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 for gold which they refine.
2 Iron is taken from the dust, And bronze [from] the firm stone.
Iron is taken out of the earth, and copper is smelted out of the ore.
3 He has set an end to darkness, And he is searching to all perfection, A stone of darkness and death-shade.
Man sets an end to darkness, and searches out, to the furthest bound, the stones of obscurity and of thick darkness.
4 A stream has broken out from a sojourner, Those forgotten of the foot, They were low, they wandered from man.
He breaks open a shaft away from where people live. They are forgotten by the foot. They hang far from men, they swing back and forth.
5 The earth! Bread comes forth from it, And its under-part is turned like fire.
As for the earth, out of it comes bread. Underneath it is turned up as it were by fire.
6 A place of the sapphire [are] its stones, And it has dust of gold.
Sapphires come from its rocks. It has dust of gold.
7 A path—a ravenous bird has not known it, Nor has an eye of the falcon scorched it,
That path no bird of prey knows, neither has the falcon’s eye seen it.
8 Nor have the sons of pride trodden it, The fierce lion has not passed over it.
The proud animals have not trodden it, nor has the fierce lion passed by there.
9 He sent forth his hand against the flint, He overturned mountains from the root.
He puts his hand on the flinty rock, and he overturns the mountains by the roots.
10 Among rocks, he has cleaved brooks, And his eye has seen every precious thing.
He cuts out channels amongst the rocks. His eye sees every precious thing.
11 He has bound overflowing rivers, And the hidden thing brings out [to] light.
He binds the streams that they don’t trickle. The thing that is hidden he brings out to light.
12 And the wisdom—from where is it found? And where [is] this, the place of understanding?
“But where will wisdom be found? Where is the place of understanding?
13 Man has not known its arrangement, Nor is it found in the land of the living.
Man doesn’t know its price, and it isn’t 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 says, ‘It isn’t in me.’ The sea says, ‘It isn’t with me.’
15 Gold is not given for it, Nor is silver weighed—its price.
It can’t be gotten for gold, neither will silver be weighed for its price.
16 It is not valued with pure gold of Ophir, With precious onyx and sapphire,
It can’t be valued 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 glass can’t equal it, neither will it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.
18 Corals and pearl are not remembered, The acquisition of wisdom [is] above rubies.
No mention will be made of coral or of crystal. Yes, the price of wisdom is above rubies.
19 The topaz of Cush does not equal it, It is not valued with pure gold.
The topaz of Ethiopia will not equal it. It won’t be valued with pure gold.
20 And the wisdom—from where does it come? And where [is] this, the place of understanding?
Where then does wisdom come from? 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.
Seeing it is hidden from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the birds of the sky.
22 Destruction and death have said: With our ears we have heard its fame.
Destruction and Death say, ‘We have heard a rumour of it with our ears.’
23 God has understood its way, And He has known its place.
“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 under the whole sky.
25 To make a weight for the wind, And He meted out the waters in measure.
He establishes the force of the wind. Yes, he measures 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 made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder,
27 Then He has seen and declares it, He has prepared it, and also searched it out,
then he saw it, and declared it. He established it, yes, 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.”
To man he said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom. To depart from evil is understanding.’”
