1There are mines where silver is found. There are places where gold is purified.2Iron is taken out of the earth. Copper is melted down from ore.3Human beings light up the darkness. They search for ore in the deepest pits. They look for it in the blackest darkness.4Far from where people live they cut a tunnel. They do it in places where other people don’t go. Far away from people they swing to and fro on ropes.5Food grows on the surface of the earth. But far below, the earth is changed as if by fire.6Lapis lazuli is taken from the rocky earth. Its dust contains nuggets of gold.7No bird knows that hidden path. No falcon’s eye has seen it.8Proud animals don’t walk on it. Lions don’t prowl there.9Human hands attack the hardest rock. Their strong hands uncover the base of the mountains.10They tunnel through the rock. Their eyes see all its treasures.11They search the places where the rivers begin. They bring hidden things out into the light.12But where can wisdom be found? Where does understanding live?13No human being understands how much it’s worth. It can’t be found anywhere in the world.14The ocean says, ‘It’s not in me.’ The sea says, ‘It’s not here either.’15It can’t be bought with the finest gold. Its price can’t be weighed out in silver.16It can’t be bought with gold from Ophir. It can’t be bought with priceless onyx or lapis lazuli.17Gold or crystal can’t compare with it. It can’t be bought with jewels made of gold.18Don’t bother to talk about coral and jasper. Wisdom is worth far more than rubies.19A topaz from Cush can’t compare with it. It can’t be bought with the purest gold.20So where does wisdom come from? Where does understanding live?21It’s hidden from the eyes of every living thing. Even the birds in the sky can’t find it.22Death and the Grave say, ‘Only reports about it have reached our ears.’23But God understands the way to it. He is the only one who knows where it lives.24He sees from one end of the earth to the other. He views everything in the world.25He made the mighty wind. He measured out the waters.26He gave orders for the rain to fall. He made paths for the thunderstorms.27Then he looked at wisdom and set its price. He established it and tested it.28He said to human beings, ‘Have respect for the Lord. That will prove you are wise. Avoid evil. That will show you have understanding.’
English Standard Version
Job Continues: Where Is Wisdom?
1“Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place for gold that they refine.2Iron is taken out of the earth, and copper is smelted from the ore.3Man puts an end to darkness and searches out to the farthest limit the ore in gloom and deep darkness.4He opens shafts in a valley away from where anyone lives; they are forgotten by travelers; they hang in the air, far away from mankind; they swing to and fro.5As for the earth, out of it comes bread, but underneath it is turned up as by fire.6Its stones are the place of sapphires,* and it has dust of gold.7“That path no bird of prey knows, and the falcon’s eye has not seen it.8The proud beasts have not trodden it; the lion has not passed over it.9“Man puts his hand to the flinty rock and overturns mountains by the roots.10He cuts out channels in the rocks, and his eye sees every precious thing.11He dams up the streams so that they do not trickle, and the thing that is hidden he brings out to light.12“But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?13Man does not know its worth, and it is not found in the land of the living.14The deep says, ‘It is not in me,’ and the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’15It cannot be bought for gold, and silver cannot be weighed as its price.16It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx or sapphire.17Gold and glass cannot equal it, nor can it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.18No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal; the price of wisdom is above pearls.19The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it, nor can it be valued in pure gold.20“From where, then, does wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding?21It is hidden from the eyes of all living and concealed from the birds of the air.22Abaddon and Death say, ‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’23“God understands the way to it, and he knows its place.24For he looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.25When he gave to the wind its weight and apportioned the waters by measure,26when he made a decree for the rain and a way for the lightning of the thunder,27then he saw it and declared it; he established it, and searched it out.28And he said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”
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