< Job 28 >

1 Though there is, for silver, a vein, 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, out of the ore, is taken, and, stone, poureth out copper;
Iron is obtained from earth, And stone is melted into copper.
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 putteth an end to darkness; He searcheth to the lowest depths For the stone of darkness and the shadow of death.
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;
From the place where they dwell they open a shaft; Forgotten by the feet, They hang down, they swing away from men.
5 As for the earth, out of it, cometh forth bread, and, under it, is upturned, as it were fire;
The earth, out of which cometh bread, Is torn up underneath, as it were by fire.
6 The place of sapphires, are the stones thereof, and it hath, nuggets of gold: —
Her stones are the place of sapphires, And she hath clods of gold for man.
7 A path, the vulture hath not discerned, nor hath the eye of the hawk scanned it;
The path thereto no bird knoweth, And the vulture's eye hath not seen it;
8 Ravenous beasts have not made a track thereof, neither hath the lion marched thereon:
The fierce wild beast hath not trodden it; The lion hath not passed over it.
9 Upon the flint, hath he thrust forth his hand, He hath turned up mountains by the roots;
Man layeth his hand upon the rock; He upturneth mountains from their roots;
10 Among the rocks, hath he cut open streams, and, every precious thing, hath his eye seen:
He cleaveth out streams in the rocks, And his eye seeth every precious thing;
11 From trickling, he restraineth, rivers, and, some hidden thing, is he bringing out to light.
He bindeth up the streams, that they trickle not, And bringeth hidden things to light.
12 Yet where can, Wisdom, be found? And where is the place of understanding?
But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?
13 Mortal knoweth not the way thereof, neither can it be 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 resounding deep, hath said, It is not in me! And, the sea, hath said, It is not with me!
The deep saith, It is not in me; And the sea saith, 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 gotten for gold, Nor shall silver be weighed out as the price thereof.
16 It cannot be put into the scales against the gold of Ophir, with costly onyx, or sapphire;
It cannot be bought with the gold of Ophir, With the precious onyx or the sapphire.
17 Neither gold nor crystal can compare with it, nor can, the exchange thereof, be a vessel of pure gold,
Gold and crystal are not to be compared with it; Nor can it be purchased with jewels of fine gold.
18 Coral or crystal, cannot be mentioned, Yea, a possession, is wisdom, above red coral;
No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal; For wisdom is more precious than pearls.
19 The topaz of Ethiopia cannot compare with it, Against purest gold, can it not be weighed.
The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it, Nor can it be purchased with pure gold.
20 Whence then cometh, wisdom? And where is the place of understanding?
Whence then cometh wisdom? And where is 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?
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, have we heard the report thereof!
Destruction and Death say, We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.
23 GOD, understandeth the way thereof, and, he, discerneth the place thereof;
God knoweth the way to it; He knoweth its dwelling-place.
24 For, he, unto the ends of the earth, directeth his look, under all the heavens, he seeth;
For he seeth to the ends of the earth, And surveyeth all things under the whole heaven.
25 Making, for the wind, a weight, and, the waters, he proved by measure,
When he gave the winds their weight, And meted out the waters by measure;
26 When he made, for the rain, a decree, and a way for the lightning of thunders,
When he prescribed a law to the rain, And a path to the thunder-flash, —
27 Then, saw he it, and declared it, He settled it, yea also he searched it out;
Then did he see it, and make it known; 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.
But he said unto man, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, And to depart from evil is understanding.

< Job 28 >