Job 28
1 For there is a mine for silver, and a place for gold which they refine.
Surely there is for silver a source, And a place for the gold they refine;
2 Iron is taken out of the dust, and brass is molten out of the stone.
Iron from the dust is taken, And [from] the firm stone brass.
3 Man setteth an end to darkness, and searcheth out to the furthest bound the stones of thick darkness and of the shadow of death.
An end hath he set to darkness, And to all perfection he is searching, A stone of darkness and death-shade.
4 He breaketh open a shaft away from where men sojourn; they are forgotten of the foot that passeth by; they hang afar from men, they swing to and fro.
A stream hath broken out from a sojourner, Those forgotten of the foot, They were low, from man they wandered.
5 As for the earth, out of it cometh bread, and underneath it is turned up as it were by fire.
The earth! from it cometh forth bread, And its under-part is turned like fire.
6 The stones thereof are the place of sapphires, and it hath dust of gold.
A place of the sapphire [are] its stones, And it hath dust of gold.
7 That path no bird of prey knoweth, neither hath the falcon's eye seen it;
A path — not known it hath a ravenous fowl, Nor scorched it hath an eye of the kite,
8 The proud beasts have not trodden it, nor hath the lion passed thereby.
Nor trodden it have the sons of pride, Not passed over it hath the fierce lion.
9 He putteth forth his hand upon the flinty rock; He overturneth the mountains by the roots.
Against the flint he sent forth his hand, He overturned from the root mountains.
10 He cutteth out channels among the rocks; and his eye seeth every precious thing.
Among rocks, brooks he hath cleaved, And every precious thing hath his eye seen.
11 He bindeth the streams that they trickle not; and the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light.
From overflowing floods he hath bound, And the hidden thing bringeth out [to] light.
12 But wisdom, where shall it be found? And where is the place of understanding?
And the wisdom — whence is it found? And where [is] this, the place of understanding?
13 Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living.
Man hath not known its arrangement, Nor is it found in the land of the living.
14 The deep saith: 'It is not in me'; and the sea saith: 'It is not with me.'
The deep hath said, 'It [is] not in me,' And the sea hath said, 'It is not with me.'
15 It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof.
Gold is not given for it, Nor is silver weighed — its price.
16 It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire.
It is not valued with pure gold of Ophir, With precious onyx and sapphire,
17 Gold and glass cannot equal it; neither shall the exchange thereof be vessels of fine gold.
Not equal it do gold and crystal, Nor [is] its exchange a vessel of fine gold.
18 No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal; yea, the price of wisdom is above rubies.
Corals and pearl are not remembered, The acquisition of wisdom [is] above rubies.
19 The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold.
Not equal it doth the topaz of Cush, With pure gold it is not valued.
20 Whence then cometh wisdom? And where is the place of understanding?
And the wisdom — whence doth it come? And where [is] this, the place of understanding?
21 Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air.
It hath been hid from the eyes of all living. And from the fowl of the heavens It hath been hidden.
22 Destruction and Death say: 'We have heard a rumor thereof with our ears.'
Destruction and death have said: 'With our ears we have heard its fame.'
23 God understandeth the way thereof, and He knoweth the place thereof.
God hath understood its way, And He hath known its place.
24 For He looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven;
For He to the ends of the earth doth look, Under the whole heavens He doth see,
25 When He maketh a weight for the wind, and meteth out the waters by measure.
To make for the wind a weight, And the waters He meted out in measure.
26 When He made a decree for the rain, and a way for the storm of thunders;
In His making for the rain a limit, And a way for the brightness of the voices,
27 Then did He see it, and declare it; He established it, yea, and searched it out.
Then He hath seen and declareth it, He hath prepared it, and also searched it out,
28 And unto man He said: 'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.'
And He saith to man: — 'Lo, fear of the Lord, that [is] wisdom, And to turn from evil [is] understanding.'
