Job 28
1 Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place for gold which they refine.
“Surely there is a source for silver, And a place for the gold they refine;
2 Iron is taken out of the earth, and copper is molten out of the stone.
Iron is taken from the dust, And bronze [from] the firm stone.
3 Man sets an end to darkness, and searches out to the furthest bound the stones of obscurity and of thick darkness.
He has set an end to darkness, And he is searching to all perfection, A stone of darkness and death-shade.
4 He breaks open a shaft away from where men sojourn, paths forgotten by the foot. They hang afar from men; they swing to and fro.
A stream has broken out from a sojourner, Those forgotten of the foot, They were low, they wandered from man.
5 As for the earth, out of it comes bread, and underneath it is turned up as it were by fire.
The earth! Bread comes forth from it, And its under-part is turned like fire.
6 The stones of it are the place of sapphires, and it has dust of gold.
A place of the sapphire [are] its stones, And it has dust of gold.
7 No bird of prey knows that path, nor has the falcon's eye seen it.
A path—a ravenous bird has not known it, Nor has an eye of the falcon scorched it,
8 The proud beasts have not trodden it, nor has the fierce lion passed thereby.
Nor have the sons of pride trodden it, The fierce lion has not passed over it.
9 He puts forth his hand upon the flinty rock. He overturns the mountains by the roots.
He sent forth his hand against the flint, He overturned mountains from the root.
10 He cuts out channels among the rocks, and his eye sees every precious thing.
Among rocks, he has cleaved brooks, And his eye has seen every precious thing.
11 He binds the streams that they not trickle. And the thing that is hid he brings forth to light.
He has bound overflowing rivers, And the hidden thing brings out [to] light.
12 But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?
And the wisdom—from where is it found? And where [is] this, the place of understanding?
13 Man does not know the price of it, nor is it found in the land of the living.
Man has not known its arrangement, Nor is it found in the land of the living.
14 The deep says, It is not in me. And the sea says, It is not with me.
The deep has said, It [is] not in me, And the sea has said, It is not with me.
15 It cannot be gotten for gold, nor shall silver be weighed for the price of it.
Gold is not given for it, Nor is silver weighed—its price.
16 It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire.
It is not valued with pure gold of Ophir, With precious onyx and sapphire,
17 Gold and glass cannot equal it, nor shall it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.
Gold and crystal do not equal it, Nor [is] its exchange a vessel of fine gold.
18 No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal. Yea, the price of wisdom is above rubies.
Corals and pearl are not remembered, The acquisition of wisdom [is] above rubies.
19 The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, nor shall it be valued with pure gold.
The topaz of Cush does not equal it, It is not valued with pure gold.
20 Where then does wisdom come from? And where is the place of understanding?
And the wisdom—from where does it come? And where [is] this, the place of understanding?
21 Since it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept closed from the birds of the heavens.
It has been hid from the eyes of all living. And from the bird of the heavens It has been hidden.
22 Destruction and Death say, We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.
Destruction and death have said: With our ears we have heard its fame.
23 God understands the way of it, and he knows the place of it.
God has understood its way, And He has known its place.
24 For he looks to the ends of the earth, and sees under the whole heaven,
For He looks to the ends of the earth, He sees under the whole heavens,
25 to make a weight for the wind. Yea, he distributes the waters by measure.
To make a weight for the wind, And He meted out the waters in measure.
26 When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder,
In His making for the rain a limit, And a way for the brightness of the voices,
27 then he saw it, and declared it. He established it, yea, and searched it out.
Then He has seen and declares it, He has prepared it, and also searched it out,
28 And to man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding.
And He says to man: Behold, fear of the Lord, that [is] wisdom, And to turn from evil [is] understanding.”
