Job 28:1–6

“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.

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.

Surely there is a mine for silver

and a place where gold is refined.

Iron is taken from the ground,

and copper is smelted from ore.

A miner puts an end to the darkness;

he probes the deepest recesses

for ore in the gloomy darkness.

He 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.

Food may come from the earth,

but below the surface the earth is transformed as by fire.

Its rocks are a source of lapis lazuli,

containing flecks of gold.

“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.

“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.

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.