Verse Lens · Context pointer
Job 28:17 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 17. 17The gold and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Role in This Section
The wisdom poem states “The gold and the crystal cannot equal it” as one poetic claim in No Depth or Treasure Can Purchase Wisdom.
Read It With
- Job 28:14–28:19
Follow Job 28:14–28:19, not verse 28:17 alone. The wisdom poem states “The gold and the crystal cannot equal it” as one poetic claim in No Depth or Treasure Can Purchase Wisdom. The paragraph's controlling limit is: The comparison denies wisdom's commodity status; it does not condemn material resources themselves or imply poverty automatically creates wisdom.
Why It Needs Context
Job 28:17 performs a local role inside “No Depth or Treasure Can Purchase Wisdom.” The wisdom poem states “The gold and the crystal cannot equal it” as one poetic claim in No Depth or Treasure Can Purchase Wisdom. The selected verse alone does not carry the full claim.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Job 28:14–28:19 — No Depth or Treasure Can Purchase WisdomSources used for this context pointer
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Job 28:14–28:19, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Job
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a complete apparatus or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Job.xml, OSIS 28:14–28:19
Open the fixed Hebrew Job file ↗