold and glass do not compare with it,

and articles of fine gold cannot be exchanged for it.

18 Coral and quartz are not worth mentioning.

The price of wisdom is beyond pearls.

19 Topaz from Cush cannot compare with it,

and it cannot be valued in pure gold.

Commentary

(the following is from Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary, 1706 -- www.christianity.com)

"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."

Morning Bible Study: Job 28:1-11

A Hymn to Wisdom
28:1 Surely there is a mine for silver
and a place where gold is refined.
2 Iron is taken from the ground,
and copper is smelted from ore.
3 A miner puts an end to the darkness;
he probes the deepest recesses
for ore in the gloomy darkness.
4 He cuts a shaft far from human habitation,
in places unknown to those who walk above ground.
Suspended far away from people,
the miners swing back and forth.
5 Food may come from the earth,
but below the surface the earth is transformed as by fire.
6 Its rocks are a source of lapis lazuli,
containing flecks of gold.
7 No bird of prey knows that path;
no falcon’s eye has seen it.
8 Proud beasts have never walked on it;
no lion has ever prowled over it.
9 The miner uses a flint tool
and turns up ore from the root of the mountains.
10 He cuts out channels in the rocks,
and his eyes spot every treasure.
11 He dams up the streams from flowing
so that he may bring to light what is hidden.

Commentary
(the following is from Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary, 1706 -- www.christianity.com)

"Job maintained that the dispensations of Providence were regulated by the highest wisdom. To confirm this, he showed of what a great deal of knowledge and wealth men may make themselves masters. The caverns of the earth may be discovered, but not the counsels of Heaven. How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! How much easier, and safer! Yet gold is sought for, but grace neglected."