Job 28

28:1

“Surely there is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined.

28:2

Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore.

28:3

Man puts an end to the darkness; he probes the farthest recesses for ore in deepest darkness.

28:4

Far from human habitation he cuts a shaft in places forgotten by the foot of man. Far from men he dangles and sways.

28:5

Food may come from the earth, but from below it is transformed as by fire.

28:6

Its rocks are the source of sapphires, containing flecks of gold.

28:7

No bird of prey knows that path; no falcon’s eye has seen it.

28:8

Proud beasts have never trodden it; no lion has ever prowled over it.

28:9

The miner strikes the flint; he overturns mountains at their base.

28:10

He hews out channels in the rocks, and his eyes spot every treasure.

28:11

He stops up the sources of the streams to bring what is hidden to light.

28:12

But where can wisdom be found, and where does understanding dwell?

28:13

No man can know its value, nor is it found in the land of the living.

28:14

The ocean depths say, ‘It is not in me,’ while the sea declares, ‘It is not with me.’

28:15

It cannot be bought with gold, nor can its price be weighed out in silver.

28:16

It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx or sapphire.

28:17

Neither gold nor crystal can compare to it, nor jewels of fine gold be exchanged for it.

28:18

Coral and quartz are unworthy of mention; the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.

28:19

Topaz from Cush cannot compare to it, nor can it be valued in pure gold.

28:20

From where then does wisdom come, and where does understanding dwell?

28:21

It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing and concealed from the birds of the air.

28:22

Abaddon and Death say, ‘We have heard a rumor about it.’

28:23

But God understands its way, and He knows its place.

28:24

For He looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.

28:25

When God fixed the weight of the wind and measured out the waters,

28:26

when He set a limit for the rain and a path for the thunderbolt,

28:27

then He looked at wisdom and appraised it; He established it and searched it out.

28:28

And He said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”