LEB - Job - 28

28:1  “Indeed, there is a mine for silver and a place ⌞for gold to be refined⌟.

28:2  Iron is taken from dust, and he pours out copper from ore.

28:3  He puts an end to darkness, and he searches out the farthest limits for the ore in gloom and deep shadow.

28:4  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.

28:5  As for the earth, from it comes food, but underneath it, it is turned up as by fire.

28:6  Its stones are the place of sapphire, and the earthen dirt ⌞has⌟ gold.

28:7  “It is a path a bird of prey does not know and the black kite’s eye has not seen.

28:8  ⌞Proud wild animals⌟ have not trodden it; the lion in its prime has not prowled over it.

28:9  He puts his hand on the hard rock; he overturns mountains by the roots.

28:10  He cuts out tunnels in the rocks, and his eye sees every treasure.

28:11  He dams up rivers from their sources, and he brings secret things to the light.

28:12  “But from where will wisdom be found? And ⌞where in the world⌟ is the place of understanding?

28:13  A human being does not know its proper value, and it is not found in the land of the living.

28:14  The deep says, ‘It is not in me,’ and the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’

28:15  “Refined gold cannot be gotten in its place, and silver cannot be weighed out as its price.

28:16  It cannot be bought for the gold of Ophir, for precious onyx or sapphire.

28:17  Gold and glass cannot be compared with it, and its substitution cannot be an ornament of refined gold.

28:18  Black corals and crystal will not be mentioned, and wisdom’s price is more than red corals.

28:19  The topaz of Cush cannot be compared with it; it cannot be bought for pure gold.

28:20  Indeed, from where does wisdom come? And ⌞where in the world⌟ is the place of understanding?

28:21  It is hidden from the eyes of all living, and it is concealed from the birds of the heaven.

28:22  Abaddon and Death say, ‘We heard its rumor with our ears.’

28:23  “God understands its way, and he knows its place,

28:24  for he himself looks to the end of the earth; he sees under all the heaven.

28:25  ⌞When he gave⌟ weight to the wind and he apportioned the waters by measure,

28:26  ⌞when he made⌟ a rule for the rain and a way for the thunder’s lightning bolt,

28:27  then he saw it and talked about it; he established it, and moreover, he explored it.

28:28  And to the human beings he said, ‘Look, the fear of the Lord is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding.’ ”