Job 28
1 “Surely there is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined.
“Surely there is a source for silver, And a place for the gold they refine;
2 Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore.
Iron is taken from the dust, And bronze [from] the firm stone.
3 Man puts an end to the darkness; he probes the farthest recesses for ore in deepest darkness.
He has set an end to darkness, And he is searching to all perfection, A stone of darkness and death-shade.
4 Far from human habitation he cuts a shaft in places forgotten by the foot of man. Far from men he dangles and sways.
A stream has broken out from a sojourner, Those forgotten of the foot, They were low, they wandered from man.
5 Food may come from the earth, but from below it is transformed as by fire.
The earth! Bread comes forth from it, And its under-part is turned like fire.
6 Its rocks are the source of sapphires, containing flecks of gold.
A place of the sapphire [are] its stones, And it has dust of gold.
7 No bird of prey knows that path; no falcon’s eye has seen it.
A path—a ravenous bird has not known it, Nor has an eye of the falcon scorched it,
8 Proud beasts have never trodden it; no lion has ever prowled over it.
Nor have the sons of pride trodden it, The fierce lion has not passed over it.
9 The miner strikes the flint; he overturns mountains at their base.
He sent forth his hand against the flint, He overturned mountains from the root.
10 He hews out channels in the rocks, and his eyes spot every treasure.
Among rocks, he has cleaved brooks, And his eye has seen every precious thing.
11 He stops up the sources of the streams to bring what is hidden to light.
He has bound overflowing rivers, And the hidden thing brings out [to] light.
12 But where can wisdom be found, and where does understanding dwell?
And the wisdom—from where is it found? And where [is] this, the place of understanding?
13 No man can know its value, 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 ocean depths say, ‘It is not in me,’ while the sea declares, ‘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 bought with gold, nor can its price be weighed out in silver.
Gold is not given for it, Nor is silver weighed—its price.
16 It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx or sapphire.
It is not valued with pure gold of Ophir, With 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 do not equal it, Nor [is] its exchange a vessel of fine gold.
18 Coral and quartz are unworthy of mention; the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.
Corals and pearl are not remembered, The acquisition of wisdom [is] above rubies.
19 Topaz from Cush cannot compare to it, nor can it be valued in pure gold.
The topaz of Cush does not equal it, It is not valued with pure gold.
20 From where then does wisdom come, and where does understanding dwell?
And the wisdom—from where does it come? And where [is] this, 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 been hid from the eyes of all living. And from the bird of the heavens It has been hidden.
22 Abaddon and Death say, ‘We have heard a rumor about it.’
Destruction and death have said: With our ears we have heard its fame.
23 But 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 everything under the heavens.
For He looks to the ends of the earth, He sees under the whole heavens,
25 When God fixed the weight of the wind and measured out the waters,
To make a weight for the wind, And He meted out the waters in measure.
26 when He set a limit for the rain and a path for the thunderbolt,
In His making for the rain a limit, And a way for the brightness of the voices,
27 then He looked at wisdom and appraised it; He established it and searched it out.
Then He has seen and declares it, He has prepared it, and also searched 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 says to man: Behold, fear of the Lord, that [is] wisdom, And to turn from evil [is] understanding.”
