Job 28:20-23
ContextGod Alone Has Wisdom
28:20 “But wisdom – where does it come from? 1
Where is the place of understanding?
28:21 For 2 it has been hidden
from the eyes of every living creature,
and from the birds of the sky it has been concealed.
28:22 Destruction 3 and Death say,
‘With our ears we have heard a rumor about where it can be found.’ 4
28:23 God understands the way to it,
and he alone knows its place.
1 tn The refrain is repeated, except now the verb is תָּבוֹא (tavo’, “come”).
2 tn The vav on the verb is unexpressed in the LXX. It should not be overlooked, for it introduces a subordinate clause of condition (R. Gordis, Job, 310).
3 tn Heb “Abaddon.”
4 tn Heb “heard a report of it,” which means a report of its location, thus “where it can be found.”