Job, chapter 28

Gold and Silver Are Mined

Gold and silver are mined, then purified;

²the same is done with iron and copper.

³Miners carry lanterns deep into the darkness

to search for these metals.

⁴They dig tunnels in distant, unknown places,

where they dangle by ropes.

⁵Far beneath the grain fields,

fires are built to break loose those rocks

⁶that have jewelsO or gold.*

⁷Miners go to places unseen by the eyes of hawks;

⁸they walk on soil unknown to the proudest lions.

⁹With their own hands they remove sharp rocks

and uproot mountains.

¹⁰They dig through the rocks in search of jewels

and precious metals.

¹¹They also uncover the sources of* rivers

and discover secret places.

Where Is Wisdom Found?

¹²But where is wisdomI found? ¹³No human knows the way.*

¹⁴Nor can it be discovered in the deepest sea.

* ¹⁵It is worth much more than silver or pure gold

¹⁶or precious stones.

¹⁷Nothing is its equal— not gold or costly glass.

¹⁸Wisdom is worth much more than

coral, jasper, or rubies.

¹⁹All the topazO of Ethiopia* and the finest gold

cannot compare with it.

²⁰Where then is wisdom?

²¹It is hidden from human eyes and even from birds.

²²Death and destruction have merely heard rumors

about where it is found.

²³ C God is the only one who knows the way to wisdom;

²⁴he alone sees everything beneath the heavens.

²⁵When God divided out the wind and the water,

²⁶and when he decided the path for rain and lightning,

²⁷he also determined the truth and defined wisdom.

²⁸ C God told us, “Wisdom means

that you respect me, the Lord, and turn from sin.”

God told us, “Wisdom means that you respect me, the Lord, and turn from sin.”

— Job 28.28