Job 28
1 Though there is, for silver, a vein, and a place for the gold they refine;
“Surely there is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined.
2 Iron, out of the ore, is taken, and, stone, poureth out copper;
Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore.
3 An end, hath one set to the darkness, and, into every extremity, is, he, making search, for the stone of darkness and death-shade;
Man puts an end to the darkness; he probes the farthest recesses for ore in deepest darkness.
4 He hath sunken a shaft, away from the inhabitants; Places forsaken by the foot, they hang down, away from men, sway to and fro;
Far from human habitation he cuts a shaft in places forgotten by the foot of man. Far from men he dangles and sways.
5 As for the earth, out of it, cometh forth bread, and, under it, is upturned, as it were fire;
Food may come from the earth, but from below it is transformed as by fire.
6 The place of sapphires, are the stones thereof, and it hath, nuggets of gold: —
Its rocks are the source of sapphires, containing flecks of gold.
7 A path, the vulture hath not discerned, nor hath the eye of the hawk scanned it;
No bird of prey knows that path; no falcon’s eye has seen it.
8 Ravenous beasts have not made a track thereof, neither hath the lion marched thereon:
Proud beasts have never trodden it; no lion has ever prowled over it.
9 Upon the flint, hath he thrust forth his hand, He hath turned up mountains by the roots;
The miner strikes the flint; he overturns mountains at their base.
10 Among the rocks, hath he cut open streams, and, every precious thing, hath his eye seen:
He hews out channels in the rocks, and his eyes spot every treasure.
11 From trickling, he restraineth, rivers, and, some hidden thing, is he bringing out to light.
He stops up the sources of the streams to bring what is hidden to light.
12 Yet where can, Wisdom, be found? And where is the place of understanding?
But where can wisdom be found, and where does understanding dwell?
13 Mortal knoweth not the way thereof, neither can it be 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 resounding deep, hath said, It is not in me! And, the sea, hath 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 Pure gold cannot be given in its stead, neither can silver he weighed as the value thereof;
It cannot be bought with gold, nor can its price be weighed out in silver.
16 It cannot be put into the scales against the gold of Ophir, with costly onyx, or sapphire;
It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx or sapphire.
17 Neither gold nor crystal can compare with it, nor can, the exchange thereof, be a vessel of pure gold,
Neither gold nor crystal can compare to it, nor jewels of fine gold be exchanged for it.
18 Coral or crystal, cannot be mentioned, Yea, a possession, is wisdom, above red coral;
Coral and quartz are unworthy of mention; the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.
19 The topaz of Ethiopia cannot compare with it, Against purest gold, can it not be weighed.
Topaz from Cush cannot compare to it, nor can it be valued in pure gold.
20 Whence then cometh, wisdom? And where is the place of understanding?
From where then does wisdom come, and where does understanding dwell?
21 Seeing it hath been hid from the eyes of every living thing, and, from the bird of the heavens, hath it been concealed?
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, have we heard the report thereof!
Abaddon and Death say, ‘We have heard a rumor about it.’
23 GOD, understandeth the way thereof, and, he, discerneth the place thereof;
But God understands its way, and He knows its place.
24 For, he, unto the ends of the earth, directeth his look, under all the heavens, he seeth;
For He looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.
25 Making, for the wind, a weight, and, the waters, he proved by measure,
When God fixed the weight of the wind and measured out the waters,
26 When he made, for the rain, a decree, and a way for the lightning of thunders,
when He set a limit for the rain and a path for the thunderbolt,
27 Then, saw he it, and declared it, He settled it, yea also he searched it out;
then He looked at wisdom and appraised it; He established it and searched it out.
28 And said to the son of earth, Lo! the reverence of the Lord, that, is wisdom, and, to avoid 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.’”
