^{1 Ref} Surely there is a mine for silver, And a place for gold which they refine.

^{2 Ref} Iron is taken out of the earth, And copper is molten out of the stone.

^{3 Ref} `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 Ref} As for the earth, out of it cometh bread; And underneath it is turned up as it were by fire.

^{6 Ref} The stones thereof are the place of sapphires, And it hath dust of gold.

^{7 Ref} 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 Ref} He putteth forth his hand upon the flinty rock; He overturneth the mountains by the roots.

^{10 Ref} He cutteth out channels among the rocks; And his eye seeth every precious thing.

^{11 Ref} He bindeth the streams that they trickle not; And the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light.

^{12 Ref} But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?

^{13 Ref} Man knoweth not the price thereof; Neither is it found in the land of the living.

^{14 Ref} The deep saith, It is not in me; And the sea saith, It is not with me.

^{15 Ref} It cannot be gotten for gold, Neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof.

^{16 Ref} It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, With the precious onyx, or the sapphire.

^{17 Ref} Gold and glass cannot equal it, Neither shall it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.

^{18 Ref} No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal: Yea, the price of wisdom is above rubies.

^{19 Ref} The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, Neither shall it be valued with pure gold.

^{20 Ref} Whence then cometh wisdom? And where is the place of understanding?

^{21 Ref} Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, And kept close from the birds of the heavens.

^{22 Ref} Destruction and Death say, We have heard a rumor thereof with our ears.

^{23 Ref} God understandeth the way thereof, And he knoweth the place thereof.

^{24 Ref} For he looketh to the ends of the earth, And seeth under the whole heaven;

^{25 Ref} To make a weight for the wind: Yea, he meteth out the waters by measure.

^{26 Ref} When he made a decree for the rain, And a way for the lightning of the thunder;

^{27 Ref} Then did he see it, and declare it; He established it, yea, and searched it out.

^{28 Ref} And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding.

^{1 Ref} Truly there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is washed out.

^{2 Ref} Iron is taken out of the earth, and stone is changed into brass by the fire.

^{3 Ref} Man puts an end to the dark, searching out to the farthest limit the stones of the deep places of the dark.

⁴ He makes a deep mine far away from those living in the light of day; when they go about on the earth, they have no knowledge of those who are under them, who are hanging far from men, twisting from side to side on a cord.

^{5 Ref} As for the earth, bread comes out of it; but under its face it is turned up as if by fire.

^{6 Ref} Its stones are the place of sapphires, and it has dust of gold.

^{7 Ref} No bird has knowledge of it, and the hawk's eye has never seen it.

⁸ The great beasts have not gone over it, and the cruel lion has not taken that way.

^{9 Ref} Man puts out his hand on the hard rock, overturning mountains by the roots.

^{10 Ref} He makes deep ways, cut through the rock, and his eye sees everything of value.

^{11 Ref} He keeps back the streams from flowing, and makes the secret things come out into the light.

^{12 Ref} But where may wisdom be seen? and where is the resting-place of knowledge?

^{13 Ref} Man has not seen the way to it, and it is not in the land of the living.

^{14 Ref} The deep waters say, It is not in me: and the sea says, It is not with me.

^{15 Ref} Gold may not be given for it, or a weight of silver in payment for it.

^{16 Ref} It may not be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the onyx of great price, or the sapphire.

^{17 Ref} Gold and glass are not equal to it in price, and it may not be exchanged for jewels of the best gold.

^{18 Ref} There is no need to say anything about coral or crystal; and the value of wisdom is greater than that of pearls.

^{19 Ref} The topaz of Ethiopia is not equal to it, and it may not be valued with the best gold.

^{20 Ref} From where then does wisdom come, and where is the resting-place of knowledge?

^{21 Ref} For it is kept secret from the eyes of all living, unseen by the birds of the air.

^{22 Ref} Destruction and Death say, We have only had word of it with our ears.

^{23 Ref} God has knowledge of the way to it, and of its resting-place;

^{24 Ref} For his eyes go to the ends of the earth, and he sees everything under heaven.

^{25 Ref} When he made a weight for the wind, measuring out the waters;

^{26 Ref} When he made a law for the rain, and a way for the thunder-flames;

^{27 Ref} Then he saw it, and put it on record; he gave it its fixed form, searching it out completely.

^{28 Ref} And he said to man, Truly the fear of the Lord is wisdom, and to keep from evil is the way to knowledge.