Job 25 - 28

25 Bildad Says Man Is Inferior

1 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered,

2 “Dominion and awe belong to Him
Who establishes peace in His heights.
3 “Is there any number to His troops?
And upon whom does His light not rise?
4 “How then can a man be just with God?
Or how can he be clean who is born of woman?
5 “If even the moon has no brightness
And the stars are not pure in His sight,
6 How much less man, that maggot,
And the son of man, that worm!”

26 Job Rebukes Bildad

1 Then Job responded,

2 “What a help you are to the weak!
How you have saved the arm without strength!
3 “What counsel you have given to one without wisdom!
What helpful insight you have abundantly provided!
4 “To whom have you uttered words?
And whose spirit was expressed through you?

The Greatness of God

5 “The departed spirits tremble
Under the waters and their inhabitants.
6 “Naked is Sheol before Him,
And Abaddon has no covering.
7 “He stretches out the north over empty space
And hangs the earth on nothing.
8 “He wraps up the waters in His clouds,
And the cloud does not burst under them.
9 “He obscures the face of the full moon
And spreads His cloud over it.
10 “He has inscribed a circle on the surface of the waters
At the boundary of light and darkness.
11 “The pillars of heaven tremble
And are amazed at His rebuke.
12 “He quieted the sea with His power,
And by His understanding He shattered Rahab.
13 “By His breath the heavens are cleared;
His hand has pierced the fleeing serpent.
14 “Behold, these are the fringes of His ways;
And how faint a word we hear of Him!
But His mighty thunder, who can understand?”

27 Job Affirms His Righteousness

1 Then Job continued his discourse and said,

2 “As God lives, who has taken away my right,
And the Almighty, who has embittered my soul,
3 For as long as life is in me,
And the breath of God is in my nostrils,
4 My lips certainly will not speak unjustly,
Nor will my tongue mutter deceit.
5 “Far be it from me that I should declare you right;
Till I die I will not put away my integrity from me.
6 “I hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go.
My heart does not reproach any of my days.

The State of the Godless

7 “May my enemy be as the wicked
And my opponent as the unjust.
8 “For what is the hope of the godless when he is cut off,
When God requires his life?
9 “Will God hear his cry
When distress comes upon him?
10 “Will he take delight in the Almighty?
Will he call on God at all times?
11 “I will instruct you in the power of God;
What is with the Almighty I will not conceal.
12 “Behold, all of you have seen it;
Why then do you act foolishly?

13 “This is the portion of a wicked man from God,
And the inheritance which tyrants receive from the Almighty.
14 “Though his sons are many, they are destined for the sword;
And his descendants will not be satisfied with bread.
15 “His survivors will be buried because of the plague,
And their widows will not be able to weep.
16 “Though he piles up silver like dust
And prepares garments as plentiful as the clay,
17 He may prepare it, but the just will wear it
And the innocent will divide the silver.
18 “He has built his house like the spider’s web,
Or as a hut which the watchman has made.
19 “He lies down rich, but never again;
He opens his eyes, and it is no longer.
20 “Terrors overtake him like a flood;
A tempest steals him away in the night.
21 “The east wind carries him away, and he is gone,
For it whirls him away from his place.
22 “For it will hurl at him without sparing;
He will surely try to flee from its power.
23 “Men will clap their hands at him
And will hiss him from his place.

28 Job Tells of Earth’s Treasures

1 “Surely there is a mine for silver
And a place where they refine gold.
2 “Iron is taken from the dust,
And copper is smelted from rock.
3 “Man puts an end to darkness,
And to the farthest limit he searches out
The rock in gloom and deep shadow.
4 “He sinks a shaft far from habitation,
Forgotten by the foot;
They hang and swing to and fro far from men.
5 “The earth, from it comes food,
And underneath it is turned up as fire.
6 “Its rocks are the source of sapphires,
And its dust contains gold.
7 “The path no bird of prey knows,
Nor has the falcon’s eye caught sight of it.
8 “The proud beasts have not trodden it,
Nor has the fierce lion passed over it.
9 “He puts his hand on the flint;
He overturns the mountains at the base.
10 “He hews out channels through the rocks,
And his eye sees anything precious.
11 “He dams up the streams from flowing,
And what is hidden he brings out to the light.

The Search for Wisdom Is Harder

12 “But where can wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?
13 “Man does not know its value,
Nor is it found in the land of the living.
14 “The deep says, ‘It is not in me’;
And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’
15 “Pure gold cannot be given in exchange for it,
Nor can silver be weighed as its price.
16 “It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,
In precious onyx, or sapphire.
17 “Gold or glass cannot equal it,
Nor can it be exchanged for articles of fine gold.
18 “Coral and crystal are not to be mentioned;
And the acquisition of wisdom is above that of pearls.
19 “The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it,
Nor can it be valued in pure gold.
20 “Where then does wisdom come from?
And where is the place of understanding?
21 “Thus it is hidden from the eyes of all living
And concealed from the birds of the sky.
22 “Abaddon and Death say,
‘With our ears we have heard a report of it.’

23 “God understands its way,
And He knows its place.
24 “For He looks to the ends of the earth
And sees everything under the heavens.
25 “When He imparted weight to the wind
And meted out the waters by measure,
26 When He set a limit for the rain
And a course for the thunderbolt,
27 Then He saw it and declared it;
He established it and also searched it out.
28 “And to man He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;
And to depart from evil is understanding.’”