Job 28:1–28

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