“God understands its way, and he knows its place.
Parallel Translations
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“God understands its way, and he knows its place.
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God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof.
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God understandeth the way thereof, and He knoweth the place thereof.
Cross-references (11)
Passages linked to Job 28:23 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Proverbs 8:22-31 “Yahweh possessed me in the beginning of his work, before his deeds of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, before the earth existed. When there were no depths, I was born, when there were no springs abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled in place, before the hills, I was born; while as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the beginning of the dust of the world. When he established the heavens, I was there. When he set a circle on the surface of the deep, when he established the clouds above, when the springs of the deep became strong, when he gave to the sea its boundary, that the waters should not violate his commandment, when he marked out the foundations of the earth, then I was the craftsman by his side. I was a delight day by day, always rejoicing before him, rejoicing in his whole world. My delight was with the sons of men.
- 1 Corinthians 1:30 Because of him, you are in Christ Jesus, who was made to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption:
- Romans 11:33 Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past tracing out!
- Jude 1:25 to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.
- Psalms 147:5 Great is our Lord, and mighty in power. His understanding is infinite.
- Proverbs 2:6 For Yahweh gives wisdom. Out of his mouth comes knowledge and understanding.
- Psalms 19:7 Yahweh’s law is perfect, restoring the soul. Yahweh’s covenant is sure, making wise the simple.
- Proverbs 8:14 Counsel and sound knowledge are mine. I have understanding and power.
- Matthew 11:27 All things have been delivered to me by my Father. No one knows the Son, except the Father; neither does anyone know the Father, except the Son, and he to whom the Son desires to reveal him.
- Luke 10:21-22 In that same hour Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit, and said, “I thank you, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for so it was well-pleasing in your sight.” Turning to the disciples, he said, “All things have been delivered to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is, except the Father, and who the Father is, except the Son, and he to whomever the Son desires to reveal him.”
- Acts 15:18 “All of God’s works are known to him from eternity.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (16 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain He maketh God only the author of this wisdom,…
He maketh God only the author of this wisdom, and the giver thereof.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Job 28:23 God understandeth the way thereof, and he…
Job 28:23 God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof.
Ver. 23. God understandeth the way thereof] The only wise God, who alone knows her price, knows her retreat. Haec sunt inferni et morris verba, saith Brentius; those are the words of hell and of death. But we may better take them, as spoken by Job himself; which yet are to be understood, not as if Job thought that there was any place, apart from God, where his wisdom might be sought; or any way, out of himself, to go to it. But these things are spoken after the manner of men, saith Merlin; for wisdom is in God, yea, God is wisdom itself. For the wisdom of God is nothing else but the most wise God; since whatsoever is in God is God. Therefore seeing he is well known to himself, how can his wisdom be but as well known unto him? His infinite knowledge and understanding is in some sort shadowed out unto us in the words following.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain God, i.e. God alone; as appears by the denial…
God, i.e. God alone; as appears by the denial of it to all other things.
The way thereof; either the way how it is to be obtained; or rather, the methods or courses which it takes in the management of all affairs in the world, together with its grounds and ends in them.
