HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 839
JOB 30
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greater than precious onyx or lapis
lazuli.
Wisdom is more valuable than gold and
crystal.
It cannot be purchased with jewels
mounted in fine gold.
Coral and jasper are worthless in trying
to get it.
The price of wisdom is far above rubies.
Precious peridot from Ethiopia* cannot be
exchanged for it.
It’s worth more than the purest gold.
“But do people know where to find wisdom?
Where can they find understanding?
It is hidden from the eyes of all humanity.
Even the sharp-eyed birds in the sky
cannot discover it.
Destruction* and Death say,
‘We’ve heard only rumors of where
wisdom can be found.’
“God alone understands the way to
wisdom;
he knows where it can be found,
for he looks throughout the whole earth
and sees everything under the heavens.
He decided how hard the winds should blow
and how much rain should fall.
He made the laws for the rain
and laid out a path for the lightning.
Then he saw wisdom and evaluated it.
He set it in place and examined it
thoroughly.
And this is what he says to all humanity:
‘The fear of the Lord is true wisdom;
to forsake evil is real understanding.’”
Job Speaks of His Former Blessings
Job continued speaking:
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The highest officials of the city stood
quietly,
holding their tongues in respect.
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“All who heard me praised me.
All who saw me spoke well of me.
For I assisted the poor in their need
and the orphans who required help.
I helped those without hope, and they
blessed me.
And I caused the widows’ hearts to sing
for joy.
Everything I did was honest.
Righteousness covered me like a robe,
and I wore justice like a turban.
I served as eyes for the blind
and feet for the lame.
I was a father to the poor
and assisted strangers who needed help.
I broke the jaws of godless oppressors
and plucked their victims from their
teeth.
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2 “I long for the years gone by
when God took care of me,
when he lit up the way before me
and I walked safely through the darkness.
When I was in my prime,
God’s friendship was felt in my home.
The Almighty was still with me,
and my children were around me.
My steps were awash in cream,
and the rocks gushed olive oil for me.
“Those were the days when I went to the
city gate
and took my place among the honored
leaders.
The young stepped aside when they saw me,
and even the aged rose in respect at my
coming.
The princes stood in silence
and put their hands over their mouths.
28:19 Hebrew from Cush. 28:22 Hebrew Abaddon.
29:18 Hebrew after I have counted my days like sand.
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“I thought, ‘Surely I will die surrounded by
my family
after a long, good life.*
For I am like a tree whose roots reach the
water,
whose branches are refreshed with
the dew.
New honors are constantly bestowed on me,
and my strength is continually renewed.’
“Everyone listened to my advice.
They were silent as they waited for me
to speak.
And after I spoke, they had nothing to add,
for my counsel satisfied them.
They longed for me to speak as people long
for rain.
They drank my words like a refreshing
spring rain.
When they were discouraged, I smiled
at them.
My look of approval was precious to
them.
Like a chief, I told them what to do.
I lived like a king among his troops
and comforted those who mourned.
Job Speaks of His Anguish
1 “But now I am mocked by people
younger than I,
by young men whose fathers are not
worthy to run with my sheepdogs.
2 A lot of good they are to me—
those worn-out wretches!
3 They are gaunt from poverty and hunger.
They claw the dry ground in desolate
wastelands.
4 They pluck wild greens from among the
bushes
and eat from the roots of broom trees.
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