Chapter 28

Job Tells of Earth’s Treasures

1 “Surely there is a 1mine for silver

And a place 2where they refine gold.

2 “Iron is taken from the dust,

And copper is smelted from rock.

3 “Man puts an end to darkness,

And ato the farthest limit he searches out

The rock in gloom and deep shadow.

4 “He 1sinks a shaft far from 2habitation,

Forgotten by the foot;

They hang and swing to and fro far from men.

5 “The earth, from it comes food,

And underneath it is turned up as fire.

6 “Its rocks are the 1source of sapphires,

And its dust contains gold.

7 “The path no bird of prey knows,

Nor has the falcon’s eye caught sight of it.

8 “The 1proud beasts have not trodden it,

Nor has the fierce lion passed over it.

9 “He puts his hand on the flint;

He overturns the mountains at the 1base.

10 “He hews out channels through the rocks,

And his eye sees anything precious.

11 “He dams up the streams from 1flowing,

And what is hidden he brings out to the light.

The Search for Wisdom Is Harder

12 “But awhere can wisdom be found?

And where is the place of understanding?

13 “aMan does not know its value,

Nor is it found in the land of the living.

14 “The deep says, ‘It is not in me’;

And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’

15 “aPure gold cannot be given in exchange for it,

Nor can silver be weighed as its price.

16 “It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,

In precious onyx, or sapphire.

17 “aGold or glass cannot equal it,

Nor can it be exchanged for articles of fine gold.

18 “Coral and crystal are not to be mentioned;

And the acquisition of awisdom is above that of pearls.

19 “The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it,

Nor can it be valued in apure gold.

20 “aWhere then does wisdom come from?

And where is the place of understanding?

21 “Thus it is hidden from the eyes of all living

And concealed from the birds of the sky.

22 “1aAbaddon and Death say,

‘With our ears we have heard a report of it.’

23 “aGod understands its way,

And He knows its place.

24 “For He alooks to the ends of the earth

And sees everything under the heavens.

25 “When He imparted aweight to the wind

And bmeted out the waters by measure,

26 When He set a alimit for the rain

And a course for the bthunderbolt,

27 Then He saw it and declared it;

He established it and also searched it out.

28 “And to man He said, ‘Behold, the afear of the Lord, that is wisdom;

And to depart from evil is understanding.’ ”