 1 Surely there is a mine for the silver, and a place where they refine gold. 2 Iron is taken out of the earth, and bronze is melted out of the stone. 3 He sets an end to darkness, and to every extremity He searches out the stones of darkness and the shadow of death. 4 He opens a shaft far from the visitor. They are forgotten by man's foot. They hang far away from men, they swing to and fro. 5 As to the earth, out of it comes bread. And underneath it is turned up like fire. 6 Its stones are the place of sapphires. And it has dust of gold. 7 There is a path that no bird knows, nor has the vulture's eye caught sight of it; 8 the sons of pride have not walked on it, the lion has not passed by. 9 He puts forth His hand on the flinty places. He overturns the mountains by the roots. 10 He cuts out rivers among the rocks. And His eye sees every precious thing. 11 He holds back the floods from overflowing. And the hidden thing, He brings to light. 12 But where will wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? 13 Man does not know the price of it. Nor is it found in the land of the living. 14 The deep says, It is not in me. And the sea says, It is not in me. 15 Pure gold cannot be given in its stead, and silver be weighed as its price. 16 It cannot be weighed against the gold of Ophir, against precious onyx, or sapphire; 17 gold and the crystal cannot equal it, nor can it be exchanged for a vessel of fine gold. 18 No mention will be made of coral or of pearls. The price of wisdom is more than rubies. 19 The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it. It cannot be weighed against pure gold. 20 From where then does wisdom come, and where is the place of understanding? 21 Yes, it is hidden from the eyes of all living, and hidden from the birds of the heavens. 22 The place of ruin and death say, We have heard the fame of it with our ears. 23 God understands the way of it, and He knows its place. 24 For He looks to the end of the earth, and sees under all the heavens; 25 Making a weight for the winds, and measuring out the waters by measure. 26 When He made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning to thunder; 27 then He saw it and declared it. He prepared it. Yes and searched it out. 28 To man He said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom. And to depart from evil is understanding.
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