28:15 Fine gold cannot be given in exchange for it,
nor can its price be weighed out in silver.
28:16 It cannot be measured out for purchase 1 with the gold of Ophir,
with precious onyx 2 or sapphires.
28:17 Neither gold nor crystal 3 can be compared with it,
nor can a vase 4 of gold match its worth.
1 tn The word actually means “weighed,” that is, lifted up on the scale and weighed, in order to purchase.
2 tn The exact identification of these stones is uncertain. Many recent English translations, however, have “onyx” and “sapphires.”
3 tn The word is from זָכַךְ (zakhakh, “clear”). It describes a transparent substance, and so “glass” is an appropriate translation. In the ancient world it was precious and so expensive.
4 tc The MT has “vase”; but the versions have a plural here, suggesting jewels of gold.