Skip to content- 1Verse 1. “Surely there is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined.
- 2Verse 2. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore.
- 3Verse 3. Man puts an end to the darkness; he probes the farthest recesses for ore in deepest darkness.
- 4Verse 4. Far from human habitation he cuts a shaft in places forgotten by the foot of man. Far from men he dangles and sways.
- 5Verse 5. Food may come from the earth, but from below it is transformed as by fire.
- 6Verse 6. Its rocks are the source of sapphires, containing flecks of gold.
- 7Verse 7. No bird of prey knows that path; no falcon’s eye has seen it.
- 8Verse 8. Proud beasts have never trodden it; no lion has ever prowled over it.
- 9Verse 9. The miner strikes the flint; he overturns mountains at their base.
- 10Verse 10. He hews out channels in the rocks, and his eyes spot every treasure.
- 11Verse 11. He stops up the sources of the streams to bring what is hidden to light.
- 12Verse 12. But where can wisdom be found, and where does understanding dwell?
- 13Verse 13. No man can know its value, nor is it found in the land of the living.
- 14Verse 14. The ocean depths say, ‘It is not in me,’ while the sea declares, ‘It is not with me.’
- 15Verse 15. It cannot be bought with gold, nor can its price be weighed out in silver.
- 16Verse 16. It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx or sapphire.
- 17Verse 17. Neither gold nor crystal can compare to it, nor jewels of fine gold be exchanged for it.
- 18Verse 18. Coral and quartz are unworthy of mention; the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.
- 19Verse 19. Topaz from Cush cannot compare to it, nor can it be valued in pure gold.
- 20Verse 20. From where then does wisdom come, and where does understanding dwell?
- 21Verse 21. It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing and concealed from the birds of the air.
- 22Verse 22. Abaddon and Death say, ‘We have heard a rumor about it.’
- 23Verse 23. But God understands its way, and He knows its place.
- 24Verse 24. For He looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.
- 25Verse 25. When God fixed the weight of the wind and measured out the waters,
- 26Verse 26. when He set a limit for the rain and a path for the thunderbolt,
- 27Verse 27. then He looked at wisdom and appraised it; He established it and searched it out.
- 28Verse 28. And He said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”