Job 28:1-28 AMP

[1] “Surely there is a mine for silver, And a place where they refine gold. [2] Iron is taken out of the earth, And copper is smelted from the stone ore. [3] Man puts an end to darkness [by bringing in a light], And to the farthest bounds he searches out The rock buried in gloom and deep shadow. [4] He breaks open (mine) shafts far away from where people live, [In places] forgotten by the [human] foot; They dangle [in the mines] and hang away from men. [5] [As for] the earth, out of it comes food, But underneath [its surface, down deep] it is turned over as fire. [6] Its stones are the bed of sapphires; It holds dust of gold. [7] The path [deep within] no bird of prey knows, And the falcon’s eye has not caught sight of it. [8] The proud beasts [and their young] have not walked on it, Nor has the fierce lion passed over it. [9] Man puts his hand on [and tears apart] the flinty rock; He overturns the mountains at the base [looking for treasure]. [10] He cuts out channels and passages among the rocks; And his eye sees every precious thing. [11] Man dams up the streams from flowing [so that they do not trickle into the mine], And what is hidden he brings out to the light. [12] “But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? [13] Man does not know the value 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 with me.’ [15] It cannot be obtained for pure gold, Nor can silver be weighed as its price. [16] It cannot be valued in [terms of] the gold of Ophir, In the precious onyx or beryl, or the sapphire. [17] Gold and glass cannot equal wisdom, Nor can it be exchanged for articles of fine gold. [18] No mention of coral and crystal can be made; For the possession of wisdom is even above [that of] rubies or pearls. [19] The topaz of Ethiopia cannot compare with it, Nor can it be valued in pure gold. [20] From where then does wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding? [21] It is hidden from the eyes of all the living And concealed from the birds of the heavens. [22] Abaddon (the place of destruction) and Death say, ‘We have [only] heard a report of it with our ears.’ [23] “God understands the way [to wisdom] And He knows its place [for wisdom is with God alone]. [24] For He looks to the ends of the earth And sees everything under the heavens. [25] When He gave weight and pressure to the wind And allotted the waters by measure, [26] When He made a limit for the rain And a way for the thunderbolt, [27] Then He saw wisdom and declared it; He established it and searched it out. [28] But to man He said, ‘Behold, the reverential and worshipful fear of the Lord—that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding.’”