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Friday, July 25th, 2025
the Week of Proper 11 / Ordinary 16
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Read the Bible

THE MESSAGE

Job 28:13

This verse is not available in the MSG!

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Ignorance;   Readings, Select;   Wisdom;   Thompson Chain Reference - Call, Divine;   God's;   Wisdom;   Wisdom-Folly;   The Topic Concordance - Wisdom;  

Dictionaries:

- Easton Bible Dictionary - Wise, Wisdom;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Coral;   God;   Job, the Book of;   Silver;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Mining and Metals;   Wisdom;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Winter ;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Coral;   Death;   Lively;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
No one can know its value,since it cannot be found in the land of the living.
Hebrew Names Version
Man doesn't know its price; Neither is it found in the land of the living.
King James Version
Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living.
English Standard Version
Man does not know its worth, and it is not found in the land of the living.
New Century Version
People do not understand the value of wisdom; it cannot be found among those who are alive.
New English Translation
Mankind does not know its place; it cannot be found in the land of the living.
Amplified Bible
"Man does not know the value of it; Nor is it found in the land of the living.
New American Standard Bible
"Mankind does not know its value, Nor is it found in the land of the living.
World English Bible
Man doesn't know its price; Neither is it found in the land of the living.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Man knoweth not the price thereof: for it is not found in the land of the liuing.
Legacy Standard Bible
Man does not know its worth,And it is not found in the land of the living.
Berean Standard Bible
No man can know its value, nor is it found in the land of the living.
Contemporary English Version
No human knows the way.
Complete Jewish Bible
No one knows its value, and it can't be found in the land of the living.
Darby Translation
Man knoweth not the value thereof; and it is not found in the land of the living.
Easy-to-Read Version
People don't know where wisdom is. It cannot be found by anyone on earth.
George Lamsa Translation
No man knows the treasure thereof; neither is it found except in the land of the living.
Good News Translation
Wisdom is not to be found among mortals; No one knows its true value.
Lexham English Bible
A human being does not know its proper value, and it is not found in the land of the living.
Literal Translation
Man does not know its value, nor is it found in the land of the living.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Verely no man can tell how worthy a thinge she is, nether is she foude in the lode of the lyuynge.
American Standard Version
Man knoweth not the price thereof; Neither is it found in the land of the living.
Bible in Basic English
Man has not seen the way to it, and it is not in the land of the living.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living.
King James Version (1611)
Man knoweth not the price thereof neither is it found in the land of the liuing.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Ueryly no man can tell howe worthy a thing she is, neither is she found in the lande of them that lyue.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
A mortal has not known its way, neither indeed has it been discovered among men.
English Revised Version
Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
A man noot the prijs therof, nether it is foundun in the lond of men lyuynge swetli, `ether delicatli.
Update Bible Version
Common man doesn't know its price; Neither is it found in the land of the living.
Webster's Bible Translation
Man knoweth not the price of it; neither is it found in the land of the living.
New King James Version
Man does not know its value, Nor is it found in the land of the living.
New Living Translation
No one knows where to find it, for it is not found among the living.
New Life Bible
Man does not know its worth, and it is not found in the land of the living.
New Revised Standard
Mortals do not know the way to it, and it is not found in the land of the living.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Mortal knoweth not the way thereof, neither can it be found in the land of the living;
Douay-Rheims Bible
Man knoweth not the price thereof, neither is it found in the land of them that live in delights.
Revised Standard Version
Man does not know the way to it, and it is not found in the land of the living.
Young's Literal Translation
Man hath not known its arrangement, Nor is it found in the land of the living.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Man does not know its value, Nor is it found in the land of the living.

Contextual Overview

1 "We all know how silver seams the rocks, we've seen the stuff from which gold is refined, We're aware of how iron is dug out of the ground and copper is smelted from rock. Miners penetrate the earth's darkness, searching the roots of the mountains for ore, digging away in the suffocating darkness. Far from civilization, far from the traffic, they cut a shaft, and are lowered into it by ropes. Earth's surface is a field for grain, but its depths are a forge Firing sapphires from stones and chiseling gold from rocks. Vultures are blind to its riches, hawks never lay eyes on it. Wild animals are oblivious to it, lions don't know it's there. Miners hammer away at the rock, they uproot the mountains. They tunnel through the rock and find all kinds of beautiful gems. They discover the origins of rivers, and bring earth's secrets to light. 12"But where, oh where, will they find Wisdom? Where does Insight hide? Mortals don't have a clue, haven't the slightest idea where to look. Earth's depths say, ‘It's not here'; ocean deeps echo, ‘Never heard of it.' It can't be bought with the finest gold; no amount of silver can get it. Even famous Ophir gold can't buy it, not even diamonds and sapphires. Neither gold nor emeralds are comparable; extravagant jewelry can't touch it. Pearl necklaces and ruby bracelets—why bother? None of this is even a down payment on Wisdom! Pile gold and African diamonds as high as you will, they can't hold a candle to Wisdom.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

knoweth: Job 28:15-19, Psalms 19:10, Psalms 119:72, Proverbs 3:14, Proverbs 3:15, Proverbs 8:11, Proverbs 8:18, Proverbs 8:19, Proverbs 16:16, Proverbs 23:23, Ecclesiastes 8:16, Ecclesiastes 8:17

