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 for gold which they refine.

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

Iron is taken out of the earth, and copper is smelted out of the 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 sets an end to darkness, and searches out, to the furthest bound, the stones of obscurity and of thick darkness.

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 where people live. They are forgotten by the foot. They hang far from men, they swing back and forth.

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

As for the earth, out of it comes bread; Underneath it is turned up as it were by fire.

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

Sapphires come from its rocks. It has dust of gold.

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

That path no bird of prey knows, neither 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 animals have not trodden it, nor has the fierce lion passed by there.

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

He puts his hand on the flinty rock, and he overturns the mountains by the roots.

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

He cuts out channels among the rocks. His eye sees every precious thing.

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

He binds the streams that they don’t trickle. The thing that is hidden he brings out to light.

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

“But where shall wisdom be found? 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 doesn’t know its price; Neither 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 isn’t in me.’ The sea says, ‘It isn’t with me.’

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

It can’t be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for its price.

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

It can’t be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire.

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

Gold and glass can’t equal it, neither shall it be exchanged for jewels 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 of crystal. Yes, 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 shall not equal it, Neither shall it be valued with pure gold.

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

Where then does wisdom come from? 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.

Seeing it is hidden from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the birds of the sky.

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

Destruction and Death say, ‘We have heard a rumor of 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 sky.

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

He establishes the force of the wind. Yes, he measures out 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 decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder;

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

then he saw it, and declared it. He established it, yes, and searched it out.

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

To man he said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom. To depart from evil is understanding.’”