[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 molten out of the stone.
[3] Man setteth an end to darkness, And searcheth out, to the furthest bound, The stones of obscurity and of thick darkness.
[4] He breaketh open a shaft away from where men sojourn; They are forgotten of the foot; They hang afar from men, they swing to and fro.
[5] As for the earth, out of it cometh bread; And underneath it is turned up as it were by fire.
[6] The stones thereof are the place of sapphires, And it hath dust of gold.
[7] That path no bird of prey knoweth, Neither hath the falcon’s eye seen it:
[8] The proud beasts have not trodden it, Nor hath the fierce lion passed thereby.
[9] He putteth forth his hand upon the flinty rock; He overturneth the mountains by the roots.
[10] He cutteth out channels among the rocks; And his eye seeth every precious thing.
[11] He bindeth the streams that they trickle not; And the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light.
[12] But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?
[13] Man knoweth not the price thereof; Neither is it found in the land of the living.
[14] The deep saith, It is not in me; And the sea saith, It is not with me.
[15] It cannot be gotten for gold, Neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof.
[16] It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, With the precious onyx, or the sapphire.
[17] Gold and glass cannot equal it, Neither shall it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.
[18] No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal: Yea, 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 cometh wisdom? And where is the place of understanding?
[21] Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, And kept close from the birds of the heavens.
[22] Destruction and Death say, We have heard a rumor thereof with our ears.
[23] God understandeth the way thereof, And he knoweth the place thereof.
[24] For he looketh to the ends of the earth, And seeth under the whole heaven;
[25] To make a weight for the wind: Yea, he meteth 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, yea, and searched it out.
[28] And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding.