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.
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.
- BSB Man puts an end to the darkness; he probes the farthest recesses for ore in deepest darkness.
- ESV Man puts an end to darkness and searches out to the farthest limit the ore in gloom and deep darkness.
- 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.
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
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 1:13I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under the sky. It is a heavy burden that God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with.
- Job 10:21–22before I go where I shall not return from, to the land of darkness and of the shadow of death;
- Prov 2:4If you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures:
- Luke 16:8“His lord commended the dishonest manager because he had done wisely, for the children of this world are, in their own generation, wiser than the children of the light.
- Job 12:22He uncovers deep things out of darkness, and brings out to light the shadow of death.
- Matt 6:33But seek first God’s Kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well.
- Job 38:16–17“Have you entered into the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in the recesses of the deep?
- Hab 2:13Behold, isn’t it of Yahweh of Armies that the peoples labor for the fire, and the nations weary themselves for vanity?
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.