Job 28

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	NEW JERUSALEM
1 There is indeed a mine for silver, and a place for gold which men refine.	1 Silver has its mines, and gold a place for refining.
2 Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is melted out of stone.	2 Iron is extracted from the earth, the smelted rocks yield copper.
3 He has set a boundary for the darkness; to the farthest confines he penetrates.	3 Man makes an end of darkness, to the utmost limit he digs the black rock in shadow dark as death.
	4 Foreigners bore into ravines in unfrequented places, swinging suspended far from human beings.
5 The earth, though out of it comes forth bread, is in fiery upheaval underneath.	5 That earth from which bread comes is ravaged underground by fire.
6 Its stones are the source of sapphires, and there is gold in its dust.	6 There, the rocks have veins of sapphire and their dust contains gold.
7 The path to it no bird of prey knows, nor has the hawk's eye seen that path.	7 That is a path unknown to birds of prey, unseen by the eye of any vulture;
8 The proud beasts have not trodden it, nor has the lion gone that way.	8 a path not trodden by the lordly beasts, where no lion ever walked.
9 He sets his hand to the flinty rock, and overturns the mountains at their foundations.	9 Man attacks the flint, upturning mountains by their roots.
10 He splits channels in the rocks; his eyes behold all that is precious.	10 He cuts canals through the rock, on the watch for anything precious.
11 He probes the wellsprings of the streams, and brings hidden things to light.	11 He explores the sources of rivers, bringing hidden things to light.
12 But whence can wisdom be obtained, and where is the place of understanding?	12 But where does Wisdom come from? Where is Intel igence to be found?
13 Man knows nothing to equal it, nor is it to be had in the land of the living.	13 No human being knows the way to her, she is not to be found on earth where they live.
14 The abyss declares, "It is not in me"; and the sea says, "I have it not."	14 'She is not in me,' says the Abyss; 'Nor here,' replies the Sea.
15 Solid gold cannot purchase it, nor can its price be paid with silver.	15 She cannot be bought with solid gold, nor paid for with any weight of silver,
16 It cannot be bought with gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx or the sapphire.	16 nor valued against gold of Ophir, precious agate or sapphire.
17 Gold or crystal cannot equal it, nor can golden vessels reach its worth.	17 Neither gold nor glass compares with her, for her, a vase of fine gold would be no exchange,
18 Neither coral nor jasper should be thought of; it surpasses pearls and	18 let alone coral or crystal: better go fishing for Wisdom than for pearls!
19 Arabian topaz.	19 Topaz from Cush is worthless in comparison, and gold, even refined, is valueless.
20 Whence, then, comes wisdom, and where is the place of understanding?	20 But where does Wisdom come from? Where is Intel igence to be found?
21 It is hid from the eyes of any beast; from the birds of the air it is concealed.	21 She cannot be seen by any living creature, she is hidden from the birds of the sky.
22 Abaddon and Death say, "Only by rumor have we heard of it."	22 Perdition and Death both say, 'We have heard only rumours of her.'
23 God knows the way to it; it is he who is familiar with its place.	23 God alone understands her path and knows where she is to be found.
24 For he beholds the ends of the earth and sees all that is under the heavens.	24 (For he sees to the remotest parts of the earth, and observes al that lies under heaven.)
25 He has weighed out the wind, and fixed the scope of the waters;	25 When he wil ed to give weight to the wind and measured out the waters with a gauge,
26 When he made rules for the rain and a path for the thunderbolts,	26 when he imposed a law on the rain and mapped a route for thunderclaps to fol ow,
27 Then he saw wisdom and appraised it, gave it its setting, knew it through and through.	27 then he saw and evaluated her, looked her through and through, assessing her.
28 And to man he said: Behold, the fear of the LORD is wisdom; and avoiding evil is understanding.	28 Then he said to human beings, 'Wisdom? - that is fear of the Lord; Intel igence? - avoidance of evil.'