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.'"