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28:1  Yes, there is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined.
28:2  Iron is taken from the ground, and copper is smelted out of stone.
28:3  A miner puts an end to darkness by exploring its farthest limits. He looks for ore in the gloom and in the deep darkness.
28:4  He breaks open a mineshaft far from where settlers live, in places no one has walked before. Far away from other people, he dangles and sways.
28:5  The earth’s surface produces food, but its depths are overturned as if by fire,
28:6  in places where the stones are sapphires and the dust is gold.
28:7  No scavenging bird knows the way there, and the eyes of vultures have not seen it.
28:8  The king of beasts has not set foot on it. The lion has not prowled there.
28:9  The miner’s hand attacks the hard rock. He overturns the roots of the mountain.
28:10  He cuts tunnels into the rocks, and his eyes see every treasure.
28:11  He dams up even the trickling water from the rivers, and he brings light to the earth’s hidden places.
28:12  But wisdom—where can it be found? Where is the place for understanding?
28:13  Mankind does not know where it is kept. It is not found in the land of the living.
28:14  The deep ocean says, “It is not in me!” The sea says, “It is not with me!”
28:15  It cannot be purchased with the best gold, and silver cannot be weighed out as its price.
28:16  It cannot be bought with the gold of Ophir or with precious onyx or sapphires.
28:17  Gold and crystal cannot be compared to it. The finest gold jewelry cannot be substituted for it.
28:18  Coral and quartz are not worth mentioning, and the value of wisdom is greater than a bag of rubies.
28:19  The chrysolite of Cush cannot be compared with it. It cannot be purchased even with pure gold.
28:20  But what about wisdom—where does it come from? And where is the place to find understanding?
28:21  It is hidden from the eyes of all the living. It is concealed from the birds of the sky.
28:22  Destruction and Death say, “With our ears we have heard only a rumor about it.”
28:23  God understands the way to it, and he alone knows its place,
28:24  because he watches the ends of the earth, and he sees everything under the heavens.
28:25  He determines the weight of the wind, and he measures out the waters by volume.
28:26  He made a decree for the rain and established a path for the roaring thunderstorm.
28:27  He saw wisdom and appraised its value. He established it and also explored it.
28:28  Then he said to mankind: Listen carefully. The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.