Job 28
1
Surely there is a mine for silver, And a place for gold which they refine.
2
Iron is taken out of the earth, And copper is molten out of the stone.
3
[Man] sets an end to darkness, And searches out, to the furthest bound, The stones
of obscurity and of thick darkness.
4
He breaks open a shaft away from where men sojourn; They are forgotten of the foot;
They hang afar from men, they swing to and fro.
5
As for the earth, out of it comes bread; And underneath it is turned up as it were
by fire.
6
Its stones are the place of sapphires, And it has dust of gold.
7
That path no bird of prey knows, Neither has the falcon`s eye seen it:
8
The proud beasts have not trodden it, Nor has the fierce lion passed thereby.
9
He puts forth his hand upon the flinty rock; He overturns the mountains by the roots.
10
He cuts out channels among the rocks; And his eye sees every precious thing.
11
He binds the streams that they trickle not; And the thing that is hid brings he forth
to light.
12
But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?
13
Man knows not its price; Neither 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 gotten for gold, Neither shall silver be weighed for its price.
16
It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, With the precious onyx, or the sapphire.
17
Gold and glass cannot equal it, Neither shall it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.
18
No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal: Yea, the price of wisdom is above
rubies.
19
The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, Neither shall it be valued with pure gold.
20
Whence then comes wisdom? And where is the place of understanding?
21
Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, And kept close from the birds of the
heavens.
22
Destruction and Death say, We have heard a rumor thereof 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 heaven;
25
To make a weight for the wind: Yea, he metes out the waters by measure.
26
When he made a decree for the rain, And a way for the lightning of the thunder;
27
Then did he see it, and declare it; He established it, yea, and 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.