Home Master Index
←Prev   Job 28 as rendered by/in  Next→ 


28:1  “There are mines where people get silver and places where people melt gold to make it pure.
28:2  Iron is dug out of the ground, and copper is melted out of the rocks.
28:3  Miners carry lights deep into caves to search for these rocks in the deepest darkness.
28:4  Far from where people live, they dig deep into the ground, down where no one else has been before. There they work all alone, hanging from ropes.
28:5  Food grows on the ground above. But underground it is different, as if everything were melted by fire.
28:6  In the rocks there are sapphires and grains of pure gold.
28:7  Wild birds know nothing about the way to these places. No falcon has ever seen it.
28:8  Wild animals have never been there. Lions have not traveled that way.
28:9  Miners dig the hardest rocks. They dig away at the mountains and make them bare.
28:10  They cut tunnels through the rocks and see all the treasures they hold.
28:11  They even find places where rivers begin. They bring to light what once was hidden.
28:12  “But where can anyone find wisdom? Where can we get understanding?
28:13  People don’t know where wisdom is. It cannot be found by anyone on earth.
28:14  The deep ocean says, ‘It’s not here with me.’ The sea says, ‘It’s not here with me.’
28:15  You cannot buy wisdom with even the purest gold. There’s not enough silver in the world to pay for it.
28:16  You cannot buy it with gold from Ophir or with precious onyx or sapphires.
28:17  Wisdom is worth more than gold or crystal. It cannot be bought with expensive jewels set in gold.
28:18  It is far more valuable than coral and jasper, more precious than rubies.
28:19  The topaz from Ethiopia cannot match its value, which is greater than the purest gold.
28:20  “So where does wisdom come from? Where can we find understanding?
28:21  Wisdom is hidden from every living thing on earth. Even birds in the sky cannot see it.
28:22  Death and destruction say, ‘We have never seen wisdom; we have only heard rumors about it.’
28:23  “Only God knows the way to wisdom. Only he knows where wisdom is.
28:24  He can see to the very ends of the earth. He sees everything under the sky.
28:25  God gave the wind its power. He decided how big to make the oceans.
28:26  He decided where to send the rain and where the thunderstorms should go.
28:27  He looked at wisdom and discussed it. He examined it and saw how much it is worth.
28:28  Then he said to humans, ‘To fear and respect the Lord is wisdom. To turn away from evil is understanding.’”