Lay your treasure in the dust, the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks.
Parallel translations
- KJV Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks.
- BSB and consign your gold to the dust and the gold of Ophir to the stones of the ravines,
- NKJV Then you will lay your gold in the dust, And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks.
- NASB And put your gold in the dust, And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks,
- NLT If you give up your lust for money and throw your precious gold into the river,
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Eliphaz tells Job to treat gold as worthless as dust and stones in a streambed. He urges Job to value God above all earthly riches.
Overview
Eliphaz counsels a right ordering of treasure, holding wealth loosely as dust. This anticipates Christ's teaching to lay up treasure in heaven rather than on earth (Matt 6:19-21). The advice itself is wise and godly. Its flaw lies only in the implication that Job's troubles stem from a covetous heart that needs reforming.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Isa 13:12I will make people more rare than fine gold, even a person than the pure gold of Ophir.
- 1 Kgs 9:28They came to Ophir, and fetched from there gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon.
- Gen 10:29Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All these were the sons of Joktan.
- 1 Kgs 22:48Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold, but they didn’t go; for the ships wrecked at Ezion Geber.
- 2 Chr 9:10The servants of Huram and the servants of Solomon, who brought gold from Ophir, also brought algum trees and precious stones.
- Job 31:25If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great, and because my hand had gotten much;
- 2 Chr 9:27The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedars to be as abundant as the sycamore trees that are in the lowland.
- 2 Chr 1:5Moreover the bronze altar that Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made was there before Yahweh’s tabernacle; and Solomon and the assembly were seeking counsel there.
- Ps 45:9Kings’ daughters are among your honorable women. At your right hand the queen stands in gold of Ophir.
- 1 Kgs 10:21All king Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. None were of silver, because it was considered of little value in the days of Solomon.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Job's cry for a mediator who can lay his hand on both God and man, and his confidence that 'my Redeemer lives' and will stand on the earth, reaches forward to Jesus the living Redeemer.
How Job 22:24 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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