Job 28

There is a mine for silver

¹There is a mine for silver \q and a place where gold is refined.^{a 2}Iron is taken from the earth, \q and copper is smelted from ore. ³Miners put an end to darkness; \q they search to the farthest limits \q for ore in gloom and deep darkness. ⁴They cut a shaft far from where people live, \q in places forgotten by those who walk above; \q they hang and swing far from other people.^{b 5}From the earth comes bread, \q but underneath it is turned upside down as if by fire. ⁶Its rocks are where sapphires are found, \q and its dust contains gold. ⁷No bird of prey knows that path; \q the falcon’s eye has never seen it. ⁸Proud beasts have not set foot on it; \q the lion has never passed along it. ⁹Miners put their hand to the flinty rock \q and overturn mountains at their roots. ¹⁰They cut tunnels through the rocks, \q and their eyes see every treasure. ¹¹They dam up the trickling streams, \q and bring hidden things out into the light.^c

But where can wisdom be found?

¹²But where can wisdom be found? \q Where is the place of understanding? ¹³No human being knows its worth; \q it is not found in the land of the living.^{d 14}The deep says, “It is not in me,” \q and the sea says, “It is not with me.” ¹⁵It cannot be bought with the finest gold, \q and its price cannot be weighed out in silver. ¹⁶It cannot be weighed against the gold of Ophir, \q against precious onyx or sapphire. ¹⁷Gold and glass cannot equal it, \q nor can it be traded for articles of fine gold. ¹⁸Coral and crystal are not worth mentioning; \q the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.^{e 19}The topaz of Cush cannot equal it; \q it cannot be weighed against pure gold.

God understands the way to wisdom

²⁰Then where does wisdom come from? \q Where is the place of understanding? ²¹It is hidden from the eyes of every living creature, \q concealed even from the birds of the sky. ²²Abaddon and Death say, \q “We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.” ²³God understands the way to it, \q and he alone knows its place. ²⁴For he looks to the ends of the earth \q and sees everything under the heavens. ²⁵When he gave the wind its weight \q and measured out the waters, ²⁶when he made a law for the rain \q and a path for the thunder and lightning, ²⁷then he saw wisdom and appraised it; \q he set it in place and searched it through. ²⁸And he said to humankind, \q “Look, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, \q and to turn away from evil is understanding.”^f