Job 28 · Verse 19

Job 28:19

The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold.
Job 28:19, King James Version

Job 28:19 in other translations

BSBTopaz from Cush cannot compare to it, nor can it be valued in pure gold.
WEBThe topaz of Ethiopia will not equal it. It won’t be valued with pure gold.
ASVThe topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, Neither shall it be valued with pure gold.
YLTNot equal it doth the topaz of Cush, With pure gold it is not valued.
DARBYThe topaz of Ethiopia shall not be compared to it, neither shall it be set in the balance with pure gold.
BBEThe topaz of Ethiopia is not equal to it, and it may not be valued with the best gold.
WebsterThe topaz of Cush shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold.

What does Job 28:19 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
19. Ethiopia--Cush in the Hebrew. Either Ethiopia, or the south of Arabia, near the Tigris.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 19 The topaz of Ethiopia - The country called Cush, which we call Ethiopia, is supposed to be that which extends from the eastern coast of the Red Sea, and stretches towards Lower Egypt. Diodorus Siculus says that the topaz was found in great abundance, as his description intimates, in an island in the Red Sea called Ophiodes, or the isle of serpents, Hist. lib. iii., p. 121. His account is curious, but I greatly doubt its correctness; it seems too much in the form of a legend: yet the reader may consult the place. See also Clarke on Job 28:16 (note).

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Job 28:12-19

Job here speaks of wisdom and understanding, the knowing and enjoying of God and ourselves. Its worth is infinitely more than all the riches in this world. It is a gift of the Holy Ghost which cannot be bought with money. Let that which is most precious in God's account, be so in ours. Job asks after it as one that truly desired to find it, and despaired of finding it any where but in God; any way but by Divine…

Read the full comment on Job 28:12-19 →

Job 28:19 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

לֹֽא\־lo'-notH3808
יַ֭עַרְכֶנָּהYa.'ar.khe.nahit will be comparable to itH6186
פִּטְדַת\־pit.dat-<the> topaz ofH6357
כּ֑וּשׁKushCushH3568
בְּכֶ֥תֶםbe.Khe.temin goldH3800
טָ֝ה֗וֹרta.HorpureH2889
לֹ֣אlo'notH3808
תְסֻלֶּֽה\׃\ \פte.su.Lehit will be paidH5541

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Job 28:19

  • Exodus 39:10

    And they set in it four rows of stones: the first row was a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this was the first row.

  • Proverbs 8:19

    My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver.

  • Exodus 28:17

    And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones: the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall be the first row.

  • Ezekiel 28:13

    Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.

  • Revelation 21:20

    The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
topaz.
Ex 28:17; 39:10; Eze 28:13; Re 21:20

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Job 28:18

    No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies.

  • Job 28:19

    The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold.

  • Job 28:20

    Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding?

Read all of Job 28

Job 28:19 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		No se igualará con ella esmeralda de Ethiopía; no se podrá apreciar con oro fino.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		La topaze d’Éthiopie ne lui est pas comparée, on ne la met pas dans la balance avec l’or pur.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Nicht kann man ihr gleichstellen den Topas von Äthiopien; mit feinem Golde wird sie nicht aufgewogen.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Non adæquabitur ei topazius de Æthiopia, nec tincturæ mundissimæ componetur.