Job 28:1–11

“Surely there is a mine for silver,

and a place for gold that they refine.

Iron is taken out of the earth,

and copper is smelted from the ore.

Man puts an end to darkness

and searches out to the farthest limit

the ore in gloom and deep darkness.

He opens shafts in a valley away from where anyone lives;

they are forgotten by travelers;

they hang in the air, far away from mankind; they swing to and fro.

As for the earth, out of it comes bread,

but underneath it is turned up as by fire.

Its stones are the place of sapphires,

and it has dust of gold.

“That path no bird of prey knows,

and the falcon’s eye has not seen it.

The proud beasts have not trodden it;

the lion has not passed over it.

“Man puts his hand to the flinty rock

and overturns mountains by the roots.

He cuts out channels in the rocks,

and his eye sees every precious thing.

He dams up the streams so that they do not trickle,

and the thing that is hidden he brings out to light.

There is a mine for silver

and a place where gold is refined.

Iron is taken from the earth,

and copper is smelted from ore.

Mortals put an end to the darkness;

they search out the farthest recesses

for ore in the blackest darkness.

Far from human dwellings they cut a shaft,

in places untouched by human feet;

far from other people they dangle and sway.

The earth, from which food comes,

is transformed below as by fire;

lapis lazuli comes from its rocks,

and its dust contains nuggets of gold.

No bird of prey knows that hidden path,

no falcon’s eye has seen it.

Proud beasts do not set foot on it,

and no lion prowls there.

People assault the flinty rock with their hands

and lay bare the roots of the mountains.

They tunnel through the rock;

their eyes see all its treasures.

They search the sources of the rivers

and bring hidden things to light.

“People know where to mine silver

and how to refine gold.

They know where to dig iron from the earth

and how to smelt copper from rock.

They know how to shine light in the darkness

and explore the farthest regions of the earth

as they search in the dark for ore.

They sink a mine shaft into the earth

far from where anyone lives.

They descend on ropes, swinging back and forth.

Food is grown on the earth above,

but down below, the earth is melted as by fire.

Here the rocks contain precious lapis lazuli,

and the dust contains gold.

These are treasures no bird of prey can see,

no falcon’s eye observe.

No wild animal has walked upon these treasures;

no lion has ever set his paw there.

People know how to tear apart flinty rocks

and overturn the roots of mountains.

They cut tunnels in the rocks

and uncover precious stones.

They dam up the trickling streams

and bring to light the hidden treasures.

“Indeed, there is a mine for silver

and a place for gold to be refined.

Iron is taken from dust,

and he pours out copper from ore.

He puts an end to darkness,

and he searches out the farthest limits

for the ore in gloom and deep shadow.

He breaks open a mine shaft away from where people dwell;

those who are forgotten by travelers,

they dangle, they sway far away from human beings.

As for the earth, from it comes food,

but underneath it, it is turned up as by fire.

Its stones are the place of sapphire,

and the earthen dirt has gold.

“It is a path a bird of prey does not know

and the black kite’s eye has not seen.

Proud wild animals have not trodden it;

the lion in its prime has not prowled over it.

He puts his hand on the hard rock;

he overturns mountains by the roots.

He cuts out tunnels in the rocks,

and his eye sees every treasure.

He dams up rivers from their sources,

and he brings secret things to the light.

Surely there is a vein for the silver,

And a place for gold where they fine it.

Iron is taken out of the earth,

And brass is molten out of the stone.

He setteth an end to darkness,

And searcheth out all perfection:

The stones of darkness, and the shadow of death.

The flood breaketh out from the inhabitant;

Even the waters forgotten of the foot:

They are dried up, they are gone away from men.

As for the earth, out of it cometh bread:

And under it is turned up as it were fire.

The stones of it are the place of sapphires:

And it hath dust of gold.

There is a path which no fowl knoweth,

And which the vulture’s eye hath not seen:

The lion’s whelps have not trodden it,

Nor the fierce lion passed by it.

He putteth forth his hand upon the rock;

He overturneth the mountains by the roots.

He cutteth out rivers among the rocks;

And his eye seeth every precious thing.

He bindeth the floods from overflowing;

And the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light.