EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Job 28:21
21We cannot see where it is. No person or animal can see it. No bird that flies in the sky can see it.
Job 28:21 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air.
- New International Version (NIV)It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing, concealed even from the birds in the sky.
- English Standard Version (ESV)It is hidden from the eyes of all living and concealed from the birds of the air.
- New King James Version (NKJV)It is hidden from the eyes of all living, And concealed from the birds of the air.
Context of Job 28:21
19Topaz from Ethiopia is not as valuable as wisdom. No one can buy it, not even with pure gold. 20So where can we find wisdom? Where can we learn to understand things properly? We 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.” 23Only God knows the way to find wisdom. Only he knows where it is.
Read all of Job 28Job 28:21 word by word
וְֽ֭נֶעֶלְמָה מֵעֵינֵ֣י כָל־חָ֑י וּמֵע֖וֹף הַשָּׁמַ֣יִם נִסְתָּֽרָה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Job 28:21
- Psalms 49:3I will speak wise words to you. When you know my thoughts, you will understand things better.
- Matthew 11:25At this moment, Jesus said, ‘Father, you rule over everything in heaven and on the earth! People who do not know many things can now understand your message. And so I thank you. But you have hidden these things from some other people. Those people think that they understand everything. They think that they are wise.
- Matthew 13:17I tell you this: Many prophets and good people from a long time ago wanted to see these things. But they did not see the things that you are seeing. They wanted to hear the message that you are hearing. But they did not hear it.’
- 1 Corinthians 2:7No, the wise thoughts that we speak about belong to God. He has hidden them from people until now. But before God made the world, he decided to let us know these secrets. He wanted us to enjoy his glory.
- Colossians 2:3Christ is the one who holds everything that makes people wise. He helps people to know the true message that God had hidden.
- Job 28:7Even eagles or other birds with good eyes do not see those places.
Commentaries on Job 28:21
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 21It is hid from the eyes of all living - That is, of all people, and of all animals. Man has not found it by the most sagacious of all his discoveries, and the keenest vision of beasts and fowls has not traced it out. And kept close - Hebrew “concealed.” From the fowls of the air - Compare the notes at Job 28:7. Umbreit remarks, on this passage, that there is attributed to the fowls in Oriental countries a deep knowledge, and an extraordinary gift of…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. 2121. None can tell whence or where, seeing it, &c. fowls--The gift of divination was assigned by the heathen especially to birds. Their rapid flight heavenwards and keen sight originated the superstition. Job may allude to it. Not even the boasted divination of birds has an insight into it (Ec 10:20). But it may merely mean, as in Job 28:7, It escapes the eye of the most keen-sighted bird.Read the comment
Topics related to Job 28:21
In the dictionaries
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
EasyEnglish Bible 2018 — Copyright © MissionAssist 2018
Commentaries