Job 28

1There is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined. 2Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore. 3Miners put an end to darkness; they search to the farthest limits for ore in gloom and deep darkness. 4They cut a shaft far from where people live, in places forgotten by those who walk above; they hang and swing far from other people. 5From the earth comes bread, but underneath it is turned upside down as if by fire. 6Its rocks are where sapphires are found, and its dust contains gold. 7No bird of prey knows that path; the falcon’s eye has never seen it. 8Proud beasts have not set foot on it; the lion has never passed along it. 9Miners put their hand to the flinty rock and overturn mountains at their roots. 10They cut tunnels through the rocks, and their eyes see every treasure. 11They dam up the trickling streams, and bring hidden things out into the light.

12But where can wisdom be found? Where is the place of understanding? 13No human being knows its worth; 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 the finest gold, and its price cannot be weighed out in silver. 16It cannot be weighed against the gold of Ophir, against precious onyx or sapphire. 17Gold and glass cannot equal it, nor can it be traded for articles of fine gold. 18Coral and crystal are not worth mentioning; the price of wisdom is beyond rubies. 19The topaz of Cush cannot equal it; it cannot be weighed against pure gold.

20Then where does wisdom come from? Where is the place of understanding? 21It is hidden from the eyes of every living creature, 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 alone 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 law for the rain and a path for the thunder and lightning, 27then he saw wisdom and appraised it; he set it in place and searched it through. 28And he said to humankind, “Look, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.”