Job 28
1 “Surely there is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined.
Truly there is a vein for silver, And a place for gold, which men refine.
2 Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore.
Iron is obtained from earth, And stone is melted into copper.
3 Man puts an end to the darkness; he probes the farthest recesses for ore in deepest darkness.
Man putteth an end to darkness; He searcheth to the lowest depths For the stone of 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.
From the place where they dwell they open a shaft; Forgotten by the feet, They hang down, they swing away from men.
5 Food may come from the earth, but from below it is transformed as by fire.
The earth, out of which cometh bread, Is torn up underneath, as it were by fire.
6 Its rocks are the source of sapphires, containing flecks of gold.
Her stones are the place of sapphires, And she hath clods of gold for man.
7 No bird of prey knows that path; no falcon’s eye has seen it.
The path thereto no bird knoweth, And the vulture's eye hath not seen it;
8 Proud beasts have never trodden it; no lion has ever prowled over it.
The fierce wild beast hath not trodden it; The lion hath not passed over it.
9 The miner strikes the flint; he overturns mountains at their base.
Man layeth his hand upon the rock; He upturneth mountains from their roots;
10 He hews out channels in the rocks, and his eyes spot every treasure.
He cleaveth out streams in the rocks, And his eye seeth every precious thing;
11 He stops up the sources of the streams to bring what is hidden to light.
He bindeth up the streams, that they trickle not, And bringeth hidden things to light.
12 But where can wisdom be found, and where does understanding dwell?
But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?
13 No man can know its value, nor is it 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 ocean depths say, ‘It is not in me,’ while the sea declares, ‘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 bought with gold, nor can its price be weighed out in silver.
It cannot be gotten for gold, Nor shall silver be weighed out as the price thereof.
16 It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx or sapphire.
It cannot be bought with the gold of Ophir, With the precious onyx or the sapphire.
17 Neither gold nor crystal can compare to it, nor jewels of fine gold be exchanged for it.
Gold and crystal are not to be compared with it; Nor can it be purchased with jewels of fine gold.
18 Coral and quartz are unworthy of mention; the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.
No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal; For wisdom is more precious than pearls.
19 Topaz from Cush cannot compare to it, nor can it be valued in pure gold.
The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it, Nor can it be purchased with pure gold.
20 From where then does wisdom come, and where does understanding dwell?
Whence then cometh wisdom? And where is the place of understanding?
21 It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing and concealed from the birds of the air.
Since it is hidden from the eyes of all living, And kept close from the fowls of the air.
22 Abaddon and Death say, ‘We have heard a rumor about it.’
Destruction and Death say, We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.
23 But 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 everything under the heavens.
For he seeth to the ends of the earth, And surveyeth all things under the whole heaven.
25 When God fixed the weight of the wind and measured out the waters,
When he gave the winds their weight, And meted out the waters by measure;
26 when He set a limit for the rain and a path for the thunderbolt,
When he prescribed a law to the rain, And a path to the thunder-flash, —
27 then He looked at wisdom and appraised it; He established it and searched it out.
Then did he see it, and make it known; He established it, and 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.’”
But he said unto man, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, And to depart from evil is understanding.