in the land: Job 28:21, Job 28:22, Psalms 52:5, Isaiah 38:11, Isaiah 53:8

Reciprocal: Job 36:3 - fetch Jeremiah 11:19 - from Ezekiel 32:23 - the land

Cross-References

Genesis 12:7
God appeared to Abram and said, "I will give this land to your children." Abram built an altar at the place God had appeared to him.
Genesis 15:1
After all these things, this word of God came to Abram in a vision: "Don't be afraid, Abram. I'm your shield. Your reward will be grand!"
Genesis 28:6
Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him to Paddan Aram to get a wife there, and while blessing him commanded, "Don't marry a Canaanite woman," and that Jacob had obeyed his parents and gone to Paddan Aram. When Esau realized how deeply his father Isaac disliked the Canaanite women, he went to Ishmael and married Mahalath the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son. This was in addition to the wives he already had.
Genesis 28:16
Jacob woke up from his sleep. He said, " God is in this place—truly. And I didn't even know it!" He was terrified. He whispered in awe, "Incredible. Wonderful. Holy. This is God's House. This is the Gate of Heaven."
Genesis 32:9
And then Jacob prayed, "God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, God who told me, ‘Go back to your parents' homeland and I'll treat you well.' I don't deserve all the love and loyalty you've shown me. When I left here and crossed the Jordan I only had the clothes on my back, and now look at me—two camps! Save me, please, from the violence of my brother, my angry brother! I'm afraid he'll come and attack us all, me, the mothers and the children. You yourself said, ‘I will treat you well; I'll make your descendants like the sands of the sea, far too many to count.'"
Genesis 35:1
God spoke to Jacob: "Go back to Bethel. Stay there and build an altar to the God who revealed himself to you when you were running for your life from your brother Esau."
Genesis 46:3
God said, "I am the God of your father. Don't be afraid of going down to Egypt. I'm going to make you a great nation there. I'll go with you down to Egypt; I'll also bring you back here. And when you die, Joseph will be with you; with his own hand he'll close your eyes."
Genesis 48:3
Jacob said to Joseph, "The Strong God appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me. He said, ‘I'm going to make you prosperous and numerous, turn you into a congregation of tribes; and I'll turn this land over to your children coming after you as a permanent inheritance.' I'm adopting your two sons who were born to you here in Egypt before I joined you; they have equal status with Reuben and Simeon. But any children born after them are yours; they will come after their brothers in matters of inheritance. I want it this way because, as I was returning from Paddan, your mother Rachel, to my deep sorrow, died as we were on our way through Canaan when we were only a short distance from Ephrath, now called Bethlehem."
Exodus 3:6
Then he said, "I am the God of your father: The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob." Moses hid his face, afraid to look at God.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Man knoweth not the price thereof,.... The worth and value of it, what price to set upon it, or offer and give for it; nor does he know where to find an equivalent to it, or what is a valuable consideration for it: as for the wisdom of God in his dealings with men, if a man was to give all the substance of his house to know the secret reasons of them, it would utterly be condemned; yea, if he had all the riches in the world in his possession, and would offer them on that consideration, he would not be able to attain the knowledge of them: or "the order thereof" o; the order of divine Providence, the wise disposal of thing, and the reasons thereof. In the first sense it is applicable to all the things before mentioned; to spiritual wisdom in men, supernatural grace, experimental religion, and real godliness; the worth of which is not known by carnal men, they despise it, and scoff at it; and to the Gospel, which is reckoned foolishness by them, and is of no account; and so is Christ himself rejected and disallowed of men, though chosen of God, and precious both to him and them that believe, who only know the price and value of him:

neither is it found in the land of the living; meaning not wisdom, though that in every sense is not from below, or earthly, but from above, and heavenly, but the price of it; and the sense is, that there is nothing in the whole globe that is equal to its worth, or can be proposed as a valuable consideration for it.

o ערכה "ordinem ejus", Montanus, Bolducius.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Man knoweth not the price thereof - The word rendered “price” (ערך êrek) means properly that which is set in a pile or row, or which is arranged in order. Here it means preparation, equipment - that is, anything put in order, or ready, Judges 17:10. It is also used in the sense of estimation or valuation, Leviticus 5:15, Leviticus 5:18. The word “price” here, however, seems to form no proper answer to the question in the previous verse, as the question is, “where” wisdom is to be found, not what is its “value.” Many expositors have, therefore, introduced a different idea in their interpretation. Dr. Good renders it, “Man knoweth not its source.” Prof. Lee, “Man knoweth not its equal.” Herder, “Man knoweth not the seat thereof.” Coverdale, “No man can tell how worthy a thing she is.” The Septuagint renders it, “Man knoweth not - όδὸν άυτῆς hodon autēs - her way.” But the word used here is not employed to denote a “place” or “way,” and the true interpretation doubtless is, that Job does not confine himself to a strict answer of the question proposed in Job 28:12, but goes on to say that man could not buy it; he could neither find it, nor had he the means of purchasing it with all the wealth of which he was the owner.

Neither is it found in the land of the living - That is, it is not found among human beings. We must look to a higher source than man for true wisdom; compare Isaiah 38:11; Isaiah 53:8.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Job 28:13. Man knoweth not the price thereof — It is of infinite value; and is the only science which concerns both worlds. Without it, the wisest man is but a beast; with it, the simplest man is next to an angel.

Neither is it found in the land of the living. — The world by wisdom, its wisdom, never knew God. True religion came by Divine revelation: that alone gives the true notion of God, his attributes, ways, designs, judgments, providences, &c., whence man came, what is his duty, his nature, and his end. Literature, science, arts, &c., &c., can only avail man for the present life, nor can they contribute to his true happiness, unless tempered and directed by genuine religion.


 
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