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 for gold which they refine.
2 Iron, out of the ore, is taken, and, stone, poureth out copper;
Iron is taken out of the earth, and copper is smelted out of the 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 sets an end to darkness, and searches out, to the furthest bound, the stones of obscurity and of thick 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;
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 As for the earth, out of it, cometh forth bread, and, under it, is upturned, as it were fire;
As for the earth, out of it comes bread. Underneath it is turned up as it were by fire.
6 The place of sapphires, are the stones thereof, and it hath, nuggets of gold: —
Sapphires come from its rocks. It has dust of gold.
7 A path, the vulture hath not discerned, nor hath the eye of the hawk scanned it;
That path no bird of prey knows, neither has the falcon’s eye seen it.
8 Ravenous beasts have not made a track thereof, neither hath the lion marched thereon:
The proud animals have not trodden it, nor has the fierce lion passed by there.
9 Upon the flint, hath he thrust forth his hand, He hath turned up mountains by the roots;
He puts his hand on the flinty rock, and he overturns the mountains by the roots.
10 Among the rocks, hath he cut open streams, and, every precious thing, hath his eye seen:
He cuts out channels amongst the rocks. His eye sees every precious thing.
11 From trickling, he restraineth, rivers, and, some hidden thing, is he bringing out to light.
He binds the streams that they don’t trickle. The thing that is hidden he brings out to light.
12 Yet where can, Wisdom, be found? And where is the place of understanding?
“But where will wisdom be found? 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 doesn’t know its price, and it isn’t 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 says, ‘It isn’t in me.’ The sea says, ‘It isn’t with me.’
15 Pure gold cannot be given in its stead, neither can silver he weighed as the value thereof;
It can’t be gotten for gold, neither will silver be weighed for its price.
16 It cannot be put into the scales against the gold of Ophir, with costly onyx, or sapphire;
It can’t be valued 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 glass can’t equal it, neither will it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.
18 Coral or crystal, cannot be mentioned, Yea, a possession, is wisdom, above red coral;
No mention will be made of coral or of crystal. Yes, the price 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 Ethiopia will not equal it. It won’t be valued with pure gold.
20 Whence then cometh, wisdom? And where is the place of understanding?
Where then does wisdom come from? 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?
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, have we heard the report thereof!
Destruction and Death say, ‘We have heard a rumour of it with our ears.’
23 GOD, understandeth the way thereof, and, he, discerneth the place thereof;
“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 under the whole sky.
25 Making, for the wind, a weight, and, the waters, he proved by measure,
He establishes the force of the wind. Yes, he measures out the waters by measure.
26 When he made, for the rain, a decree, and a way for the lightning of thunders,
When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder,
27 Then, saw he it, and declared it, He settled it, yea also he searched it out;
then he saw it, and declared it. He established it, yes, 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.
To man he said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom. To depart from evil is understanding.’”
