• Job Tells of Earth’s Treasures

  • 1 “Certainly there is a mine for silver And a place for refining gold.
  • 2 “Iron is taken from the dust, And copper is smelted from rock.
  • 3 “Man puts an end to darkness, And to the farthest limit he searches out The rock in gloom and deep shadow.
  • 4 “He sinks a shaft away from inhabited areas, Forgotten by the foot; They hang and swing, away from people.
  • 5 “From the earth comes food, And underneath, it is turned over like fire.
  • 6 “Its rocks are the source of sapphires, And its dust contains gold.
  • 7 “No bird of prey knows the path, Nor has the falcon’s eye caught sight of it.
  • 8 “The proud animals have not trodden it, Nor has the lion passed over it.
  • 9 “He puts his hand on the flint; He overturns the mountains at the base.
  • 10 “He carves out channels through the rocks, And his eye sees anything precious.
  • 11 “He dams up the streams from flowing, And brings to light what is hidden.

  • The Search for Wisdom Is Harder

  • 12 “But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?
  • 13 “Mankind does not know its value, Nor is it found in the land of the living.
  • 14 “The ocean depth says, ‘It is not in me’; And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’
  • 15 “Pure gold cannot be given in exchange for it, Nor can silver be weighed as its price.
  • 16 “It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, In precious onyx, or sapphire.
  • 17 “Gold or glass cannot equal it, Nor can it be exchanged for articles of pure gold.
  • 18 “Coral and crystal are not to be mentioned; And the acquisition of wisdom is more valuable than pearls.
  • 19 “The topaz of Cush cannot equal it, Nor can it be valued in pure gold.
  • 20 “Where then does wisdom come from? And where is this place of understanding?
  • 21 “It is hidden from the eyes of every living creature, And concealed from the birds of the sky.
  • 22 “Abaddon and Death say, ‘With our ears we have heard a report of it.’
  • 23 “God understands its way, And He knows its place.
  • 24 “For He looks to the ends of the earth; He sees everything under the heavens.
  • 25 “When He imparted weight to the wind, And assessed the waters by measure,
  • 26 When He made a limit for the rain, And a course for the thunderbolt,
  • 27 Then He saw it and declared it; He established it and also searched it out.
  • 28 “And to mankind He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to turn away from evil is understanding.’”