28:1  "Surely there is a mine for the silver, and a place where they refine gold.

28:2  Iron is taken out of the earth, and bronze is melted out of the stone.

28:3  Man puts an end to darkness, and to the farthest limits they search out the ore in the darkness of the mine and in the shadow of death.

28:4  He opens a shaft away from where men travel, in places forgotten by men's feet; they hang and swing to and fro far away from men.

28:5  As to the earth, out of it comes bread; but from underneath it is turned up like fire.

28:6  Its stones are the place of sapphires; and it has dust of gold.

28:7  There is a path which no bird knows, nor the vulture's eye has seen it;

28:8  And the proud beasts have not walked on it, nor the fierce lion passed by it.

28:9  He puts forth His hand on the flinty places; He overturns the mountains by the roots.

28:10  He cuts out rivers among the rocks; and His eye sees every precious thing.

28:11  He holds back the streams from flowing; and the hidden thing He brings to light.

28:12  But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?

28:13  Man does not know the price of it; 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 in me.'

28:15  Pure gold cannot be given instead of it, nor silver be weighed as its price.

28:16  It cannot be valued against the gold of Ophir, or against precious onyx, or sapphire;

28:17  Gold and glass cannot equal it, nor can it be exchanged for the jewels of fine gold.

28:18  No mention shall be made of coral, or of crystal; and the price of wisdom is above rubies.

28:19  The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it; it cannot be valued against pure gold.

28:20  From where then does wisdom come, and where is the place of understanding?

28:21  Yea, it is hidden from the eyes of all living, and concealed from the birds of the heavens.

28:22  Destruction and death say, 'We have heard the fame of it with our ears.'

28:23  God understands the way of it, and He knows its place.

28:24  For He looks to the end of the earth, and sees under the whole heavens;

28:25  He endowed the winds with weight, and gauged the waters by measure.

28:26  When He made a decree for the rain, and a path for the thunderstorm;

28:27  Then He saw it, and declared it; He prepared it, yea, and 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!' ”