Job 28
1 The siluer surely hath his veyne, and ye gold his place, where they take it.
“Surely there is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined.
2 Yron is taken out of the dust, and brasse is molten out of the stone.
Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore.
3 God putteth an end to darkenesse, and he tryeth the perfection of all things: he setteth a bond of darkenesse, and of the shadowe of death.
Man puts an end to the darkness; he probes the farthest recesses for ore in deepest darkness.
4 The flood breaketh out against the inhabitant, and the waters forgotten of the foote, being higher then man, are gone away.
Far from human habitation he cuts a shaft in places forgotten by the foot of man. Far from men he dangles and sways.
5 Out of the same earth commeth bread, and vnder it, as it were fire is turned vp.
Food may come from the earth, but from below it is transformed as by fire.
6 The stones thereof are a place of saphirs, and the dust of it is golde.
Its rocks are the source of sapphires, containing flecks of gold.
7 There is a path which no foule hath knowen, neyther hath the kites eye seene it.
No bird of prey knows that path; no falcon’s eye has seen it.
8 The lyons whelpes haue not walked it, nor the lyon passed thereby.
Proud beasts have never trodden it; no lion has ever prowled over it.
9 He putteth his hand vpon the rockes, and ouerthroweth the mountaines by the rootes.
The miner strikes the flint; he overturns mountains at their base.
10 He breaketh riuers in the rockes, and his eye seeth euery precious thing.
He hews out channels in the rocks, and his eyes spot every treasure.
11 He bindeth the floods, that they doe not ouerflowe, and the thing that is hid, bringeth he to light.
He stops up the sources of the streams to bring what is hidden to light.
12 But where is wisdome found? and where is the place of vnderstanding?
But where can wisdom be found, and where does understanding dwell?
13 Man knoweth not the price thereof: for it is not found in the land of the liuing.
No man can know its value, nor is it found in the land of the living.
14 The depth sayth, It is not in mee: the sea also sayth, It is not with me.
The ocean depths say, ‘It is not in me,’ while the sea declares, ‘It is not with me.’
15 Golde shall not be giuen for it, neyther shall siluer be weighed for the price thereof.
It cannot be bought with gold, nor can its price be weighed out in silver.
16 It shall not be valued with the wedge of golde of Ophir, nor with the precious onix, nor the saphir.
It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx or sapphire.
17 The golde nor the chrystall shall be equall vnto it, nor the exchange shalbe for plate of fine golde.
Neither gold nor crystal can compare to it, nor jewels of fine gold be exchanged for it.
18 No mention shall be made of coral, nor of the gabish: for wisedome is more precious then pearles.
Coral and quartz are unworthy of mention; the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.
19 The Topaz of Ethiopia shall not be equall vnto it, neither shall it be valued with the wedge of pure gold.
Topaz from Cush cannot compare to it, nor can it be valued in pure gold.
20 Whence then commeth wisedome? and where is the place of vnderstanding,
From where then does wisdom come, and where does understanding dwell?
21 Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all the liuing, and is hid from the foules of the heauen?
It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing and concealed from the birds of the air.
22 Destruction and death say, We haue heard the fame thereof with our eares.
Abaddon and Death say, ‘We have heard a rumor about it.’
23 But God vnderstandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof.
But God understands its way, and He knows its place.
24 For he beholdeth the endes of the world, and seeth all that is vnder heauen,
For He looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.
25 To make the weight of the windes, and to weigh the waters by measure.
When God fixed the weight of the wind and measured out the waters,
26 When he made a decree for the rayne, and a way for the lightening of the thunders,
when He set a limit for the rain and a path for the thunderbolt,
27 Then did he see it, and counted it: he prepared it and also considered it.
then He looked at wisdom and appraised it; He established it and searched it out.
28 And vnto man he said, Behold, the feare of the Lord is wisedome, and to depart from euil is vnderstanding.
And He said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”
