Job 28

Job Tells of Earth's Treasures

1 "Surely there is a tmine for silver
And a place where they refine gold.

2 "Iron is taken from the dust,
And copper is smelted from rock.

3 " Man puts an end to darkness,
And to the farthest limit he searches out
The rock in gloom and deep shadow.

4 "He sinks a shaft far from habitation,
Forgotten by the foot;
They hang and swing to and fro far from men.

5 "The earth, from it comes food,
And underneath it is turned up as fire.

6 "Its rocks are the source of sapphires,
And its dust contains gold.

7 "The path no bird of prey knows,
Nor has the falcon's eye caught sight of it.

8 "The proud beasts have not trodden it,
Nor has the fierce lion passed over it.

9 "He puts his hand on the flint;
He overturns the mountains at the base.

10 "He hews out channels through the rocks,
And his eye sees anything precious.

11 "He dams up the streams from flowing,
And what is hidden he brings out to the light.

The Search for Wisdom Is Harder

12 "But where can wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?

13 "Man does not know its value,
Nor is it found in the land of the living.

14 "The deep says, 'It is not in me';
And the sea says, 'It is not with me.'

15 "Pure gold cannot be given in exchange for it,
Nor can silver be weighed as its price.

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

17 "Gold or glass cannot equal it,
Nor can it be exchanged for articles of fine gold.

18 "Coral and crystal are not to be mentioned;
And the acquisition of wisdom is above that of pearls.

19 "The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it,
Nor can it be valued in pure gold.

20 "Where then does wisdom come from?
And where is the place of understanding?

21 "Thus it is hidden from the eyes of all living
And concealed from the birds of the sky.

22 "tAbaddon and Death say,
'With our ears we have heard a report of it.'

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 heavens.

25 "When He imparted weight to the wind
And meted out the waters by measure,

26 When He set a limit for the rain
And a course for the thunderbolt,

27 Then He saw it and declared it;
He established it and also searched it out.

28 "And to man He said, 'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;
And to depart from evil is understanding.'"

Job 28

1 Surely there is a mine for silver, And a place for gold which they refine.

2 Iron is taken out of the earth, And copper is molten out of the stone.

3  Man setteth an end to darkness, And searcheth out, to the furthest bound, The stones of obscurity and of thick darkness.

4 He breaketh open a shaft away from where men sojourn; They are forgotten of the foot; They hang afar from men, they swing to and fro.

5 As for the earth, out of it cometh bread; And underneath it is turned up as it were by fire.

6 The stones thereof are the place of sapphires, And it hath dust of gold.

7 That path no bird of prey knoweth, Neither hath the falcon’s eye seen it:

8 The proud beasts have not trodden it, Nor hath the fierce lion passed thereby.

9 He putteth forth his hand upon the flinty rock; He overturneth the mountains by the roots.

10 He cutteth out channels among the rocks; And his eye seeth every precious thing.

11 He bindeth the streams that they trickle not; And the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light.

12 But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?

13 Man knoweth not the price thereof; Neither is it found in the land of the living.

14 The deep saith, It is not in me; And the sea saith, It is not with me.

15 It cannot be gotten for gold, Neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof.

16 It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, With the precious onyx, or the sapphire.

17 Gold and glass cannot equal it, Neither shall it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.

18 No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal: Yea, the price of wisdom is above rubies.

19 The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, Neither shall it be valued with pure gold.

20 Whence then cometh wisdom? And where is the place of understanding?

21 Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, And kept close from the birds of the heavens.

22 Destruction and Death say, We have heard a rumor thereof with our ears.

23 God understandeth the way thereof, And he knoweth the place thereof.

24 For he looketh to the ends of the earth, And seeth under the whole heaven;

25 To make a weight for the wind: Yea, he meteth out the waters by measure.

26 When he made a decree for the rain, And a way for the lightning of the thunder;

27 Then did he see it, and declare it; He established it, yea, and searched it out.

28 And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding.