Job 28

CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 Silver has its fissures where it is first found, and gold has a place where it is melted.	1 There is indeed a mine for silver, and a place for gold which men refine.
2 Iron is taken from the earth, and ore, unbound by heat, is turned into brass.	2 Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is melted out of stone.
3 He has established a time for darkness, and he has settled on an end for all things, as well as for the stone that is in the gloom and shadow of death.	3 He has set a boundary for the darkness; to the farthest confines he penetrates.
4 The burning separates a pilgrim people from those who have been forgotten by the feet of the destitute man and from the unapproachable.
5 The land, where bread appeared in its place, has been destroyed by fire.	5 The earth, though out of it comes forth bread, is in fiery upheaval underneath.
6 Its stones are embedded with sapphires, and its soil, with gold.	6 Its stones are the source of sapphires, and there is gold in its dust.
7 The bird does not know its path, nor has the eye of the vulture beheld it.	7 The path to it no bird of prey knows, nor has the hawk's eye seen that path.
8 The sons of merchants have not walked there, nor has the lioness traveled through it.	8 The proud beasts have not trodden it, nor has the lion gone that way.
9 He has stretched out his hand to the rocks; he has overturned the foundations of the mountains.	9 He sets his hand to the flinty rock, and overturns the mountains at their foundations.
10 He has cut rivers through the rocks, and his eye has seen all precious things.	10 He splits channels in the rocks; his eyes behold all that is precious.
11 The depths of rivers he has also examined, and he has brought hidden things into the light.	11 He probes the wellsprings of the streams, and brings hidden things to light.
12 But, in truth, where is wisdom to be found, and where is the place of understanding?	12 But whence can wisdom be obtained, and where is the place of understanding?
13 Man does not know its price, nor is it found in the land of those who live in sweetness.	13 Man knows nothing to equal it, nor is it to be had in the land of the living.
14 The abyss declares, “It is not in me.” And the sea says, “It is not with me.”	14 The abyss declares, "It is not in me"; and the sea says, "I have it not."
15 The finest gold will not be paid for it, nor will silver be weighed in exchange for it.	15 Solid gold cannot purchase it, nor can its price be paid with silver.
16 It will not be compared with the dyed colors of India, nor with the very costly stone sardonyx, nor with the sapphire.	16 It cannot be bought with gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx or the sapphire.
17 Neither gold nor crystal will be its equal; neither will vessels of gold be fitted for it.	17 Gold or crystal cannot equal it, nor can golden vessels reach its worth.
18 The exalted and the eminent will not be remembered in comparison with it. Yet wisdom is drawn out of concealment.	18 Neither coral nor jasper should be thought of; it surpasses pearls and
19 The topaz of Ethiopia will not be equal to it, nor will it be compared to the purest dyes.	19 Arabian topaz.
20 So then, where does wisdom begin, and where is the place of understanding?	20 Whence, then, comes wisdom, and where is the place of understanding?
21 It has been hidden from the eyes of all living things, just as the birds of the heavens escape notice.	21 It is hid from the eyes of any beast; from the birds of the air it is concealed.
22 Perdition and death have said, “With our ears, we have heard its fame.”	22 Abaddon and Death say, "Only by rumor have we heard of it."
23 God understands its way, and he knows its location.	23 God knows the way to it; it is he who is familiar with its place.
24 For he beholds the limits of the world, and he looks upon all things that are under heaven.	24 For he beholds the ends of the earth and sees all that is under the heavens.
25 He created a counterweight for the winds, and he suspended the waters to measure them.	25 He has weighed out the wind, and fixed the scope of the waters;
26 At that time, he gave a law to the rain and a path to the resounding storms.	26 When he made rules for the rain and a path for the thunderbolts,
27 Then he saw and explained it, and he made ready and examined it.	27 Then he saw wisdom and appraised it, gave it its setting, knew it through and through.
28 And he said to man, “Behold the fear of the Lord. Such is wisdom. And to withdraw from evil, this is understanding.”	28 And to man he said: Behold, the fear of the LORD is wisdom; and avoiding evil is understanding.