Job 28

¹Surely there is a vein for the silver, and a place for gold where they fine it.²Iron is taken out of the earth, and brass is molten out of the stone.³He setteth an end to darkness, and searcheth out all perfection: the stones of darkness, and the shadow of death. ⁴The flood breaketh out from the inhabitant; even the waters forgotten of the foot: they are dried up, they are gone away from men. ⁵As for the earth, out of it cometh bread: and under it is turned up as it were fire. ⁶The stones of it are the place of sapphires: and it hath dust of gold.⁷There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture’s eye hath not seen: ⁸The lion’s whelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it. ⁹He putteth forth his hand upon the rock; he overturneth the mountains by the roots.¹⁰He cutteth out rivers among the rocks; and his eye seeth every precious thing. ¹¹He bindeth the floods from overflowing; and the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light. ¹²But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding? ¹³Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living.

¹⁴The depth saith, It is not in me: and the sea saith, It is not with me. ¹⁵It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof. ¹⁶It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire. ¹⁷The gold and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold. ¹⁸No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies. ¹⁹The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold.

²⁰Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding? ²¹Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air. ²²Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears. ²³God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof. ²⁴For he looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven; ²⁵To make the weight for the winds; and he weigheth the waters by measure. ²⁶When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder: ²⁷Then did he see it, and declare it; he prepared it, yea, and searched it out. ²⁸And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.