| Chapter 28 |
1 |
"Surely there is a mine for silver, And a place for gold which they refine. |
2 |
Iron is taken out of the earth, And copper is smelted out of the ore. |
3 |
Man sets an end to darkness, And searches out, to the furthest bound, The stones of obscurity and of thick darkness. |
4 |
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 |
As for the earth, out of it comes bread; Underneath it is turned up as it were by fire. |
6 |
Sapphires come from its rocks. It has dust of gold. |
7 |
That path no bird of prey knows, Neither has the falcon`s eye seen it. |
8 |
The proud animals have not trodden it, Nor has the fierce lion passed by there. |
9 |
He puts forth his hand on the flinty rock, And he overturns the mountains by the roots. |
10 |
He cuts out channels among the rocks. His eye sees every precious thing. |
11 |
He binds the streams that they don`t trickle; The thing that is hidden he brings forth to light. |
12 |
"But where shall wisdom be found? Where is the place of understanding? |
13 |
Man doesn`t know its price; Neither is it found in the land of the living. |
14 |
The deep says, `It isn`t in me.` The sea says, `It isn`t with me.` |
15 |
It can`t be gotten for gold, Neither shall silver be weighed for its price. |
16 |
It can`t be valued with the gold of Ophir, With the precious onyx, or the sapphire. |
17 |
Gold and glass can`t equal it, Neither shall it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold. |
18 |
No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal: Yes, the price of wisdom is above rubies. |
19 |
The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, Neither shall it be valued with pure gold. |
20 |
Whence then comes wisdom? Where is the place of understanding? |
21 |
Seeing it is hidden from the eyes of all living, And kept close from the birds of the sky. |
22 |
Destruction and Death say, `We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.` |
23 |
"God understands its way, And he knows its place. |
24 |
For he looks to the ends of the earth, And sees under the whole sky. |
25 |
He establishes the force of the wind; Yes, he measures out the waters by measure. |
26 |
When he made a decree for the rain, And a way for the lightning of the thunder; |
27 |
Then did he see it, and declare it. He established it, yes, and searched it out. |
28 |
To man he said, `Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom. To depart from evil is understanding.`" |