Job 28
old testament
- 1 Surely there is a mine for silver, And a place for gold which they refine.
- 2 Iron is taken out of the earth, And copper is molten out of the stone.
- 3 [Man] setteth an end to darkness, And searcheth out, to the furthest bound, The stones of obscurity and of thick darkness.
- 4 He breaketh open a shaft away from where men sojourn; They are forgotten of the foot; They hang afar from men, they swing to and fro.
- 5 As for the earth, out of it cometh bread; And underneath it is turned up as it were by fire.
- 6 The stones thereof are the place of sapphires, And it hath dust of gold.
- 7 That path no bird of prey knoweth, Neither hath the falcon's eye seen it:
- 8 The proud beasts have not trodden it, Nor hath the fierce lion passed thereby.
- 9 He putteth forth his hand upon the flinty rock; He overturneth the mountains by the roots.
- 10 He cutteth out channels among the rocks; And his eye seeth every precious thing.
- 11 He bindeth the streams that they trickle not; And the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light.
- 12 But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?
- 13 Man knoweth not the price thereof; 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 the price thereof.
- 16 It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, With the precious onyx, or the sapphire.
- 17 Gold and glass cannot equal it, Neither shall it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.
- 18 No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal: Yea, the price of wisdom is above rubies.
- 19 The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, Neither shall it be valued with pure gold.
- 20 Whence then cometh wisdom? And where is the place of understanding?
- 21 Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, And kept close from the birds of the heavens.
- 22 Destruction and Death say, We have heard a rumor thereof with our ears.
- 23 God understandeth the way thereof, And he knoweth the place thereof.
- 24 For he looketh to the ends of the earth, And seeth under the whole heaven;
- 25 To make a weight for the wind: Yea, he meteth out the waters by measure.
- 26 When he made a decree for the rain, And a way for the lightning of the thunder;
- 27 Then did he see it, and declare it; He established it, yea, and searched it out.
- 28 And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding.