Job 28

¹ There is indeed a mine for silver, and a place for gold which men refine.

² Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is melted out of stone.

³ He has set a boundary for the darkness; to the farthest confines he penetrates.

⁵ The earth, though out of it comes forth bread, is in fiery upheaval underneath.

⁶ Its stones are the source of sapphires, and there is gold in its dust.

⁷ The path to it no bird of prey knows, nor has the hawk's eye seen that path.

⁸ The proud beasts have not trodden it, nor has the lion gone that way.

⁹ He sets his hand to the flinty rock, and overturns the mountains at their foundations.

¹⁰ He splits channels in the rocks; his eyes behold all that is precious.

¹¹ He probes the wellsprings of the streams, and brings hidden things to light.

¹² But whence can wisdom be obtained, and where is the place of understanding?

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, "I have it not."

¹⁵ Solid gold cannot purchase it, nor can its price be paid with silver.

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

¹⁷ Gold or crystal cannot equal it, nor can golden vessels reach its worth.

¹⁸ Neither coral nor jasper should be thought of; it surpasses pearls and

¹⁹ Arabian topaz.

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

²¹ It is hid from the eyes of any beast; from the birds of the air it is concealed.

²² Abaddon and Death say, "Only by rumor have we heard of it."

²³ God knows the way to it; it is he who is familiar with its place.

²⁴ For he beholds the ends of the earth and sees all that is under the heavens.

²⁵ He has weighed out the wind, and fixed the scope of the waters;

²⁶ When he made rules for the rain and a path for the thunderbolts,

²⁷ Then he saw wisdom and appraised it, gave it its setting, knew it through and through.

²⁸ And to man he said: Behold, the fear of the LORD is wisdom; and avoiding evil is understanding.