Job — Chapter 28

1“Surely there is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined.

2Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore.

3Man puts an end to the darkness; he probes the farthest recesses for ore in deepest darkness.

4Far from human habitation he cuts a shaft in places forgotten by the foot of man. Far from men he dangles and sways.

5Food may come from the earth, but from below it is transformed as by fire.

6Its rocks are the source of sapphires, containing flecks of gold.

7No bird of prey knows that path; no falcon’s eye has seen it.

8Proud beasts have never trodden it; no lion has ever prowled over it.

9The miner strikes the flint; he overturns mountains at their base.

10He hews out channels in the rocks, and his eyes spot every treasure.

11He stops up the sources of the streams to bring what is hidden to light.

12But where can wisdom be found, and where does understanding dwell?

13No man can know its value, nor is it found in the land of the living.

14The ocean depths say, ‘It is not in me,’ while the sea declares, ‘It is not with me.’

15It cannot be bought with gold, nor can its price be weighed out in silver.

16It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx or sapphire.

17Neither gold nor crystal can compare to it, nor jewels of fine gold be exchanged for it.

18Coral and quartz are unworthy of mention; the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.

19Topaz from Cush cannot compare to it, nor can it be valued in pure gold.

20From where, then, does wisdom come, and where does understanding dwell?

21It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing and concealed from the birds of the air.

22Abaddon and Death say, ‘We have heard a rumor about it.’

23But God understands its way, and He knows its place.

24For He looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.

25When God fixed the weight of the wind and measured out the waters,

26when He set a limit for the rain and a path for the thunderbolt,

27then He looked at wisdom and appraised it; He established it and searched it out.

28And He said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”

1Surely there is a vein for the silver, and a place for gold where they fine it.

2Iron is taken out of the earth, and brass is molten out of the stone.

3He setteth an end to darkness, and searcheth out all perfection: the stones of darkness, and the shadow of death.

4The flood breaketh out from the inhabitant; even the waters forgotten of the foot: they are dried up, they are gone away from men.

5As for the earth, out of it cometh bread: and under it is turned up as it were fire.

6The stones of it are the place of sapphires: and it hath dust of gold.

7There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture’s eye hath not seen:

8The lion’s whelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it.

9He putteth forth his hand upon the rock; he overturneth the mountains by the roots.

10He cutteth out rivers among the rocks; and his eye seeth every precious thing.

11He bindeth the floods from overflowing; and the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light.

12But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding?

13Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living.

14The depth saith, It is not in me: and the sea saith, It is not with me.

15It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof.

16It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire.

17The gold and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold.

18No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies.

19The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold.

20Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding?

21Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air.

22Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears.

23God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof.

24For he looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven;

25To make the weight for the winds; and he weigheth the waters by measure.

26When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder:

27Then did he see it, and declare it; he prepared it, yea, and searched it out.

28And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.

1Surely there is a mine for silver, And a place for gold which they refine.

2Iron is taken out of the earth, And copper is molten out of the stone.

3[Man] setteth an end to darkness, And searcheth out, to the furthest bound, The stones of obscurity and of thick darkness.

4He breaketh open a shaft away from where men sojourn; They are forgotten of the foot; They hang afar from men, they swing to and fro.

5As for the earth, out of it cometh bread; And underneath it is turned up as it were by fire.

6The stones thereof are the place of sapphires, And it hath dust of gold.

7That path no bird of prey knoweth, Neither hath the falcon`s eye seen it:

8The proud beasts have not trodden it, Nor hath the fierce lion passed thereby.

9He putteth forth his hand upon the flinty rock; He overturneth the mountains by the roots.

10He cutteth out channels among the rocks; And his eye seeth every precious thing.

11He bindeth the streams that they trickle not; And the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light.

12But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?

13Man knoweth not the price thereof; Neither is it found in the land of the living.

14The deep saith, It is not in me; And the sea saith, It is not with me.

15It cannot be gotten for gold, Neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof.

16It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, With the precious onyx, or the sapphire.

17Gold and glass cannot equal it, Neither shall it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.

18No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal: Yea, the price of wisdom is above rubies.

