1 "Surely there is a mine for silver, And a place where gold is refined. |
2 Iron is taken from the earth, And copper is smelted from ore. |
3 Man puts an end to darkness, And searches every recess For ore in the darkness and the shadow of death. |
4 He breaks open a shaft away from people; In places forgotten by feet They hang far away from men; They swing to and fro. |
5 As for the earth, from it comes bread, But underneath it is turned up as by fire; |
6 Its stones are the source of sapphires, And it contains gold dust. |
7 That path no bird knows, Nor has the falcon's eye seen it. |
8 The proud lions have not trodden it, Nor has the fierce lion passed over it. |
9 He puts his hand on the flint; He overturns the mountains at the roots. |
10 He cuts out channels in the rocks, And his eye sees every precious thing. |
11 He dams up the streams from trickling; What is hidden he brings forth to light. |
12 "But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? |
13 Man does not know its value, Nor is it found in the land of the living. |
14 The deep says, 'It is not in me'; And the sea says, 'It is not with me.' |
15 It cannot be purchased for gold, Nor can silver be weighed for its price. |
16 It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, In precious onyx or sapphire. |
17 Neither gold nor crystal can equal it, Nor can it be exchanged for jewelry of fine gold. |
18 No mention shall be made of coral or quartz, For the price of wisdom is above rubies. |
19 The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it, Nor can it be valued in pure gold. |
20 "From where then does wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding? |
21 It is hidden from the eyes of all living, And concealed from the birds of the air. |
22 Destruction and Death say, 'We have heard a report about it with our ears.' |
23 God understands its way, And He knows its place. |
24 For He looks to the ends of the earth, And sees under the whole heavens, |
25 To establish a weight for the wind, And apportion the waters by measure. |
26 When He made a law for the rain, And a path for the thunderbolt, |
27 Then He saw wisdom and declared it; He prepared it, indeed, He searched it out. |
28 And to man He said, 'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, And to depart from evil is understanding.'" |