28:1 "Surely there is a mine for silver And a place where they refine gold. |
28:2 "Iron is taken from the dust, And copper is smelted from rock. |
28:3 "{Man} puts an end to darkness, And to the farthest limit he searches out The rock in gloom and deep shadow. |
28:4 "He sinks a shaft far from habitation, Forgotten by the foot; They hang and swing to and fro far from men. |
28:5 "The earth, from it comes food, And underneath it is turned up as fire. |
28:6 "Its rocks are the source of sapphires, And its dust {contains} gold. |
28:7 "The path no bird of prey knows, Nor has the falcon's eye caught sight of it. |
28:8 "The proud beasts have not trodden it, Nor has the {fierce} lion passed over it. |
28:9 "He puts his hand on the flint; He overturns the mountains at the base. |
28:10 "He hews out channels through the rocks, And his eye sees anything precious. |
28:11 "He dams up the streams from flowing, And what is hidden he brings out to the light. |
28:12 "But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? |
28:13 "Man does not know its value, Nor is it found in the land of the living. |
28:14 "The deep says, `It is not in me'; And the sea says, `It is not with me.' |
28:15 "Pure gold cannot be given in exchange for it, Nor can silver be weighed as its price. |
28:16 "It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, In precious onyx, or sapphire. |
28:17 "Gold or glass cannot equal it, Nor can it be exchanged for articles of fine gold. |
28:18 "Coral and crystal are not to be mentioned; And the acquisition of wisdom is above {that of} pearls. |
28:19 "The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it, Nor can it be valued in pure gold. |
28:20 "Where then does wisdom come from? And where is the place of understanding? |
28:21 "Thus it is hidden from the eyes of all living And concealed from the birds of the sky. |
28:22 "Abaddon and Death say, `With our ears we have heard a report of it.' |
28:23 "God understands its way, And He knows its place. |
28:24 "For He looks to the ends of the earth And sees everything under the heavens. |
28:25 "When He imparted weight to the wind And meted out the waters by measure, |
28:26 When He set a limit for the rain And a course for the thunderbolt, |
28:27 Then He saw it and declared it; He established it and also searched it out. |
28:28 "And to man He said, `Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding.'" |