19The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, Neither shall it be valued with pure gold.

20Whence then cometh wisdom? And where is the place of understanding?

21Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, And kept close from the birds of the heavens.

22Destruction and Death say, We have heard a rumor thereof with our ears.

23God understandeth the way thereof, And he knoweth the place thereof.

24For he looketh to the ends of the earth, And seeth under the whole heaven;

25To make a weight for the wind: Yea, he meteth out the waters by measure.

26When he made a decree for the rain, And a way for the lightning of the thunder;

27Then did he see it, and declare it; He established it, yea, and searched it out.

28And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding.

1“Surely there is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined.

2Iron is taken from the ground, and rock is poured out as copper.

3Man puts an end to the darkness; he searches the farthest recesses for the ore in the deepest darkness.

4Far from where people live he sinks a shaft, in places travelers have long forgotten, far from other people he dangles and sways.

5The earth, from which food comes, is overturned below as though by fire;

6a place whose stones are sapphires that contain dust of gold;

7a hidden path no bird of prey knows— no falcon’s eye has spotted it.

8Proud beasts have not set foot on it, and no lion has passed along it.

9On the flinty rock man has set to work with his hand; he has overturned mountains at their bases.

10He has cut out channels through the rocks; his eyes have spotted every precious thing.

11He has searched the sources of the rivers, and what was hidden he has brought into the light.

12“But wisdom—where can it be found? Where is the place of understanding?

13Mankind does not know its place; it cannot be found in the land of the living.

14The deep says, ‘It is not with me.’ And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’

15Fine gold cannot be given in exchange for it, nor can its price be weighed out in silver.

16It cannot be measured out for purchase with the gold of Ophir, with precious onyx or sapphires.

17Neither gold nor crystal can be compared with it, nor can a vase of gold match its worth.

18Of coral and jasper no mention will be made; the price of wisdom is more than pearls.

19The topaz of Cush cannot be compared with it; it cannot be purchased with pure gold.

20“But wisdom—where does it come from? Where is the place of understanding?

21For it has been hidden from the eyes of every living creature, and from the birds of the sky it has been concealed.

22Destruction and Death say, ‘With our ears we have heard a rumor about where it can be found.’

23God understands the way to it, and he alone knows its place.

24For he looks to the ends of the earth and observes everything under the heavens.

25When he made the force of the wind and measured the waters with a gauge,

26when he imposed a limit for the rain, and a path for the thunderstorm,

27then he looked at wisdom and assessed its value; he established it and examined it closely.

28And he said to mankind, ‘The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”

1“Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place for gold which they refine.

2Iron is taken out of the earth, and copper is smelted out of the ore.

3Man sets an end to darkness, and searches out, to the furthest bound, the stones of obscurity and of thick darkness.

4He 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.

5As for the earth, out of it comes bread; Underneath it is turned up as it were by fire.

6Sapphires come from its rocks. It has dust of gold.

7That path no bird of prey knows, neither has the falcon’s eye seen it.

8The proud animals have not trodden it, nor has the fierce lion passed by there.

9He puts his hand on the flinty rock, and he overturns the mountains by the roots.

10He cuts out channels among the rocks. His eye sees every precious thing.

11He binds the streams that they don’t trickle. The thing that is hidden he brings out to light.

12“But where shall wisdom be found? Where is the place of understanding?

13Man doesn’t know its price; Neither is it found in the land of the living.

14The deep says, ‘It isn’t in me.’ The sea says, ‘It isn’t with me.’

15It can’t be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for its price.

16It can’t be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire.

17Gold and glass can’t equal it, neither shall it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.

18No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal. Yes, the price of wisdom is above rubies.

19The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, Neither shall it be valued with pure gold.

20Where then does wisdom come from? Where is the place of understanding?

21Seeing it is hidden from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the birds of the sky.

22Destruction and Death say, ‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’

23“God understands its way, and he knows its place.

24For he looks to the ends of the earth, and sees under the whole sky.

25He establishes the force of the wind. Yes, he measures out the waters by measure.

26When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder;

27then he saw it, and declared it. He established it, yes, and searched it out.

28To man he said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom. To depart from evil is understanding.’”