Job 28

1Surely there is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined.

2Iron is taken from the ground, and copper is smelted from ore.

3People put an end to darkness; they search out to the farthest limit the ore in gloom and deep darkness.

4They cut a shaft far from where anyone lives, in places forgotten by every foot; they dangle and sway far from other people.

5The earth—from it comes bread, yet underneath it is turned over as if by fire.

6Its stones are the source of sapphires, and its dust contains gold.

7No bird of prey knows that path; the falcon’s eye has not seen it.

8Proud beasts have not set foot on it; the lion has not passed over it.

9People put their hand to the flinty rock and overturn mountains at their roots.

10They cut channels through the rocks, and their eyes see every precious thing.

11They dam up the trickling sources of the rivers and bring hidden things to light.

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

13No human being knows its value; 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 with gold, nor can its price be weighed out in silver.

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

17Gold and glass cannot equal it, nor can it be exchanged for articles of fine gold.

18Coral and crystal are not worth mentioning; the price of wisdom is beyond pearls.

19The topaz of Cush cannot equal it; it cannot be valued in pure gold.

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

21It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing, concealed even from the birds of the sky.

22Abaddon and Death say, ‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’

23God 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 the wind its weight and measured out the waters,

26when he made a decree for the rain and a path for the thunderstorm,

27then he saw wisdom and declared it; he established it and searched it out.

28Then he said to humankind, ‘Look, the fear of the Lord—that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”