Job 28
1 “Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place for gold which they refine.
Truly there is a vein for silver, And a place for gold, which men refine.
2 Iron is taken out of the earth, and copper is smelted out of the ore.
Iron is obtained from earth, And stone is melted into copper.
3 Man sets an end to darkness, and searches out, to the furthest bound, the stones of obscurity and of thick darkness.
Man putteth an end to darkness; He searcheth to the lowest depths For the stone of darkness and the shadow of death.
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.
From the place where they dwell they open a shaft; Forgotten by the feet, They hang down, they swing away from men.
5 As for the earth, out of it comes bread. Underneath it is turned up as it were by fire.
The earth, out of which cometh bread, Is torn up underneath, as it were by fire.
6 Sapphires come from its rocks. It has dust of gold.
Her stones are the place of sapphires, And she hath clods of gold for man.
7 That path no bird of prey knows, neither has the falcon’s eye seen it.
The path thereto no bird knoweth, And the vulture's eye hath not seen it;
8 The proud animals have not trodden it, nor has the fierce lion passed by there.
The fierce wild beast hath not trodden it; The lion hath not passed over it.
9 He puts his hand on the flinty rock, and he overturns the mountains by the roots.
Man layeth his hand upon the rock; He upturneth mountains from their roots;
10 He cuts out channels among the rocks. His eye sees every precious thing.
He cleaveth out streams in the rocks, And his eye seeth every precious thing;
11 He binds the streams that they do not trickle. The thing that is hidden he brings out to light.
He bindeth up the streams, that they trickle not, And bringeth hidden things to light.
12 “But where will wisdom be found? Where is the place of understanding?
But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?
13 Man does not know its price, and it is not found in the land of the living.
Man knoweth not the price thereof, Nor can it be 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 saith, It is not in me; And the sea saith, It is not with me.
15 It cannot be gotten for gold, neither will silver be weighed for its price.
It cannot be gotten for gold, Nor shall silver be weighed out as the price thereof.
16 It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire.
It cannot be bought with the gold of Ophir, With the precious onyx or the sapphire.
17 Gold and glass cannot equal it, neither will it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.
Gold and crystal are not to be compared with it; Nor can it be purchased with jewels of fine gold.
18 No mention will be made of coral or of crystal. Yes, the price of wisdom is above rubies.
No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal; For wisdom is more precious than pearls.
19 The topaz of Ethiopia will not equal it. It will not be valued with pure gold.
The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it, Nor can it be purchased with pure gold.
20 Where then does wisdom come from? Where is the place of understanding?
Whence then cometh wisdom? And where is the place of understanding?
21 Seeing it is hidden from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the birds of the sky.
Since it is hidden from the eyes of all living, And kept close from the fowls of the air.
22 Destruction and Death say, ‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’
Destruction and Death say, We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.
23 “God understands its way, and he knows its place.
God knoweth the way to it; He knoweth its dwelling-place.
24 For he looks to the ends of the earth, and sees under the whole sky.
For he seeth to the ends of the earth, And surveyeth all things under the whole heaven.
25 He establishes the force of the wind. Yes, he measures out the waters by measure.
When he gave the winds their weight, And meted out the waters by measure;
26 When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder,
When he prescribed a law to the rain, And a path to the thunder-flash, —
27 then he saw it, and declared it. He established it, yes, and searched it out.
Then did he see it, and make it known; He established it, and searched it out.
28 To man he said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom. To depart from evil is understanding.’”
But he said unto man, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, And to depart from evil is understanding.
