Wisdom is more valuable than gold and crystal. It cannot be purchased with jewels mounted in fine gold.
Parallel translations
- WEB Gold and glass can’t equal it, neither shall it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.
- KJV The gold and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold.
- BSB Neither gold nor crystal can compare to it, nor jewels of fine gold be exchanged for it.
- NKJV Neither gold nor crystal can equal it, Nor can it be exchanged for jewelry of fine gold.
- NASB “Gold or glass cannot equal it, Nor can it be exchanged for articles of pure gold.
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
Neither gold nor glass can equal wisdom, nor can it be traded for the finest gold vessels.
Overview
Glass was a rare and costly item in antiquity, here paired with gold to express the highest material value. Job insists that even these cannot be exchanged for wisdom. The accumulating comparisons drive home that wisdom is beyond all earthly price, a treasure ultimately found in God and revealed in Christ (Colossians 2:3).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Rev 22:1He showed me a river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb,
- Rev 21:11having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, as if it were a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
- Ezek 1:22Over the head of the living creature there was the likeness of an expanse, like the awesome crystal to look on, stretched out over their heads above.
- Prov 16:16How much better it is to get wisdom than gold! Yes, to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.
- Rev 4:6Before the throne was something like a sea of glass, similar to crystal. In the middle of the throne, and around the throne were four living creatures full of eyes before and behind.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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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 28:17 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.