Job 28
1 “Surely there is a source for silver, And a place for the gold they refine;
“Surely there is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined.
2 Iron is taken from the dust, And bronze [from] the firm stone.
Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore.
3 He has set an end to darkness, And he is searching to all perfection, A stone of darkness and death-shade.
Man puts an end to the darkness; he probes the farthest recesses for ore in deepest darkness.
4 A stream has broken out from a sojourner, Those forgotten of the foot, They were low, they wandered from man.
Far from human habitation he cuts a shaft in places forgotten by the foot of man. Far from men he dangles and sways.
5 The earth! Bread comes forth from it, And its under-part is turned like fire.
Food may come from the earth, but from below it is transformed as by fire.
6 A place of the sapphire [are] its stones, And it has dust of gold.
Its rocks are the source of sapphires, containing flecks of gold.
7 A path—a ravenous bird has not known it, Nor has an eye of the falcon scorched it,
No bird of prey knows that path; no falcon’s eye has seen it.
8 Nor have the sons of pride trodden it, The fierce lion has not passed over it.
Proud beasts have never trodden it; no lion has ever prowled over it.
9 He sent forth his hand against the flint, He overturned mountains from the root.
The miner strikes the flint; he overturns mountains at their base.
10 Among rocks, he has cleaved brooks, And his eye has seen every precious thing.
He hews out channels in the rocks, and his eyes spot every treasure.
11 He has bound overflowing rivers, And the hidden thing brings out [to] light.
He stops up the sources of the streams to bring what is hidden to light.
12 And the wisdom—from where is it found? And where [is] this, the place of understanding?
But where can wisdom be found, and where does understanding dwell?
13 Man has not known its arrangement, Nor is it found in the land of the living.
No man can know its value, nor is it found in the land of the living.
14 The deep has said, It [is] not in me, And the sea has said, It is not with me.
The ocean depths say, ‘It is not in me,’ while the sea declares, ‘It is not with me.’
15 Gold is not given for it, Nor is silver weighed—its price.
It cannot be bought with gold, nor can its price be weighed out in silver.
16 It is not valued with pure gold of Ophir, With precious onyx and sapphire,
It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx or sapphire.
17 Gold and crystal do not equal it, Nor [is] its exchange a vessel of fine gold.
Neither gold nor crystal can compare to it, nor jewels of fine gold be exchanged for it.
18 Corals and pearl are not remembered, The acquisition of wisdom [is] above rubies.
Coral and quartz are unworthy of mention; the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.
19 The topaz of Cush does not equal it, It is not valued with pure gold.
Topaz from Cush cannot compare to it, nor can it be valued in pure gold.
20 And the wisdom—from where does it come? And where [is] this, the place of understanding?
From where then does wisdom come, and where does understanding dwell?
21 It has been hid from the eyes of all living. And from the bird of the heavens It has been hidden.
It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing and concealed from the birds of the air.
22 Destruction and death have said: With our ears we have heard its fame.
Abaddon and Death say, ‘We have heard a rumor about it.’
23 God has understood its way, And He has known its place.
But God understands its way, and He knows its place.
24 For He looks to the ends of the earth, He sees under the whole heavens,
For He looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.
25 To make a weight for the wind, And He meted out the waters in measure.
When God fixed the weight of the wind and measured out the waters,
26 In His making for the rain a limit, And a way for the brightness of the voices,
when He set a limit for the rain and a path for the thunderbolt,
27 Then He has seen and declares it, He has prepared it, and also searched it out,
then He looked at wisdom and appraised it; He established it and searched it out.
28 And He says to man: Behold, fear of the Lord, that [is] wisdom, And to turn from evil [is] understanding.”
And He said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”
