Job 28
1 “Surely there is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined.
For there is a place for the silver, whence it comes, and a place for the gold, whence it is refined.
2 Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore.
For iron comes out of the earth, and brass is hewn out like stone.
3 Man puts an end to the darkness; he probes the farthest recesses for ore in deepest darkness.
He has set a bound to darkness, and he searches out every limit: a stone [is] darkness, and the shadow of death.
4 Far from human habitation he cuts a shaft in places forgotten by the foot of man. Far from men he dangles and sways.
There is a cutting off the torrent by reason of dust: so they that forget the right way are weakened; they are removed from [among] men.
5 Food may come from the earth, but from below it is transformed as by fire.
[As for] the earth, out of it shall come bread: under it has been turned up as it were fire.
6 Its rocks are the source of sapphires, containing flecks of gold.
Her stones are the place of the sapphire: and [her] dust [supplies] man with gold.
7 No bird of prey knows that path; no falcon’s eye has seen it.
[There is] a path, the fowl has not known it, neither has the eye of the vulture seen it:
8 Proud beasts have never trodden it; no lion has ever prowled over it.
neither have the sons of the proud trodden it, a lion has not passed upon it.
9 The miner strikes the flint; he overturns mountains at their base.
He has stretched forth his hand on the sharp [rock], and turned up mountains by the roots:
10 He hews out channels in the rocks, and his eyes spot every treasure.
and he has interrupted the whirlpools of rivers, and mine eye has seen every precious thing.
11 He stops up the sources of the streams to bring what is hidden to light.
And he has laid bare the depths of rivers, and has brought his power to light.
12 But where can wisdom be found, and where does understanding dwell?
But whence has wisdom been discovered? and what is the place of knowledge?
13 No man can know its value, nor is it found in the land of the living.
A mortal has not known its way, neither indeed has it been discovered among men.
14 The ocean depths say, ‘It is not in me,’ while the sea declares, ‘It is not with me.’
The depth said, It is not in me: and the sea said, It is not with me.
15 It cannot be bought with gold, nor can its price be weighed out in silver.
One shall not give fine gold instead of it, neither shall silver be weighed in exchange for it.
16 It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx or sapphire.
Neither shall it be compared with gold of Sophir, with the precious onyx and sapphire.
17 Neither gold nor crystal can compare to it, nor jewels of fine gold be exchanged for it.
Gold and crystal shall not be equalled to it, neither shall vessels of gold be its exchange.
18 Coral and quartz are unworthy of mention; the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.
Coral and fine pearl shall not be mentioned: but do you esteem wisdom above the most precious things.
19 Topaz from Cush cannot compare to it, nor can it be valued in pure gold.
The topaz of Ethiopia shall not be equalled to it; it shall not be compared with pure gold.
20 From where then does wisdom come, and where does understanding dwell?
Whence then is wisdom found? and of what kind is the place of understanding?
21 It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing and concealed from the birds of the air.
It has escaped the notice of every man, and has been hidden from the birds of the sky.
22 Abaddon and Death say, ‘We have heard a rumor about it.’
Destruction and Death said, We have heard the report of it.
23 But God understands its way, and He knows its place.
God has well ordered the way of it, and he knows the place of it.
24 For He looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.
For he surveys the whole [earth] under heaven, knowing the things in the earth:
25 When God fixed the weight of the wind and measured out the waters,
all that he has made; the weight of the winds, the measures of the water.
26 when He set a limit for the rain and a path for the thunderbolt,
When he made [them], thus he saw and numbered them, and made a way for the pealing of the thunder.
27 then He looked at wisdom and appraised it; He established it and searched it out.
Then he saw it, and declared it: he prepared it [and] traced it out.
28 And He said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”
And he said to man, Behold, godliness is wisdom: and to abstain from evil is understanding.
