Job 28
1 “There is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined.
2 Iron is taken from the dust, and smelted stone becomes copper.
3 An end is put to darkness; to its farthest limit, stone is searched out in gloom and the shadow of death.
4 A shaft is opened far from where people live, in places forgotten by the foot; far from others, they hang and sway.
5 From the earth comes bread, but beneath it everything is overturned as by fire.
6 Its stones are the home of sapphire, and it has dust of gold.
7 There is a path no bird of prey knows, and no falcon’s eye has seen.
8 The proud beasts have not trodden it; no lion has passed that way.
9 A hand is laid against the hard rock, and mountains are overturned from their roots.
10 Channels are cut through the rocks, and the eye sees every precious thing.
11 The flow of rivers is stopped, and what was hidden is brought to light.
12 But where is wisdom found? Where is the place of understanding?
13 Mortals do not know its worth, and it is not found in the land of the living.
14 The abyss says, ‘It is not in me.’ And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’”
15 “Fine gold cannot be given in exchange for it, nor can silver be weighed out as its price.
16 It cannot be bought with the gold of Ophir, with precious onyx, or with sapphire.
17 Gold and glass cannot compare with it, nor can it be exchanged for an object of pure gold.
18 Coral and crystal need not even be mentioned; possessing wisdom is worth more than pearls.
19 Topaz from Cush cannot compare with it, nor can it be bought with pure gold.
20 Then where does wisdom come from? Where is the place of understanding?
21 It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing and concealed from the birds of the sky.
22 Abaddon and Death say, ‘We have heard reports of it with our own ears.’
23 God understands its way, and he knows its place.
24 For he looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the sky.
25 He gave the wind its weight and measured the waters.
26 He made a decree for the rain and a path for the lightning of the thunderclouds.
27 Then he saw wisdom and counted it; he established it and examined it.
28 And he said to humankind, ‘The fear of the Lord is wisdom, and turning away from evil is understanding.’”
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