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The place thereof; where it dwells, which is only in his own breast and mind, and in the best of men but in part, and only as far as it pleaseth him to afford it.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain For he looketh to the ends of the earth,....…
For he looketh to the ends of the earth,.... In this and some following verses, reasons and are given, which abundantly show that God must know the way and place of wisdom; since all the parts and places of the earth, even to the ends of it, are seen by him, and all creatures and things in it; nor is there anything in heaven, earth, and hell, that is hid from him; and therefore if there is a way to it, or a place for it, he must needs know it; where its direction is, or where it steers its course, and takes up its abode
and seeth under the whole heaven; the fowls of the air, the beasts of the field, the inhabitants of the world, and all that is done in it; everything falls under the eye of his omniscience, and under the notice of his providence, which extends to all creatures and things throughout the whole earth, and under the compass of the heavens; and since all places and persons are obvious to his view, and all subject to his all wise and disposing providence, and are ordered, directed, and governed, according to his sovereign will and pleasure; the path of wisdom, and the place of understanding, he must be acquainted with; and particularly his all seeing eye, and all powerful providence, are concerned in the following things, and in which there are wonderful proofs of his knowledge and wisdom.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain God - God alone. The way - The methods…
God - God alone. The way - The methods which he takes in the management of all affairs, together with its grounds and ends in them. The place - Where it dwells, which is only in his own mind.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 23. God understandeth the way thereof] It can…
Verse 23. God understandeth the way thereof] It can only be taught by a revelation from himself. Instead of הבין hebin, understandeth, six MSS. have הכין hechin, disposed or established. This reading is also supported by the Septuagint; Ὁ Θεος ευ συνεστησεν αυτης ὁδον, "God hath well established her way:" falsely rendered bene cognovit, hath well known, in the Latin version of the Septuagint in the London Polyglot; but bene constituit, hath well established, in the Complutensian, Antwerp, and Paris Polyglots.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Job 28:23-24. God understandeth the way thereof — God…
Job 28:23-24. God understandeth the way thereof — God alone knows and can make known the nature and properties, the rules and measures, the plans and designs, the operations and effects, of this wisdom which we inquire after; or, the methods which he takes, in the management of all affairs in the world, together with its reasons, and the ends he has in view in them. And he knoweth the place thereof — Where it dwells, which is only in his own mind. For he looketh to the ends of the earth — He, and he only knows it, because his providence is infinite and universal, reaching to all places and times, past, present, and to come; whereas the most knowing men have narrow understandings, and the wisdom, and justice, and beauty of God’s works are not fully seen till all the parts of them be laid together.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain God understandeth the way thereof - These are doubtless…
God understandeth the way thereof - These are doubtless the words of Job. The meaning is, that the reason of the divine dispensations could be known only to God himself. He had given no clew by which man could discover this. He might carry his investigations far into the regions of science; he could penetrate the earth, and look on the stars, but still all his investigations fell short of disclosing the reasons of the divine dispensations. The secret was lodged in his bosom, and he only could communicate it where and when he pleased. It may be added here, that this is as true now as it was in the time of Job. Man has carried the investigations of science almost infinitely further than he had then, but still by the investigations of science he has by no means superseded the necessity of revelation, or shed light on the great questions that have, in all ages, so much perplexed the race. It is only by direct communication, by his word and by his Spirit, that man can be made to understand the reason of the divine doings, and nothing is better established by the course of events than the truth on which Job here so much insists, that science cannot answer the questions of so much interest to man about the divine government.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain
CHAPTER XXVIII.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain God hath, and is Himself, wisdom.
God hath, and is Himself, wisdom.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 23. Thereof — To it. God (Elohim) alone understands…
23. Thereof — To it. God (Elohim) alone understands the way to wisdom. “The ways” and “the place thereof,” as Pareau has well remarked, still carry forward the figure of a costly treasure deposited in a place inaccessible and concealed from all men.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 23. God understandeth the way thereof] i. e. the…
23. God understandeth the way thereof] i. e. the way thereto (ch. Job_24:18, Gen_3:24). The word God stands emphatically first in the sentence, in opposition to “all living” (Job_28:21); He is in possession of Wisdom. It need not be said that the words “place” and “way” are merely parts of the figure; the verse means, Wisdom is with God alone.
23–28. Wisdom can nowhere be found either by man or by any creature (Job_28:21), only by the Creator. God knoweth the place of it and is in possession of it, for He is the maker and upholder of the universe with all its agencies. And He has assigned to man as his wisdom the fear of the Lord.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (23) God understandeth the way thereof.—God is the author…
(23) God understandeth the way thereof.—God is the author of wisdom, and His fear is the beginning thereof; so with His infinite knowledge of the universe He cannot but be cognisant of the place and way thereof. It is to be observed that while the foundation of wisdom is said to be coeval with that of the world, the very existence of wisdom in relation to man implied the existence of evil, because except by departing from evil there could for man be no wisdom, though evil itself may undoubtedly involve and imply the deflection from a previously existing right. Wrong, for example, is what is wrung aside from the right. The two ideas which Job starts with are man’s ignorance of the price and the place of wisdom. Neither he nor nature knows the place of it: neither all living, nor the deep, nor the sea; and as for its price, though man is prepared to give any high price for the costly stones and jewels of the earth, yet all that he has to give is not to be mentioned in comparison with the value of wisdom. Wisdom, however, is to be purchased by the poor, as we may infer from the language of the prophet Isaiah (Isa_55:1), or, at all events, that which ranks with wisdom; and in like manner Christ represented the kingdom of heaven as a pearl of great price, which would demand all that a man had to buy it, and yet he represented the poor as those especially to whom it was preached. It is true that the wisdom of which Job speaks (Job_28:28) is in no way connected with the Gospel of the kingdom; but yet, if the words of the wise are indeed given from one Shepherd, it is impossible not to recognise a central thought underlying all such words, if not in the separate minds of the wise at heart, in the original mind of the one Shepherd. So we can see that that which is true of wisdom as described by Job receives its illustration from that which is true of the Gospel of the kingdom and of the evangelical promises of Isaiah.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the…
God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof. God only understands what true wisdom is. It is a part of his being, an essential element of his nature. He knows "the way" of it, i.e. how it works and manifests itself; and he knows "the place" of it, i.e. where it dwells, what limits it has, if any, and how far it is communicable to any beside himself. The highest knowledge is all hid in God (Colossians 2-3); and, except so far as God imparts it to him, man can know nothing of it.
