Job 28:22

Job 28:22 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears.
• New International Version (NIV)Destruction and Death say, “Only a rumor of it has reached our ears.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)Abaddon and Death say, 'We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.'
• New King James Version (NKJV)Destruction and Death say, ‘We have heard a report about it with our ears.’

Context of Job 28:22

20So 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. In 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. 24He can see to the ends of the earth. He knows what happens everywhere in the world.

Job 28:22 word by word

אֲבַדּ֣וֹן וָ֭מָוֶת אָ֣מְר֑וּ בְּ֝אָזְנֵ֗ינוּ שָׁמַ֥עְנוּ שִׁמְעָֽהּ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Destructionאֲבַדּוֹן'ăbaddôn · AbaddonH11
• and deathמָ֫וֶתmâveth · deathH4194
• sayאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• We have heardשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
• the fameשֵׁ֫מַעshêma‛ · reportH8088
• thereof with our earsאֹ֫זֶן'ôzen · earH241

Cross-references for Job 28:22

• Job 28:14Wisdom is not in the sea. Even in the deepest sea, no one will find it.
• Psalms 83:10You destroyed them at Endor. Their bodies remained on the ground, like dirt.

Commentaries on Job 28:22

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 22Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame thereof - ומות אבדון Abaddon vamaveth, the destroyer, and his offspring death. This is the very name that is given to the devil in Greek letters , Revelation 9:11, and is rendered by the Greek word , Apollyon, a word exactly of the same meaning. No wonder death and the devil are brought in here as saying they had heard the fame of wisdom, seeing Job 28:28; defines it to be the fear of the Lord, and a…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 22Destruction - This is a personification which is exceedingly sublime. Job had spoken of the wonderful discoveries made by science, but none of them had disclosed true wisdom. It had not been discovered in the shaft which the miner sank deep in the earth; in the hidden regions which he laid open to day, nor by the birds that saw to the farthest distance, or that were regarded as the interpreters of the will of the gods. It was natural to ask whether it…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. 2222. That is, the abodes of destruction and of the dead. "Death" put for Sheol (Job 30:23; 26:6; Psa 9:13). We have [only] heard--the report of her. We have not seen her. In the land of the living (Job 28:13) the workings of Wisdom are seen, though not herself. In the regions of the dead she is only heard of, her actings on nature not being seen (Ec 9:10).Read the comment

Topics related to Job 28:22

• Readings, Select
• Wisdom

In the dictionaries

• Abaddon
• Bind
• Decree
• Destruction
• Equal
• Fain
• Fine
• Wisdom
• Wise, wisdom
• Apollyon

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