Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding?
Parallel translations
- WEB Where then does wisdom come from? Where is the place of understanding?
- BSB From where then does wisdom come, and where does understanding dwell?
- NKJV “Fromwhere then does wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding?
- NASB “Where then does wisdom come from? And where is this place of understanding?
- NLT “But do people know where to find wisdom? Where can they find understanding?
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
Job repeats his central question: where does wisdom come from, and where is understanding found?
Overview
Echoing verse 12, Job restates the question after showing that wisdom cannot be mined or purchased. The repetition heightens the suspense and prepares for the answer that only God can give. This question ultimately finds its resolution in the gospel, where the wisdom hidden from the ages is revealed in Christ crucified (1 Corinthians 2:7).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Job 28:12But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding?
- Jas 1:17Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
- Job 28:28And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the LORD, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.
- Jas 1:5If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
- Job 28:23God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof.
- Eccl 7:23–24All this have I proved by wisdom: I said, I will be wise; but it was far from me.
- Prov 2:6For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.
- 1 Cor 2:6–15Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:
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 28:20 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.