Where Can Wisdom be Found?
28 “Surely there is a mine for silver,
and a place where gold is refined.
2 Iron is taken from the earth,
and copper is smelted from ore.
3 Man puts an end to darkness;
he searches to the farthest reaches
for ore in gloom and blackest darkness.
4 He cuts open a shaft far from dwellings,
in places forgotten by feet.
Far from other people,
they dangle back and forth.
5 The earth, from which food comes,
is transformed as by fire;
6 a place whose rocks are sapphires,
its dust contains gold.
7 No bird of prey knows the path;
nor falcon’s eye has seen it.
8 Proud beasts have not set foot on it,
and no lion has passed there.
9 Man sets his hand against the flinty rock
and overturns mountains by the roots.
10 He carves out tunnels through the rocks;
his eye sees every precious thing.
11 He dams up streams from flowing.
And brings hidden things to light.
12 “But where can wisdom be found?
Where is the place of understanding?
13 No mortal comprehends its worth;
it cannot be found in the land of the living.
14 The deep says, ‘It is not in me’—
The sea says, ‘It’s not with me.’
15 Pure gold cannot be given for it,
nor can its price be weighed in silver.
16 It cannot be weighed in gold from Ophir,
in precious onyx, or sapphire.
17 Neither gold or crystal can compare with it,
nor vessels of fine gold exchanged for it.
18 No mention will be made of coral or jasper;
the price of wisdom is more than pearls.
19 The topaz of Ethiopia cannot compare to it;
nor can it be valued in pure gold.
20 Where then does wisdom come from?
Where is the place of understanding?
21 It has been hidden from the eyes of all living things,
concealed from the birds of the sky.
22 Abaddon and Death say,
‘With our ears we have heard a rumor of it.’
23 “God understands its way
and He knows its place.
24 He looks to the ends of the earth,
and sees everything under the heavens.
25 When He made the force of the wind,
and measured out the waters,
26 when He set a limit for the rain
and a path for the thunderstorm,
27 then He looked at it and assessed it
established it and examined it.
28 And He said to mankind,
‘The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom,
and to turn away from evil is understanding.”’