-
28:1 'Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place for gold which they refine. 28:2 Iron is taken out of the earth, and copper is smelted from the ore. 28:3 Men put an end to darkness, and search out to the farthest bound the ore in gloom and deep darkness. 28:4 They open shafts in a valley away from where men live;they are forgotten by travelers, they hang afar from men, they swing to and fro. 28:5 As for the earth, out of it comes bread;but underneath it is turned up as by fire. 28:6 Its stones are the place of sapphires, and it has dust of gold. 28:7 'That path no bird of prey knows, and the falcon's eye has not seen it. 28:8 The proud beasts have not trodden it;the lion has not passed over it. 28:9 'Man puts his hand to the flinty rock, and overturns mountains by the roots. 28:10 He cuts out channels in the rocks, and his eye sees every precious thing. 28:11 He binds up the streams so that they do not trickle, and the thing that is hid he brings forth to light. 28:12 'But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? 28:13 Man does not know the way to it, and it is not found in the land of the living. 28:14 The deep says, It is not in me,' and the sea says, It is not with me.' 28:15 It cannot be gotten for gold, and silver cannot be weighed as its price. 28:16 It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx or sapphire. 28:17 Gold and glass cannot equal it, nor can it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold. 28:18 No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal;the price of wisdom is above pearls. 28:19 The topaz of Ethiopia cannot compare with it, nor can it be valued in pure gold. 28:20 'Whence then comes wisdom? And where is the place of understanding? 28:21 It is hid from the eyes of all living, and concealed from the birds of the air. 28:22 Abaddon and Death say, We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.' 28:23 'God understands the way to it, and he knows its place. 28:24 For he looks to the ends of the earth, and sees everything under the heavens. 28:25 When he gave to the wind its weight, and meted out the waters by measure; 28:26 when he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder; 28:27 then he saw it and declared it;he established it, and searched it out. 28:28 And he said to man, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;and to depart from evil is understanding.''