Job 28:1
“Surely there is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined.
Job 28:2
Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore.
Job 28:3
Man puts an end to the darkness; he probes the farthest recesses for ore in deepest darkness.
Job 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.
Job 28:5
Food may come from the earth, but from below it is transformed as by fire.
Job 28:6
Its rocks are the source of sapphires, containing flecks of gold.
Job 28:7
No bird of prey knows that path; no falcon’s eye has seen it.
Job 28:8
Proud beasts have never trodden it; no lion has ever prowled over it.
Job 28:9
The miner strikes the flint; he overturns mountains at their base.
Job 28:10
He hews out channels in the rocks, and his eyes spot every treasure.
Job 28:11
He stops up the sources of the streams to bring what is hidden to light.
Job 28:12
But where can wisdom be found, and where does understanding dwell?
Job 28:13
No man can know its value, nor is it found in the land of the living.
Job 28:14
The ocean depths say, ‘It is not in me,’ while the sea declares, ‘It is not with me.’
Job 28:15
It cannot be bought with gold, nor can its price be weighed out in silver.
Job 28:16
It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx or sapphire.
Job 28:17
Neither gold nor crystal can compare to it, nor jewels of fine gold be exchanged for it.
Job 28:18
Coral and quartz are unworthy of mention; the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.
Job 28:19
Topaz from Cush cannot compare to it, nor can it be valued in pure gold.
Job 28:20
From where, then, does wisdom come, and where does understanding dwell?
Job 28:21
It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing and concealed from the birds of the air.
Job 28:22
Abaddon and Death say, ‘We have heard a rumor about it.’
Job 28:23
But God understands its way, and He knows its place.
Job 28:24
For He looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.
Job 28:25
When God fixed the weight of the wind and measured out the waters,
Job 28:26
when He set a limit for the rain and a path for the thunderbolt,
Job 28:27
then He looked at wisdom and appraised it; He established it and searched it out.
Job 28:28
And He said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”