| Chapter 28 |
1 | Surely there is a mine for silver, And a place for gold which they refine.
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2 | Iron is taken out of the earth, And copper is molten out of the stone.
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3 | [Man] setteth an end to darkness, And searcheth out, to the furthest bound, The stones of obscurity and of thick darkness.
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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.
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5 | As for the earth, out of it cometh bread; And underneath it is turned up as it were by fire.
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6 | The stones thereof are the place of sapphires, And it hath dust of gold.
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7 | That path no bird of prey knoweth, Neither hath the falcon's eye seen it:
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8 | The proud beasts have not trodden it, Nor hath the fierce lion passed thereby.
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9 | He putteth forth his hand upon the flinty rock; He overturneth the mountains by the roots.
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10 | He cutteth out channels among the rocks; And his eye seeth every precious thing.
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11 | He bindeth the streams that they trickle not; And the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light.
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12 | But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?
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13 | Man knoweth not the price thereof; Neither is it found in the land of the living.
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14 | The deep saith, It is not in me; And the sea saith, It is not with me.
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15 | It cannot be gotten for gold, Neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof.
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16 | It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, With the precious onyx, or the sapphire.
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17 | Gold and glass cannot equal it, Neither shall it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.
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18 | No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal: Yea, the price of wisdom is above rubies.
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19 | The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, Neither shall it be valued with pure gold.
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20 | Whence then cometh wisdom? And where is the place of understanding?
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21 | Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, And kept close from the birds of the heavens.
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22 | Destruction and Death say, We have heard a rumor thereof with our ears.
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23 | God understandeth the way thereof, And he knoweth the place thereof.
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24 | For he looketh to the ends of the earth, And seeth under the whole heaven;
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25 | To make a weight for the wind: Yea, he meteth out the waters by measure.
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26 | When he made a decree for the rain, And a way for the lightning of the thunder;
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27 | Then did he see it, and declare it; He established it, yea, and searched it out.
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28 | And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding.
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