[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 smelted out of
the ore. [3] Man sets an end to darkness, And searches out, to the
furthest bound, The stones of obscurity and of thick darkness. [4] He
breaks open a shaft away from where people live. They are forgotten by
the foot. They hang far from men, they swing back and forth. [5] As for
the earth, out of it comes bread; Underneath it is turned up as it were
by fire. [6] Sapphires come from its rocks. It has dust of gold. [7]
That path no bird of prey knows, Neither has the falcon`s eye seen it.
[8] The proud animals have not trodden it, Nor has the fierce lion
passed by there. [9] He puts forth his hand on the flinty rock, And he
overturns the mountains by the roots. [10] He cuts out channels among the
rocks. His eye sees every precious thing. [11] He binds the streams that
they don`t trickle; The thing that is hidden he brings forth to light.
[12] "But where shall wisdom be found? Where is the place of
understanding? [13] Man doesn`t know its price; Neither is it found in
the land of the living. [14] The deep says, `It isn`t in me.` The sea
says, `It isn`t with me.` [15] It can`t be gotten for gold, Neither
shall silver be weighed for its price. [16] It can`t be valued with the
gold of Ophir, With the precious onyx, or the sapphire. [17] Gold and
glass can`t equal it, Neither shall it be exchanged for jewels of fine
gold. [18] No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal: Yes, 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 comes
wisdom? Where is the place of understanding? [21] Seeing it is hidden
from the eyes of all living, And kept close from the birds of the sky.
[22] Destruction and Death say, `We have heard a rumor of it with our
ears.` [23] "God understands its way, And he knows its place. [24] For
he looks to the ends of the earth, And sees under the whole sky. [25] He
establishes the force of the wind; Yes, he measures 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, yes, and searched it out. [28] To man he said, `Behold,
the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom. To depart from evil is
understanding.`"
