Job 28
1 There are silver mines and places 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 extracted from the earth and copper is smelted from its ore.
For iron comes out of the earth, and brass is hewn out like stone.
3 Miners take lamps into the darkness underground and search for ore as far as they can go in the shadows and the gloom.
He has set a bound to darkness, and he searches out every limit: a stone [is] darkness, and the shadow of death.
4 They dig a mineshaft far from where people live or anyone ever goes. They swing from ropes that hang in the pits.
There is a cutting off the torrent by reason of dust: so they that forget the right way are weakened; they are removed from [amongst] men.
5 Bread comes from the earth, but underneath it looks as if it has been turned upside-down by fire.
[As for] the earth, out of it shall come bread: under it has been turned up as it were fire.
6 Here the rocks contain lapis lazuli and the dust contains gold.
Her stones are the place of the sapphire: and [her] dust [supplies] man with gold.
7 No birds of prey can see these paths, no falcon's eye can perceive.
[There is] a path, the fowl has not known it, neither has the eye of the vulture seen it:
8 No wild beasts have passed that way; the lion has not walked there.
neither have the sons of the proud trodden it, a lion has not passed upon it.
9 Miners attack the hard rock; they overturn the roots of mountains.
He has stretched forth his hand on the sharp [rock], and turned up mountains by the roots:
10 They tunnel through the rock, looking carefully for every precious stone.
and he has interrupted the whirlpools of rivers, and mine eye has seen every precious thing.
11 They dam the sources of the rivers, and bring to light what is hidden.
And he has laid bare the depths of rivers, and has brought his power to light.
12 But where can wisdom be found? Where is the place to gain understanding?
But whence has wisdom been discovered? and what is the place of knowledge?
13 Human beings do not know the way to wisdom; it is not found among the living.
A mortal has not known its way, neither indeed has it been discovered amongst men.
14 The deep waters say, ‘It's not here,’ and the sea says, ‘It's not here either.’
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 it be purchased with silver.
One shall not give fine gold instead of it, neither shall silver be weighed in exchange for it.
16 Its value cannot be measured, even with the gold of Ophir; it is more precious than onyx or lapis lazuli.
Neither shall it be compared with gold of Sophir, with the precious onyx and sapphire.
17 Gold or fine glass cannot compare with wisdom; it cannot be exchanged for gold jewelry.
Gold and crystal shall not be equalled to it, neither shall vessels of gold be its exchange.
18 Coral and crystal are not worth mentioning; the price of wisdom is far above rubies.
Coral and fine pearl shall not be mentioned: but do you esteem wisdom above the most precious things.
19 Topaz from Ethiopia can't compare with it; it cannot be bought with the purest gold.
The topaz of Ethiopia shall not be equalled to it; it shall not be compared with pure gold.
20 So where does wisdom come from? Where is the place to gain understanding?
Whence then is wisdom found? and of what kind is the place of understanding?
21 Wisdom is hidden from the sight of all living things, even the birds of the air cannot see it.
It has escaped the notice of every man, and has been hidden from the birds of the sky.
22 Abaddon and Death say, ‘We've only heard a rumor of it.’
Destruction and Death said, We have heard the report of it.
23 Only God understands the path to wisdom; he knows where it is found.
God has well ordered the way of it, and he knows the place of it.
24 For he looks to the very end of the earth; he sees everything under heaven.
For he surveys the whole [earth] under heaven, knowing the things in the earth:
25 He decided how strong the wind should blow, and regulated the waters.
all that he has made; the weight of the winds, the measures of the water.
26 He set a limit for the rain and made a path for the lightning.
When he made [them], thus he saw and numbered them, and made a way for the pealing of the thunder.
27 Then he considered wisdom. He examined it, gave it his approval, and declared it good.
Then he saw it, and declared it: he prepared it [and] traced it out.
28 He said to humankind, ‘To reverence the Lord 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.