God"s access to wisdom.
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Wisdom is rare, precious, and costly. Men are skilful and enterprising in mining for the precious metals; but the search for wisdom, though carried on with the utmost assiduity, seems to be more difficult. Nevertheless, what is inaccessible to man is quite within the reach of God. We may fail in attempting to find wisdom, but God possesses it. He knows where it lies hidden from us; he can tread the labyrinth of the mine that leads to it.
I THIS IS A GROUND OF FAITH. If God has true wisdom, we can be Content to leave with him those issues of life which we cannot understand ourselves.
1. In nature. To us many of the processes of nature are unintelligible. Not only cannot we understand the "how," but we are also perplexed about the "why." Apparently aimless and seemingly hurtful processes fill nature with dark mysteries. But these mysteries are all open to God. Of his works we can say, "In wisdom hast thou made them all." The world was not created by a blundering Demiurge, but by an all-wise God.
2. In providence. Our own lives are enigmas to us. We cannot understand why our plans are broken, our hopes scattered, our joys turned to bitterness It all looks wild, chaotic, aimless, sometimes even cruel We can but rest in the thought that God is higher and wiser than we are. "Deep in unfathomable mines Of never-failing skill, He treasures up his bright desirous, And works his sovereign will
Therefore"Judge not the Lord by feeble sense.
3. In redemption. It may not be possible for us to understand the atonement. Theories are all inadequate. There is a mystery at the root of Christianity. But when God devised his great idea of salvation he had access to all wisdom. It must be wise. Our part is to follow it as far as we can see it, and to trust God for the rest.
II THIS IS A KEY TO WISDOM. God knows where the treasure is hidden; he is familiar with the path that leads to it. Then he must be the Guide to wisdom. If we would attain to it we must seek it from God.
1. By prayer. St,. James has said, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him". (Jam_1:5) It is not only that wisdom is a boon bestowed in answer to prayer; prayer itself is the road to wisdom. St. Paul could see things in a new light when it could be said of him, "Behold, he prayeth." The spirit of prayer opens the windows of heaven and reveals the wisdom of God.
2. By godliness. We must be like God if we would share in God"s wisdom. Sympathy with God will give us eyes to see as God sees. Nearness to him will introduce us to the path that he treads. When we walk with God we shall be led to those deep mines of wisdom to which he penetrates. Thus true wisdom is closely allied to true religion. "The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom" (ver. 28). W.F.A.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 God understands the way to it; he knows its…
God understands the way to it; he knows its place
Wisdom is spoken of as if it were in a certain place. AT: "God knows how to find wisdom. He knows where it is" (See: Metaphor)
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the very ends of the earth
"the farthest places on the earth"
parceled out the waters by measure
This describes God deciding how much water should be in each place. Possible meanings are that this refers to deciding 1) how much rain should be in each cloud or 2) how much water should be in each sea. AT: "decided how much water should be in each place" (See: Metaphor)
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 28:23-27 When God looks throughout the whole earth (28:23),…
28:23-27 When God looks throughout the whole earth (28:23), he sees his own wisdom expressed in his creation. God later showcased his wisdom for Job when he took him on a cosmic tour (chs 38–41).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.