Job 28
1 Though there is, for silver, a vein, and a place for the gold they refine;
“Surely there is a source for silver, And a place for the gold they refine;
2 Iron, out of the ore, is taken, and, stone, poureth out copper;
Iron is taken from the dust, And bronze [from] the firm stone.
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;
He has set an end to darkness, And he is searching to all perfection, A stone of darkness and death-shade.
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;
A stream has broken out from a sojourner, Those forgotten of the foot, They were low, they wandered from man.
5 As for the earth, out of it, cometh forth bread, and, under it, is upturned, as it were fire;
The earth! Bread comes forth from it, And its under-part is turned like fire.
6 The place of sapphires, are the stones thereof, and it hath, nuggets of gold: —
A place of the sapphire [are] its stones, And it has dust of gold.
7 A path, the vulture hath not discerned, nor hath the eye of the hawk scanned it;
A path—a ravenous bird has not known it, Nor has an eye of the falcon scorched it,
8 Ravenous beasts have not made a track thereof, neither hath the lion marched thereon:
Nor have the sons of pride trodden it, The fierce lion has not passed over it.
9 Upon the flint, hath he thrust forth his hand, He hath turned up mountains by the roots;
He sent forth his hand against the flint, He overturned mountains from the root.
10 Among the rocks, hath he cut open streams, and, every precious thing, hath his eye seen:
Among rocks, he has cleaved brooks, And his eye has seen every precious thing.
11 From trickling, he restraineth, rivers, and, some hidden thing, is he bringing out to light.
He has bound overflowing rivers, And the hidden thing brings out [to] light.
12 Yet where can, Wisdom, be found? And where is the place of understanding?
And the wisdom—from where is it found? And where [is] this, the place of understanding?
13 Mortal knoweth not the way thereof, neither can it be found in the land of the living;
Man has not known its arrangement, 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 deep has said, It [is] not in me, And the sea has said, It is not with me.
15 Pure gold cannot be given in its stead, neither can silver he weighed as the value thereof;
Gold is not given for it, Nor is silver weighed—its price.
16 It cannot be put into the scales against the gold of Ophir, with costly onyx, or sapphire;
It is not valued with pure gold of Ophir, With precious onyx and sapphire,
17 Neither gold nor crystal can compare with it, nor can, the exchange thereof, be a vessel of pure gold,
Gold and crystal do not equal it, Nor [is] its exchange a vessel of fine gold.
18 Coral or crystal, cannot be mentioned, Yea, a possession, is wisdom, above red coral;
Corals and pearl are not remembered, The acquisition of wisdom [is] above rubies.
19 The topaz of Ethiopia cannot compare with it, Against purest gold, can it not be weighed.
The topaz of Cush does not equal it, It is not valued with pure gold.
20 Whence then cometh, wisdom? And where is the place of understanding?
And the wisdom—from where does it come? And where [is] this, the place of understanding?
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 has been hid from the eyes of all living. And from the bird of the heavens It has been hidden.
22 Destruction and death, have said, With our ears, have we heard the report thereof!
Destruction and death have said: With our ears we have heard its fame.
23 GOD, understandeth the way thereof, and, he, discerneth the place thereof;
God has understood its way, And He has known 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, He sees under the whole heavens,
25 Making, for the wind, a weight, and, the waters, he proved by measure,
To make a weight for the wind, And He meted out the waters in measure.
26 When he made, for the rain, a decree, and a way for the lightning of thunders,
In His making for the rain a limit, And a way for the brightness of the voices,
27 Then, saw he it, and declared it, He settled it, yea also he searched it out;
Then He has seen and declares it, He has prepared it, and also 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 says to man: Behold, fear of the Lord, that [is] wisdom, And to turn from evil [is] understanding.”
