The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, Neither shall it be valued with pure gold.
Parallel translations
- KJV The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold.
- BSB Topaz from Cush cannot compare to it, nor can it be valued in pure gold.
- ESV The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it, nor can it be valued in pure gold.
- NKJV The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it, Nor can it be valued in pure gold.
- NASB “The topaz of Cush cannot equal it, Nor can it be valued in pure gold.
- NLT Precious peridot from Ethiopia cannot be exchanged for it. It’s worth more than the purest gold.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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
Even the topaz of Ethiopia and pure gold cannot match the value of wisdom.
Overview
Job concludes his catalogue of precious things by naming the topaz of Cush and pure gold, again declaring them unequal to wisdom. The cumulative force of these verses establishes that no created treasure can buy or rival it. The lesson points beyond material gain to the surpassing worth of knowing God, the true source and end of wisdom.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Exod 28:17You shall set in it settings of stones, four rows of stones: a row of ruby, topaz, and beryl shall be the first row;
- Ezek 28:13You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz, emerald, chrysolite, onyx, jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and beryl. Gold work of tambourines and of pipes was in you. In the day that you were created they were prepared.
- Exod 39:10They set in it four rows of stones. A row of ruby, topaz, and beryl was the first row;
- Prov 8:19My fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold; my yield than choice silver.
- Rev 21:20the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprasus; the eleventh, jacinth; and the twelfth, amethyst.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 28:19 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.