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


28:1  "There is a place where silver is mined and a place where gold is refined.
28:2  Iron is taken from the ground, and rocks are melted for [their] copper.
28:3  [Humans] bring an end to darkness [there] and search to the limit of the gloomy, pitch-black rock.
28:4  They open up a mineshaft far from civilization, where no one has set foot. [In this shaft] men dangle and swing back and forth.
28:5  "Above the ground food grows, but beneath it the food decays as if [it were burned] by fire.
28:6  That place's stones are sapphire. Its dust contains gold.
28:7  No bird of prey knows the way to it. No hawk's eye has ever seen it.
28:8  No proud beast has ever walked on it. No ferocious lion has ever passed over it.
28:9  "Humans exert their power on the flinty rocks and overturn mountains at their base.
28:10  They cut out mineshafts in the rocks. Their eyes see every precious thing.
28:11  They explore the sources of rivers so that they bring hidden treasures to light.
28:12  "Where can wisdom be found? Where does understanding live?
28:13  No mortal knows where it is. It cannot be found in this world of the living.
28:14  The deep ocean says, 'It isn't in me.' The sea says, 'It isn't with me.'
28:15  You cannot obtain it with solid gold or buy it for any amount of silver.
28:16  It can't be bought with the gold from Ophir or with precious onyx or sapphire.
28:17  Neither gold nor glass can equal its value. Nor can gold ornaments, jewels, or crystal
28:18  be exchanged for it. Wisdom is more valuable than gems.
28:19  Topaz from Ethiopia cannot equal its value. It cannot be bought for [any amount of] pure gold.
28:20  "Where does wisdom come from? Where does understanding live?
28:21  It is hidden from the eyes of every living being, hidden even from the birds in the air.
28:22  Decay and Death say, 'We've heard a rumor about it.'
28:23  "God understands the way to it. He knows where it lives
28:24  because he can see to the ends of the earth and observe everything under heaven.
28:25  When he gave the wind its force and measured the water [in the sea],
28:26  when he made rules for the rain and set paths for the thunderstorms,
28:27  then he saw it and announced it. He confirmed it and examined it.
28:28  So he told humans, 'The fear of the Lord is wisdom! To stay away from evil is understanding.'"