Job 28
1 Surely there is a mine for silver, And a place for gold which they refine.
“It is true that there are places where men dig to find silver, and there are places where people refine/purify gold [that they have dug].
2 Iron is taken out of the earth, And copper is molten out of the stone.
People dig iron [ore] out of the ground, and they (smelt copper ore/heat copper ore to get the copper from it).
3 [Man] setteth an end to darkness, And searcheth out, to the furthest bound, The stones of obscurity and of thick darkness.
Men use lamps while they work far down under the ground to search for the ore inside the mines where it is very dark.
4 He breaketh open a shaft away from where men sojourn; They are forgotten of the foot; They hang afar from men, they swing to and fro.
They dig (shafts/narrow holes very deep down into the ground) in places that are far from where people live, where travelers do not go. They work far away from [other] people, swinging back and forth on ropes [as they descend into the mine shafts].
5 As for the earth, out of it cometh bread; And underneath it is turned up as it were by fire.
Food grows on the surface of the ground, but down under the ground, [where there is no food, ] the miners make fires to break apart the rocks.
6 The stones thereof are the place of sapphires, And it hath dust of gold.
The stones [that are dug from under the ground] contain (sapphires/very valuable blue stones), and the dirt contains bits of gold.
7 That path no bird of prey knoweth, Neither hath the falcon’s eye seen it:
[Some birds have very good eyes, ] but even hawks do not know [where the mines are], and falcons/vultures have not seen those places.
8 The proud beasts have not trodden it, Nor hath the fierce lion passed thereby.
Lions or [other] proud wild animals have not walked on the roads near those mines.
9 He putteth forth his hand upon the flinty rock; He overturneth the mountains by the roots.
Miners tear apart [MTY] very hard rock; [it is as though] they turn the mountains upside down [to get the ore].
10 He cutteth out channels among the rocks; And his eye seeth every precious thing.
They cut tunnels through the rocks, and they find (precious/very valuable) things.
11 He bindeth the streams that they trickle not; And the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light.
They dam up small streams in order that water does not flow, and they bring up into the light valuable things that are hidden [in the ground and in the streams].
12 But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?
“But wisdom: Where can people find that? Where can we find out how to truly understand things?
13 Man knoweth not the price thereof; Neither is it found in the land of the living.
Humans do not know where to find it; no one can find it [here on this earth] where they are living.
14 The deep saith, It is not in me; And the sea saith, It is not with me.
[It is as though] water that is deep [inside the earth] and [water that is in] the seas say [PRS], ‘Wisdom is not here!’
15 It cannot be gotten for gold, Neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof.
[People] cannot buy wisdom by paying for it with silver or gold.
16 It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, With the precious onyx, or the sapphire.
Wisdom is worth much more than fine gold from Ophir [land] or other very valuable stones.
17 Gold and glass cannot equal it, Neither shall it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.
It is worth much more than gold or beautiful glass, worth more than vases made from fine gold.
18 No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal: Yea, the price of wisdom is above rubies.
Wisdom is worth more than coral or crystal/pure quartz; the price of wisdom is higher/more than the price of pearls.
19 The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, Neither shall it be valued with pure gold.
The prices of (topaz/very valuable yellow stones) from Ethiopia and of pure gold are lower/less than the price of wisdom.
20 Whence then cometh wisdom? And where is the place of understanding?
“So, where does wisdom come from? Where can we find out how to truly understand things?
21 Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, And kept close from the birds of the heavens.
No living humans can see it [MTY]; and birds cannot see it while they are flying [MTY].
22 Destruction and Death say, We have heard a rumor thereof with our ears.
[It is as though] the places where people go after they die say [PRS], ‘We have only heard rumors about [where to find wisdom].’
23 God understandeth the way thereof, And he knoweth the place thereof.
God [is the only one who] knows how to find wisdom; he knows where it is,
24 For he looketh to the ends of the earth, And seeth under the whole heaven;
because he can see things even in the most remote/distant places on the earth; he can see everything that is below the sky.
25 To make a weight for the wind: Yea, he meteth out the waters by measure.
When he decided how strongly the winds should blow, and how much rain would be in the clouds,
26 When he made a decree for the rain, And a way for the lightning of the thunder;
and when he decided where rain [should fall], and what path lightning should take [from the clouds down to the ground],
27 Then did he see it, and declare it; He established it, yea, and searched it out.
at that time he saw wisdom and decided that it is extremely valuable. He examined it and (approved it/said that it was very good).
28 And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding.
And [then] he said to humans, ‘Listen! To have an awesome respect for me is [what will enable you to become] wise; and to truly understand everything, you must first turn away from doing what is evil.’”
