Job 28
A Hymn to Wisdom
1Surely there is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined.23Iron is taken from the ground, and copper is smelted from ore.4
5A miner puts an end to the darkness; he probes the deepest recesses for ore in the gloomy darkness.6
7He cuts a shaft far from human habitation, in places unknown to those who walk above ground. Suspended far away from people, the miners swing back and forth.8
9Food may come from the earth, but below the surface the earth is transformed as by fire.10
11Its rocks are a source of lapis lazuli, containing flecks of gold.12
13No bird of prey knows that path; no falcon’s eye has seen it.14
15Proud beasts have never walked on it; no lion has ever prowled over it.16
17The miner uses a flint tool and turns up ore from the root of the mountains.18
19He cuts out channels in the rocks, and his eyes spot every treasure.20
21He dams up the streams from flowing so that he may bring to light what is hidden.22
23But where can wisdom be found, and where is understanding located?24
25No one can know its value, since it cannot be found in the land of the living.26
27The ocean depths say, “It’s not in me,” while the sea declares, “I don’t have it.”28
29Gold cannot be exchanged for it, and silver cannot be weighed out for its price.30
31Wisdom cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx or lapis lazuli.32
33Gold and glass do not compare with it, and articles of fine gold cannot be exchanged for it.34
35Coral and quartz are not worth mentioning. The price of wisdom is beyond pearls.36
37Topaz from Cush cannot compare with it, and it cannot be valued in pure gold.38
39Where then does wisdom come from, and where is understanding located?40
41It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing and concealed from the birds of the sky.42
43Abaddon and Death say, “We have heard news of it with our ears.”44
45But God understands the way to wisdom, and he knows its location.46
47For he looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.48
49When God fixed the weight of the wind and distributed the water by measure,50
51when he established a limit for the rain and a path for the lightning,52
53he considered wisdom and evaluated it; he established it and examined it.54
55He said to mankind, “The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom. And to turn from evil is understanding.”56