Job 28
1 Surely there is for silver a source, And a place for the gold they refine;
Surely there is a vein for the silver, and a place for gold which they refine;
2 Iron from the dust is taken, And [from] the firm stone brass.
Iron is taken out of the dust, and copper is molten out of the stone.
3 An end hath he set to darkness, And to all perfection he is searching, A stone of darkness and death-shade.
[Man] putteth an end to the darkness, and exploreth to the utmost limit, the stones of darkness and of the shadow of death.
4 A stream hath broken out from a sojourner, Those forgotten of the foot, They were low, from man they wandered.
He openeth a shaft far from the inhabitants [of the earth]: forgotten of the foot, they hang suspended; away below men they hover.
5 The earth! from it cometh forth bread, And its under-part is turned like fire.
As for the earth, out of it cometh bread, and underneath it is turned up as by fire;
6 A place of the sapphire [are] its stones, And it hath dust of gold.
The stones of it are the place of sapphires, and it hath dust of gold.
7 A path — not known it hath a ravenous fowl, Nor scorched it hath an eye of the kite,
It is a path no bird of prey knoweth, and the vulture's eye hath not seen it;
8 Nor trodden it have the sons of pride, Not passed over it hath the fierce lion.
The proud beasts have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed over it.
9 Against the flint he sent forth his hand, He overturned from the root mountains.
[Man] putteth forth his hand upon the flinty rock, he overturneth the mountains by the root.
10 Among rocks, brooks he hath cleaved, And every precious thing hath his eye seen.
He cutteth out channels in the rocks, and his eye seeth every precious thing.
11 From overflowing floods he hath bound, And the hidden thing bringeth out [to] light.
He bindeth the streams that they drip not, and what is hidden he bringeth forth to light.
12 And the wisdom — whence is it found? And where [is] this, the place of understanding?
But wisdom, where shall it be found? and where is the place of understanding?
13 Man hath not known its arrangement, Nor is it found in the land of the living.
Man knoweth not the value thereof; and it is not found in the land of the living.
14 The 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 Gold is not given for it, Nor is silver weighed — its price.
Choice gold cannot be given for it, nor silver be weighed for its price.
16 It is not valued with pure gold of Ophir, With precious onyx and sapphire,
It is not set in the balance with gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, and the sapphire.
17 Not equal it do gold and crystal, Nor [is] its exchange a vessel of fine gold.
Gold and glass cannot be compared to it, nor vessels of fine gold be its exchange.
18 Corals and pearl are not remembered, The acquisition of wisdom [is] above rubies.
Corals and crystal are no more remembered; yea, the acquisition of wisdom is above rubies.
19 Not equal it doth the topaz of Cush, With pure gold it is not valued.
The topaz of Ethiopia shall not be compared to it, neither shall it be set in the balance with pure gold.
20 And the wisdom — whence doth it come? And where [is] this, the place of understanding?
Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding?
21 It hath been hid from the eyes of all living. And from the fowl of the heavens It hath been hidden.
For it is hidden from the eyes of all living, and concealed from the fowl of the heavens.
22 Destruction and death have said: 'With our ears we have heard its fame.'
Destruction and death say, We have heard its report with our ears.
23 God hath understood its way, And He hath known its place.
God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth its place:
24 For He to the ends of the earth doth look, Under the whole heavens He doth see,
For he looketh to the ends of the earth, he seeth under the whole heaven.
25 To make for the wind a weight, And the waters He meted out in measure.
In making a weight for the wind, and meting out the waters by measure,
26 In His making for the rain a limit, And a way for the brightness of the voices,
In appointing a statute for the rain, and a way for the thunder's flash:
27 Then He hath seen and declareth it, He hath prepared it, and also searched it out,
Then did he see it, and declare it; he established it, yea, and searched it out;
28 And He saith to man: — 'Lo, fear of the Lord, that [is] wisdom, And to turn from evil [is] understanding.'
And unto man he said, Lo, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.
