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The New Revised Standard Version
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Interlude: Where Wisdom Is Found

28 “Surely there is a mine for silver,

and a place for gold to be refined.

2 Iron is taken out of the earth,

and copper is smelted from ore.

3 Miners puta an end to darkness,

and search out to the farthest bound

the ore in gloom and deep darkness.

4 They open shafts in a valley away from human habitation;

they are forgotten by travelers,

they sway suspended, remote from people.

5 As for the earth, out of it comes bread;

but underneath it is turned up as by fire.

6 Its stones are the place of sapphires,b

and its dust contains gold.

7 “That path no bird of prey knows,

and the falcon’s eye has not seen it.

8 The proud wild animals have not trodden it;

the lion has not passed over it.

9 “They put their hand to the flinty rock,

and overturn mountains by the roots.

10 They cut out channels in the rocks,

and their eyes see every precious thing.

11 The sources of the rivers they probe;c

hidden things they bring to light.

12But where shall wisdom be found?

And where is the place of understanding?

13 Mortals do not know the way to it,d

and it is not 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 It cannot be gotten for gold,

and silver cannot be weighed out as its price.

16 It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,

in precious onyx or sapphire.e

17 Gold and glass cannot equal it,

nor can it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.

18 No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal;

the price of wisdom is above pearls.

19 The chrysolite of Ethiopiaf cannot compare with it,

nor can it be valued in pure gold.

20 “Where then does wisdom come from?

And where is the place of understanding?

21 It is hidden from the eyes of all living,

and concealed from the birds of the air.

22 Abaddon and Death say,

‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’

23 “God understands the way to it,

and he knows its place.

24 For he looks to the ends of the earth,

and sees everything under the heavens.

25 When he gave to the wind its weight,

and apportioned out the waters by measure;

26 when he made a decree for the rain,

and a way for the thunderbolt;

27 then he saw it and declared it;

he established it, and searched it out.

28 And he said to humankind,

‘Truly, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;

and to depart from evil is understanding.’ ”

NRSV

About The New Revised Standard Version

The original Revised Standard Version served as a standard for nearly forty years. The New Revised Standard Version with Apocrypha maintains the traditions of the older version with fresh new vocabulary and modern English construction.

Copyright

Up to five hundred (500) verses of The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) Bible text may be quoted or reprinted without the express written permission of the publisher, provided that the verses quoted neither amount to a complete book of the Bible nor account for 50% or more of the written text of the total work in which they are quoted.

When the NRSV text is quoted, notice of copyright must appear on the title or copyright page of the work as follows:

The Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, Copyright © 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are used by permission. All rights reserved.

When quotations from the NRSV text are used in a non-saleable media, such as church bulletins, orders of service, posters, transparencies or similar media, the initials (NRSV) may be used at the end of each quotation.

Quotations or reprints in excess of five hundred (500) verses (as well as other permissions requests) must be approved in writing by the NRSV Permissions Office, The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., 475 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10115-0050.

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