1"Surely there is a mine for silver, And a place where gold is refined.

2Iron is taken from the earth, And copper is smelted from ore.

3Man puts an end to darkness, And searches every recess For ore in the darkness and the shadow of death.

4He breaks open a shaft away from people; In places forgotten by feet They hang far away from men; They swing to and fro.

5As for the earth, from it comes bread, But underneath it is turned up as by fire;

6Its stones are the source of sapphires, And it contains gold dust.

7That path no bird knows, Nor has the falcon's eye seen it.

8The proud lions have not trodden it, Nor has the fierce lion passed over it.

9He puts his hand on the flint; He overturns the mountains at the roots.

10He cuts out channels in the rocks, And his eye sees every precious thing.

11He dams up the streams from trickling; What is hidden he brings forth to light.

12"But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?

13Man does not know its value, Nor is it found in the land of the living.

14The deep says, "It is not in me'; And the sea says, "It is not with me.'

15It cannot be purchased for gold, Nor can silver be weighed for its price.

16It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, In precious onyx or sapphire.

17Neither gold nor crystal can equal it, Nor can it be exchanged for jewelry of fine gold.

18No mention shall be made of coral or quartz, For the price of wisdom is above rubies.

19The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it, Nor can it be valued in pure gold.

20"From where then does wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding?

21It is hidden from the eyes of all living, And concealed from the birds of the air.

22Destruction and Death say, "We have heard a report about it with our ears.'

23God understands its way, And He knows its place.

24For He looks to the ends of the earth, And sees under the whole heavens,

25To establish a weight for the wind, And apportion the waters by measure.

26When He made a law for the rain, And a path for the thunderbolt,

27Then He saw wisdom and declared it; He prepared it, indeed, He searched it out.

28And to man He said, "Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, And to depart from evil is understanding."'