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 smelted out of the ore.
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 people live. They are forgotten by the foot. They hang far from men, they swing back and forth.
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. 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 Sapphires come from its rocks. It has dust of gold.
A place of the sapphire [are] its stones, And it has dust of gold.
7 That path no bird of prey knows, neither 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 animals have not trodden it, nor has the fierce lion passed by there.
Nor have the sons of pride trodden it, The fierce lion has not passed over it.
9 He puts his hand on the flinty rock, and 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. 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 do not trickle. The thing that is hidden he brings out to light.
He has bound overflowing rivers, And the hidden thing brings out [to] light.
12 “But where will wisdom be found? 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 its price, and it is not 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.’ 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, neither will silver be weighed for its price.
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, neither will 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 will be made of coral or of crystal. Yes, 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 will not equal it. It will not 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? Where is the place of understanding?
And the wisdom—from where does it come? And where [is] this, the place of understanding?
21 Seeing it is hidden from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the birds of the sky.
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 its way, and he knows its place.
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 sky.
For He looks to the ends of the earth, He sees under the whole heavens,
25 He establishes the force of the wind. Yes, he measures out 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, yes, and searched it out.
Then He has seen and declares it, He has prepared it, and also searched it out,
28 To man he said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom. 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.”
