1 “ Surely there is a mine for silver And a place where they refine gold.

2 “ Iron is taken from the dust, And copper is smelted from rock.

3 “ Man puts an end to darkness, And to the farthest limit he searches out The rock in gloom and deep shadow.

4 “ He sinks a shaft far from habitation, Forgotten by the foot; They hang and swing to and fro far from men.

5 “ The earth, from it comes food, And underneath it is turned up as fire.

6 “ Its rocks are the source of sapphires, And its dust contains gold.

7 “ The path no bird of prey knows, Nor has the falcon’s eye caught sight of it.

8 “ The proud beasts have not trodden it, Nor has the fierce lion passed over it.

9 “ He puts his hand on the flint; He overturns the mountains at the base.

10 “ He hews out channels through the rocks, And his eye sees anything precious.

11 “ He dams up the streams from flowing, And what is hidden he brings out to the light. The Search for Wisdom Is Harder

12 “ But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?

13 “ Man does not know its value, Nor is it found in the land of the living.

14 “ The deep says, ‘It is not in me’; And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’

15 “ Pure gold cannot be given in exchange for it, Nor can silver be weighed as its price.

16 “ It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, In precious onyx, or sapphire.

17 “ Gold or glass cannot equal it, Nor can it be exchanged for articles of fine gold.

18 “ Coral and crystal are not to be mentioned; And the acquisition of wisdom is above that of pearls.

19 “ The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it, Nor can it be valued in pure gold.

20 “ Where then does wisdom come from? And where is the place of understanding?

21 “ Thus it is hidden from the eyes of all living And concealed from the birds of the sky.

22 “ Abaddon and Death say, ‘With our ears we have heard a report of it.’

23 “ 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 He imparted weight to the wind And meted out the waters by measure,

26 W hen He set a limit for the rain And a course for the thunderbolt,

27 T hen He saw it and declared it; He established it and also searched it out.

28 “ And to man He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding.’”