Man puts an end to the darkness; he probes the farthest recesses for ore in deepest darkness.
Parallel translations
- WEB Man sets an end to darkness, and searches out, to the furthest bound, the stones of obscurity and of thick darkness.
- KJV He setteth an end to darkness, and searcheth out all perfection: the stones of darkness, and the shadow of death.
- NKJV Man puts an end to darkness, And searches every recess For ore in the darkness and the shadow of death.
- NASB “Man puts an end to darkness, And to the farthest limit he searches out The rock in gloom and deep shadow.
- NLT They know how to shine light in the darkness and explore the farthest regions of the earth as they search in the dark for ore.
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
Miners drive back the darkness and search the deepest, most hidden places of the earth for ore.
Overview
Job describes how men bring light into the darkest depths of the earth, searching out hidden stones to their furthest limit. This vivid picture honors the lengths to which people go to obtain treasure. Yet the deeper irony emerges: man probes the dark recesses of the ground but cannot, by such searching, lay hold of wisdom, which lies beyond the created order.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Eccl 1:13And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid upon the sons of men to occupy them!
- Job 10:21–22before I go—never to return—to a land of darkness and gloom,
- Prov 2:4if you seek it like silver and search it out like hidden treasure,
- Luke 16:8The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the sons of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the sons of light.
- Job 12:22He reveals the deep things of darkness and brings deep shadows into light.
- Matt 6:33But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.
- Job 38:16–17Have you journeyed to the vents of the sea or walked in the trenches of the deep?
- Hab 2:13Is it not indeed from the LORD of Hosts that the labor of the people only feeds the fire, and the nations weary themselves in vain?
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 28:3 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.