Job 28
1 “Surely there is a source for silver, And a place for the gold they refine;
Truly there is a vein for silver, And a place for gold, which men refine.
2 Iron is taken from the dust, And bronze [from] the firm stone.
Iron is obtained from earth, And stone is melted into copper.
3 He has set an end to darkness, And he is searching to all perfection, A stone of darkness and death-shade.
Man putteth an end to darkness; He searcheth to the lowest depths For the stone of darkness and the shadow of death.
4 A stream has broken out from a sojourner, Those forgotten of the foot, They were low, they wandered from man.
From the place where they dwell they open a shaft; Forgotten by the feet, They hang down, they swing away from men.
5 The earth! Bread comes forth from it, And its under-part is turned like fire.
The earth, out of which cometh bread, Is torn up underneath, as it were by fire.
6 A place of the sapphire [are] its stones, And it has dust of gold.
Her stones are the place of sapphires, And she hath clods of gold for man.
7 A path—a ravenous bird has not known it, Nor has an eye of the falcon scorched it,
The path thereto no bird knoweth, And the vulture's eye hath not seen it;
8 Nor have the sons of pride trodden it, The fierce lion has not passed over it.
The fierce wild beast hath not trodden it; The lion hath not passed over it.
9 He sent forth his hand against the flint, He overturned mountains from the root.
Man layeth his hand upon the rock; He upturneth mountains from their roots;
10 Among rocks, he has cleaved brooks, And his eye has seen every precious thing.
He cleaveth out streams in the rocks, And his eye seeth every precious thing;
11 He has bound overflowing rivers, And the hidden thing brings out [to] light.
He bindeth up the streams, that they trickle not, And bringeth hidden things to light.
12 And the wisdom—from where is it found? And where [is] this, the place of understanding?
But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?
13 Man has not known its arrangement, Nor is it found in the land of the living.
Man knoweth not the price thereof, Nor can it be 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 deep saith, It is not in me; And the sea saith, It is not with me.
15 Gold is not given for it, Nor is silver weighed—its price.
It cannot be gotten for gold, Nor shall silver be weighed out as the price thereof.
16 It is not valued with pure gold of Ophir, With precious onyx and sapphire,
It cannot be bought with the gold of Ophir, With the precious onyx or the sapphire.
17 Gold and crystal do not equal it, Nor [is] its exchange a vessel of fine gold.
Gold and crystal are not to be compared with it; Nor can it be purchased with jewels of fine gold.
18 Corals and pearl are not remembered, The acquisition of wisdom [is] above rubies.
No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal; For wisdom is more precious than pearls.
19 The topaz of Cush does not equal it, It is not valued with pure gold.
The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it, Nor can it be purchased with pure gold.
20 And the wisdom—from where does it come? And where [is] this, the place of understanding?
Whence then cometh wisdom? And where is the place of understanding?
21 It has been hid from the eyes of all living. And from the bird of the heavens It has been hidden.
Since it is hidden from the eyes of all living, And kept close from the fowls of the air.
22 Destruction and death have said: With our ears we have heard its fame.
Destruction and Death say, We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.
23 God has understood its way, And He has known its place.
God knoweth the way to it; He knoweth its dwelling-place.
24 For He looks to the ends of the earth, He sees under the whole heavens,
For he seeth to the ends of the earth, And surveyeth all things under the whole heaven.
25 To make a weight for the wind, And He meted out the waters in measure.
When he gave the winds their weight, And meted out the waters by measure;
26 In His making for the rain a limit, And a way for the brightness of the voices,
When he prescribed a law to the rain, And a path to the thunder-flash, —
27 Then He has seen and declares it, He has prepared it, and also searched it out,
Then did he see it, and make it known; 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.”
But he said unto man, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, And to depart from evil is understanding.
