Job 28
1 Surely there is for silver a source, 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 from the dust is taken, And [from] the firm stone brass.
Iron is obtained from earth, And stone is melted into copper.
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 darkness; He searcheth to the lowest depths For the stone of darkness and 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.
From the place where they dwell they open a shaft; Forgotten by the feet, They hang down, they swing away from men.
5 The earth! from it cometh forth bread, And its under-part is turned like fire.
The earth, out of which cometh bread, Is torn up underneath, as it were by fire.
6 A place of the sapphire [are] its stones, And it hath dust of gold.
Her stones are the place of sapphires, And she hath clods of gold for man.
7 A path — not known it hath a ravenous fowl, Nor scorched it hath an eye of the kite,
The path thereto no bird 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 fierce wild beast hath not trodden it; The lion hath not passed over it.
9 Against the flint he sent forth his hand, He overturned from the root mountains.
Man layeth his hand upon the rock; He upturneth mountains from their roots;
10 Among rocks, brooks he hath cleaved, And every precious thing hath his eye seen.
He cleaveth out streams 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 up the streams, that they trickle not, And bringeth hidden things to light.
12 And the wisdom — whence is it found? And where [is] this, the place of understanding?
But where shall wisdom 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 price thereof, Nor can it be 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.
It cannot be gotten for gold, Nor shall silver be weighed out as the price thereof.
16 It is not valued with pure gold of Ophir, With precious onyx and sapphire,
It cannot be bought with the gold of Ophir, With the precious onyx or the sapphire.
17 Not equal it do gold and crystal, Nor [is] its exchange a vessel of fine gold.
Gold and crystal are not to be compared with it; Nor can it be purchased with jewels of fine gold.
18 Corals and pearl are not remembered, The acquisition of wisdom [is] above rubies.
No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal; For wisdom is more precious than pearls.
19 Not equal it doth the topaz of Cush, With pure gold it is not valued.
The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it, Nor can it be purchased 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.
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 we have heard its fame.'
Destruction and Death say, We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.
23 God hath understood its way, And He hath known its place.
God knoweth the way to it; He knoweth its dwelling-place.
24 For He to the ends of the earth doth look, Under the whole heavens He doth see,
For he seeth to the ends of the earth, And surveyeth all things under the whole heaven.
25 To make for the wind a weight, And the waters He meted out in measure.
When he gave the winds their weight, And meted out the waters by measure;
26 In His making for the rain a limit, And a way for the brightness of the voices,
When he prescribed a law to the rain, And a path to the thunder-flash, —
27 Then He hath seen and declareth it, He hath prepared it, and also searched it out,
Then did he see it, and make it known; He established it, 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.'
But he said unto man, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, And to depart from evil is understanding.
