1 Surely there is a mine for the silver, and a place for gold where they refine it. 2 Iron is taken out of the dust, and bronze is melted out of the stone. 3 He set a border unto the darkness, and unto every perfect work that he made, he placed a stone of darkness and shadow of death. 4 The river breaks forth next to the inhabitant; even the waters forgotten of the foot, that were higher than man, are gone away. 5 Land out of which bread comes forth, and underneath it shall be as if it were converted in fire. 6 A place where its stones shall be sapphires; and it shall have dust of gold.
7 A path which no fowl knows and which the vulture’s eye has never seen; 8 the young of the proud have not trodden it, nor has the fierce lion passed by it.
9 He put his hand upon the flint and overturned the mountains from the root. 10 He cut rivers out of the rocks; and his eye saw every precious thing. 11 He detained the rivers in their source and caused that which was hid to be brought to light.
12 But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? 13 Man never knew its price; neither is it found in the land of the living. 14 The deep saith, It is not in me; and the sea saith, It is not with me. 15 It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for its price. 16 It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx or the sapphire. 17 Gold cannot equal it, nor can diamond; neither shall it be exchanged for vessels of fine gold. 18 No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls; for wisdom is better than precious stones. 19 The emerald of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold.
20 Where then does wisdom come from? And where is the place of understanding? 21 Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living and kept concealed from every fowl of the heaven. 22 Hell and death say, We have heard its fame with our ears.
23 God understands its way, and he alone knows its place. 24 For he looks unto the ends of the earth and sees under the whole heaven, 25 To make a weight for the wind and to supply water by measure, 26 when he made a law for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunders. 27 Then he saw it and counted it; he prepared it and also searched it out. 28 And unto man he said, Behold, that the fear of the Lord, is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.