Job

28 “There is a place to mine silver

And a place for gold that they refine;+

 2 Iron is taken from the ground,

And copper is smelted* from rocks.+

 3 Man conquers the darkness;

He probes to the limit in the gloom and darkness,

Searching for ore.*

 4 He sinks a shaft far from where people reside,

In forgotten places, far from where people walk;

Some men descend and swing suspended.

 5 Food grows on top of the earth;

But below, there is an upheaval as if by fire.*

 6 There in the stones is sapphire,

And the dust contains gold.

 7 No bird of prey knows the path to it;

The eye of a black kite has not seen it.

 8 No majestic beasts have trodden on it;

The young lion has not prowled there.

 9 Man strikes the flinty rock with his hand;

He overturns the mountains at their foundation.

10 He cuts water channels+ in the rock;

His eyes spot every precious thing.

11 He dams up the sources of rivers

And brings what was hidden to the light.

12 But wisdom—where can it be found,+

And where is the source of understanding?+

13 No man recognizes its value,+

And it cannot be found in the land of the living.

15 It cannot be bought with pure gold;

Nor can silver be weighed out in exchange for it.+

16 It cannot be bought with gold of Oʹphir+

Nor with rare onyx and sapphire.

17 Gold and glass cannot be compared to it;

Nor can a vessel of fine* gold be exchanged for it.+

18 Coral and crystal are not worthy of mention,+

For a bagful of wisdom is worth more than one full of pearls.

19 The topaz+ of Cush cannot be compared to it;

It cannot be purchased even with pure gold.

20 But from where does wisdom come,

And where is the source of understanding?+

21 It has been hidden from the eyes of every living thing+

And concealed from the birds of the heavens.

22 Destruction and death say,

‘Our ears have heard only a report of it.’

23 God understands the way to find it;

He alone knows where it resides,+

24 For he looks to the ends of the earth,

And he sees everything under the heavens.+

25 When he set the force* of the wind+

And measured out the waters,+

26 When he made a regulation for the rain+

And a path for the thunderous storm cloud,+

27 Then he saw wisdom and explained it;

He established and tested it.

‘Look! The fear of Jehovah—that is wisdom,+

And to turn away from bad is understanding.’”+