Job 28
1 “Surely there is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined.
Surely there is a mine for silver, a place where they refine gold.
2 Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore.
Iron is taken out of the earth; copper is smelted out of the stone.
3 Man puts an end to the darkness; he probes the farthest recesses for ore in deepest darkness.
A man sets an end to darkness and searches out, to the farthest limit, the stones in obscurity and thick darkness.
4 Far from human habitation he cuts a shaft in places forgotten by the foot of man. Far from men he dangles and sways.
He breaks open a shaft away from where people live, places that are forgotten by anyone's foot. He hangs far away from people; he swings to and fro.
5 Food may come from the earth, but from below it is transformed as by fire.
As for the earth, out of which comes bread, it is turned up below as if by fire.
6 Its rocks are the source of sapphires, containing flecks of gold.
Its stones are the place where sapphires are found, and its dust contains gold.
7 No bird of prey knows that path; no falcon’s eye has seen it.
No bird of prey knows the path to it, nor has the falcon's eye seen it.
8 Proud beasts have never trodden it; no lion has ever prowled over it.
The proud animals have not walked such a path, nor has the fierce lion passed there.
9 The miner strikes the flint; he overturns mountains at their base.
A man lays his hand on the flinty rock; he overturns mountains by their roots.
10 He hews out channels in the rocks, and his eyes spot every treasure.
He cuts out channels among the rocks; his eye sees every valuable thing there.
11 He stops up the sources of the streams to bring what is hidden to light.
He ties up the streams so they do not run; what is hidden there he brings out to the light.
12 But where can wisdom be found, and where does understanding dwell?
Where will wisdom be found? Where is the place of understanding?
13 No man can know its value, nor is it found in the land of the living.
Man does not know its price; neither 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 waters under the earth say, 'It is not in me'; the sea says, '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; neither can silver be weighed as its price.
16 It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx or sapphire.
It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with precious onyx or sapphire.
17 Neither gold nor crystal can compare to it, nor jewels of fine gold be exchanged for it.
Gold and crystal cannot equal it in worth; neither can it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.
18 Coral and quartz are unworthy of mention; the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.
No mention is worth making of coral or jasper; indeed, the price of wisdom is more than 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; neither can it be valued in terms of pure gold.
20 From where then does wisdom come, and where does understanding dwell?
From where, then, comes wisdom? 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.
Wisdom is hidden from the eyes of all living things and is kept hidden from the birds of the heavens.
22 Abaddon and Death say, ‘We have heard a rumor about it.’
Destruction and Death say, 'We have heard just a rumor about it with our ears.'
23 But God understands its way, and He knows its place.
God understands the way to it; he knows its place.
24 For He looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.
For he looks to the very ends of the earth and sees under all the heavens.
25 When God fixed the weight of the wind and measured out the waters,
He made the force of the wind and parceled out the waters by measure.
26 when He set a limit for the rain and a path for the thunderbolt,
He made a decree for the rain and a path for the thunder.
27 then He looked at wisdom and appraised it; He established it and searched it out.
Then he saw wisdom and announced it; he established it, indeed, and he examined it.
28 And He said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”
To people he said, 'See, the fear of the Lord—that is wisdom; to depart from evil is understanding.'”
