CPDV - Job - 28

28:1  Silver has its fissures where it is first found, and gold has a place where it is melted.

28:2  Iron is taken from the earth, and ore, unbound by heat, is turned into brass.

28:3  He has established a time for darkness, and he has settled on an end for all things, as well as for the stone that is in the gloom and shadow of death.

28:4  The burning separates a pilgrim people from those who have been forgotten by the feet of the destitute man and from the unapproachable.

28:5  The land, where bread appeared in its place, has been destroyed by fire.

28:6  Its stones are embedded with sapphires, and its soil, with gold.

28:7  The bird does not know its path, nor has the eye of the vulture beheld it.

28:8  The sons of merchants have not walked there, nor has the lioness traveled through it.

28:9  He has stretched out his hand to the rocks; he has overturned the foundations of the mountains.

28:10  He has cut rivers through the rocks, and his eye has seen all precious things.

28:11  The depths of rivers he has also examined, and he has brought hidden things into the light.

28:12  But, in truth, where is wisdom to be found, and where is the place of understanding?

28:13  Man does not know its price, nor is it found in the land of those who live in sweetness.

28:14  The abyss declares, “It is not in me.” And the sea says, “It is not with me.”

28:15  The finest gold will not be paid for it, nor will silver be weighed in exchange for it.

28:16  It will not be compared with the dyed colors of India, nor with the very costly stone sardonyx, nor with the sapphire.

28:17  Neither gold nor crystal will be its equal; neither will vessels of gold be fitted for it.

28:18  The exalted and the eminent will not be remembered in comparison with it. Yet wisdom is drawn out of concealment.

28:19  The topaz of Ethiopia will not be equal to it, nor will it be compared to the purest dyes.

28:20  So then, where does wisdom begin, and where is the place of understanding?

28:21  It has been hidden from the eyes of all living things, just as the birds of the heavens escape notice.

28:22  Perdition and death have said, “With our ears, we have heard its fame.”

28:23  God understands its way, and he knows its location.

28:24  For he beholds the limits of the world, and he looks upon all things that are under heaven.

28:25  He created a counterweight for the winds, and he suspended the waters to measure them.

28:26  At that time, he gave a law to the rain and a path to the resounding storms.

28:27  Then he saw and explained it, and he made ready and examined it.

28:28  And he said to man, “Behold the fear of the Lord. Such is wisdom. And to withdraw from evil, this is understanding.”