^{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.