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28:1  “There are mines where people dig silver and places where gold is ·made pure [refined].
28:2  Iron is taken from the ·ground [dust], and copper is ·melted out of [poured from the] rocks.
28:3  ·Miners [L They] ·bring lights [L put an end to darkness] and ·search deep into the mines [L investigate every limit] for ore in thick darkness.
28:4  They ·dig a tunnel [sink a shaft] far from where people live, ·where no one has ever walked [L a place forgotten by human feet]; they work far from people, ·swinging and swaying from ropes [L they sway suspended].
28:5  ·Food grows on top of the earth [L Bread/Food comes out of the earth], but below ground things are ·changed [overturned] as if by fire.
28:6  ·Sapphires [or Lapis lazuli] are found in rocks, and gold dust is also found there.
28:7  No ·hawk [bird of prey] knows that path; the ·falcon [or black kite] has not seen it.
28:8  Proud animals have not walked there, and no lions cross over it.
28:9  ·Miners [L They] ·hit [L put their hands to] the rocks of flint ·and dig away at the bottom of the mountains [upturning the mountains from their root].
28:10  They cut tunnels through the rock and see all the ·treasures [precious things] there.
28:11  They ·search for places where rivers begin [or dam up the sources of the rivers] and bring things hidden out into the light.
28:12  “But where can wisdom be found, and where ·does understanding live [is understanding]?
28:13  People do not understand ·the value of wisdom [L its price]; it cannot be found ·among those who are alive [L in the land of the living].
28:14  The ·deep ocean [or Deep] says, ‘It’s not in me;’ the ·sea [or Sea; C the Deep and Sea may represent the forces of chaos] says, ‘It’s not in me.’
28:15  Wisdom cannot be bought with gold, and its cost cannot be weighed in silver.
28:16  Wisdom cannot be bought with ·fine gold [L the gold of Ophir; 22:24] or with ·valuable [precious] onyx or ·sapphire gems [or lapis lazuli].
28:17  Gold and ·crystal [or glass] ·are not as valuable as wisdom [L cannot match it], and you cannot buy it with jewels of gold.
28:18  Coral and ·jasper [or crystal; C the identification of gems is often uncertain] are not worth talking about, and the price of wisdom is much greater than ·rubies [or pearls].
28:19  The ·topaz [or chrysolite] from ·Cush [Ethiopia] cannot compare to wisdom; it cannot be bought with the purest gold.
28:20  “So where does wisdom come from, and where does understanding live?
28:21  It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing, [L concealed] even from the birds of ·the air [L the sky; heaven].
28:22  ·The places of destruction [L Abaddon] and ·death [or Death; C the forces of the underworld] say, ‘We have heard reports about it.’
28:23  Only God understands the way to wisdom, and he alone knows ·where it lives [L its place],
28:24  because he looks to the ·farthest parts [ends] of the earth and sees everything under ·the sky [or heaven].
28:25  When God gave ·power [substance; L weight] to the wind and measured the water,
28:26  when he made ·rules [or limits] for the rain and set a path for a thunderstorm to follow,
28:27  then he looked at ·wisdom [L it] and ·decided its worth [L declared it]; he ·set wisdom up [L established it] and ·tested [or investigated] it.
28:28  Then he said to humans, ‘The fear of the Lord is wisdom [Prov. 1:7]; to ·stay [or turn] away from evil is understanding [Prov. 3:7].’”