Job 28

₁Surely there is a vein for the silver,

And a place for gold where they fine it.

₂Iron is taken out of the earth,

And brass is molten out of the stone.

₃He setteth an end to darkness,

And searcheth out all perfection:

The stones of darkness, and the shadow of death.

₄The flood breaketh out from the inhabitant;

Even the waters forgotten of the foot:

They are dried up, they are gone away from men.

₅As for the earth, out of it cometh bread:

And under it is turned up as it were fire.

₆The stones of it are the place of sapphires:

And it hath dust of gold.

₇There is a path which no fowl knoweth,

And which the vulture's eye hath not seen:

₈The lion's whelps have not trodden it,

Nor the fierce lion passed by it.

₉He putteth forth his hand upon the rock;

He overturneth the mountains by the roots.

₁₀He cutteth out rivers among the rocks;

And his eye seeth every precious thing.

₁₁He bindeth the floods from overflowing;

And the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light.

₁₂But where shall wisdom be found?

And where is the place of understanding?

₁₃Man knoweth not the price thereof;

Neither is it found in the land of the living.

₁₄The depth saith, It is not in me:

And the sea saith, It is not with me.

₁₅It cannot be gotten for gold,

Neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof.

₁₆It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir,

With the precious onyx, or the sapphire.

₁₇The gold and the crystal cannot equal it:

And the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold.

₁₈No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls:

For the price of wisdom is above rubies.

₁₉The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it,

Neither shall it be valued with pure gold.

₂₀Whence then cometh wisdom?

And where is the place of understanding?

₂₁Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living,

And kept close from the fowls of the air.

₂₂Destruction and death say,

We have heard the fame thereof with our ears.

₂₃God understandeth the way thereof,

And he knoweth the place thereof.

₂₄For he looketh to the ends of the earth,

And seeth under the whole heaven;

₂₅To make the weight for the winds;

And he weigheth the waters by measure.

₂₆When he made a decree for the rain,

And a way for the lightning of the thunder:

₂₇Then did he see it, and declare it;

He prepared it, yea, and searched it out.

₂₈And unto man he said,

Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;

And to depart from evil is understanding.