Job 28:20

Job 28:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding?
• New International Version (NIV)Where then does wisdom come from? Where does understanding dwell?
• English Standard Version (ESV)"From where, then, does wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding?
• New King James Version (NKJV)“From where then does wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding?

Context of Job 28:20

18As for coral and jasper, they are not nearly as valuable as wisdom. Its price is more than the price of rubies. 19Topaz from Ethiopia is not as valuable as wisdom. No one can buy it, not even with pure gold. So where can we find wisdom? Where can we learn to understand things properly? 21We cannot see where it is. No person or animal can see it. No bird that flies in the sky can see it. 22In the place of death, they say, “We have heard only a little about wisdom, and where to find it.”

Job 28:20 word by word

וְֽ֭הַחָכְמָה מֵאַ֣יִן תָּב֑וֹא וְאֵ֥י זֶ֝֗ה מְק֣וֹם בִּינָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Whenceאַ֫יִן'ayin · where?H370
• then comethבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• wisdomחׇכְמָהchokmâh · wisdomH2451
• the placeמָקוֹםmâqôm mâqôm meqômâh meqômâh · placeH4725
• of understandingבִּינָהbîynâh · understandingH998

Cross-references for Job 28:20

• Job 28:12But as for wisdom, people do not know where to find it. They cannot learn how to understand things properly.
• Proverbs 2:6It is the Lord who gives wisdom to people. He teaches us to understand things, so that we know what is true.
• Ecclesiastes 7:23I have used wisdom to study all these things. I tried very much to understand everything that happens. But I could not do it.
• 1 Corinthians 2:6But we do speak about wise thoughts to those of you who know Christ very well. But those wise thoughts do not belong to this world. They are not the ideas that the rulers of this world think are important. Those rulers will not be powerful for long.
• James 1:5But maybe you need to know how to be wise. Then ask God to help you. He is ready to give everyone what they need. And he never says that it is wrong to ask. So God will help you to be wise.

Commentaries on Job 28:20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20Whence then cometh wisdom? - Nearly the same words as in Job 28:12; (note), where see the note.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20Whence then cometh wisdom? - This question is now repeated from Job 28:12, in order to give it greater emphasis. It is designed to fix the attention on the inquiry as one which found no solution in the discoveries of science, and whose solution was hidden from the most penetrating human intellect.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 20-28Verses 20-28 There is a two-fold wisdom; one hid in God, which is secret, and belongs not to us; the other made known by him, and revealed to man. One day's events, and one man's affairs, have such reference to, and so hang one upon another, that He only, to whom all is open, and who sees the whole at one view, can rightly judge of every part. But the knowledge of God's revealed will is within our reach, and will do us good. Let man look upon this as his…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-28This section is an isolated speech. There is no speaker listed, so it might continue from earlier words. Some see it as a creative summary by the author of Job. It emphasizes the limits of human wisdom and sets the stage for the Lord's speeches.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2020. Job 28:12 repeated with great force.Read the comment

Topics related to Job 28:20

• Ignorance
• Readings, Select
• Wisdom

In the dictionaries

• Bind
• Decree
• Equal
• Fain
• Fine
• Wisdom
• Wise, wisdom
• Baruch, Book of
• Ethics
• Eunice

Commentaries on Job 28

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings