1 S urely there is for silver a source, And a place for the gold they refine;

“Surely there is a mine for silver, And a place where gold is refined.

2 I ron from the dust is taken, And the firm stone brass.

Iron is taken from the earth, And copper is smelted from ore.

3 A n end hath he set to darkness, And to all perfection he is searching, A stone of darkness and death-shade.

Man puts an end to darkness, And searches every recess For ore in the darkness and the shadow of death.

4 A stream hath broken out from a sojourner, Those forgotten of the foot, They were low, from man they wandered.

He breaks open a shaft away from people; In places forgotten by feet They hang far away from men; They swing to and fro.

5 T he earth! from it cometh forth bread, And its under-part is turned like fire.

As for the earth, from it comes bread, But underneath it is turned up as by fire;

6 A place of the sapphire its stones, And it hath dust of gold.

Its stones are the source of sapphires, And it contains gold dust.

7 A path -- not known it hath a ravenous fowl, Nor scorched it hath an eye of the kite,

That path no bird knows, Nor has the falcon’s eye seen it.

8 N or trodden it have the sons of pride, Not passed over it hath the fierce lion.

The proud lions have not trodden it, Nor has the fierce lion passed over it.

9 A gainst the flint he sent forth his hand, He overturned from the root mountains.

He puts his hand on the flint; He overturns the mountains at the roots.

10 A mong rocks, brooks he hath cleaved, And every precious thing hath his eye seen.

He cuts out channels in the rocks, And his eye sees every precious thing.

11 F rom overflowing floods he hath bound, And the hidden thing bringeth out light.

He dams up the streams from trickling; What is hidden he brings forth to light.

12 A nd the wisdom -- whence is it found? And where this, the place of understanding?

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

13 M an hath not known its arrangement, Nor is it found in the land of the living.

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

14 T he deep hath said, `It not in me,' And the sea hath said, `It is not with me.'

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

15 G old is not given for it, Nor is silver weighed -- its price.

It cannot be purchased for gold, Nor can silver be weighed for its price.

16 I t is not valued with pure gold of Ophir, With precious onyx and sapphire,

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

17 N ot equal it do gold and crystal, Nor its exchange a vessel of fine gold.

Neither gold nor crystal can equal it, Nor can it be exchanged for jewelry of fine gold.

18 C orals and pearl are not remembered, The acquisition of wisdom above rubies.

No mention shall be made of coral or quartz, For the price of wisdom is above rubies.

19 N ot equal it doth the topaz of Cush, With pure gold it is not valued.

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

20 A nd the wisdom -- whence doth it come? And where this, the place of understanding?

“From where then does wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding?

21 I t hath been hid from the eyes of all living. And from the fowl of the heavens It hath been hidden.

It is hidden from the eyes of all living, And concealed from the birds of the air.

22 D estruction and death have said: `With our ears we have heard its fame.'

Destruction and Death say, ‘We have heard a report about it with our ears.’

23 G od hath understood its way, And He hath known its place.

God understands its way, And He knows its place.

24 F or He to the ends of the earth doth look, Under the whole heavens He doth see,

For He looks to the ends of the earth, And sees under the whole heavens,

25 T o make for the wind a weight, And the waters He meted out in measure.

To establish a weight for the wind, And apportion the waters by measure.

26 I n His making for the rain a limit, And a way for the brightness of the voices,

When He made a law for the rain, And a path for the thunderbolt,

27 T hen He hath seen and declareth it, He hath prepared it, and also searched it out,

Then He saw wisdom and declared it; He prepared it, indeed, He searched it out.

28 A nd He saith to man: -- `Lo, fear of the Lord, that wisdom, And to turn from evil understanding.'

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