Job 28:1-28 ERV

[1] "There are mines where people get silver and places where people melt gold to make it pure. [2] Iron is dug out of the ground, and copper is melted out of the rocks. [3] Miners carry lights deep into caves to search for these rocks in the deepest darkness. [4] Far from where people live, they dig deep into the ground, down where no one else has been before. There they work all alone, hanging from ropes. [5] Food grows on the ground above. But underground it is different, as if everything were melted by fire. [6] In the rocks there are sapphires and grains of pure gold. [7] Wild birds know nothing about the way to these places. No falcon has ever seen it. [8] Wild animals have never been there. Lions have not traveled that way. [9] Miners dig the hardest rocks. They dig away at the mountains and make them bare. [10] They cut tunnels through the rocks and see all the treasures they hold. [11] They even find places where rivers begin. They bring to light what once was hidden. [12] "But where can anyone find wisdom? Where can we get understanding? [13] People don't know where wisdom is. It cannot be found by anyone on earth. [14] The deep ocean says, 'It's not here with me.' The sea says, 'It's not here with me.' [15] You cannot buy wisdom with even the purest gold. There's not enough silver in the world to pay for it. [16] You cannot buy it with gold from Ophir or with precious onyx or sapphires. [17] Wisdom is worth more than gold or crystal. It cannot be bought with expensive jewels set in gold. [18] It is far more valuable than coral and jasper, more precious than rubies. [19] The topaz from Ethiopia cannot match its value, which is greater than the purest gold. [20] "So where does wisdom come from? Where can we find understanding? [21] Wisdom is hidden from every living thing on earth. Even birds in the sky cannot see it. [22] Death and destruction say, 'We have never seen wisdom; we have only heard rumors about it.' [23] "Only God knows the way to wisdom. Only he knows where wisdom is. [24] He can see to the very ends of the earth. He sees everything under the sky. [25] God gave the wind its power. He decided how big to make the oceans. [26] He decided where to send the rain and where the thunderstorms should go. [27] He looked at wisdom and discussed it. He examined it and saw how much it is worth. [28] Then he said to humans, 'To fear and respect the Lord is wisdom. To turn away from evil is understanding.'"