[28:1] “Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place for gold that they refine.
[28:2] Iron is taken out of the earth, and copper is smelted from the ore.
[28:3] Man puts an end to darkness and searches out to the farthest limit the ore in gloom and deep darkness.
[28:4] He opens shafts in a valley away from where anyone lives; they are forgotten by travelers; they hang in the air, far away from mankind; they swing to and fro.
[28:5] As for the earth, out of it comes bread, but underneath it is turned up as by fire.
[28:6] Its stones are the place of sapphires, and it has dust of gold.
[28:7] “That path no bird of prey knows, and the falcon’s eye has not seen it.
[28:8] The proud beasts have not trodden it; the lion has not passed over it.
[28:9] “Man puts his hand to the flinty rock and overturns mountains by the roots.
[28:10] He cuts out channels in the rocks, and his eye sees every precious thing.
[28:11] He dams up the streams so that they do not trickle, and the thing that is hidden he brings out to light.
[28:12] “But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?
[28:13] Man does not know its worth, and it is not found in the land of the living.
[28:14] The deep says, ‘It is not in me,’ and the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’
[28:15] It cannot be bought for gold, and silver cannot be weighed as its price.
[28:16] It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx or sapphire.
[28:17] Gold and glass cannot equal it, nor can it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.
[28:18] No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal; the price of wisdom is above pearls.
[28:19] The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it, nor can it be valued in pure gold.
[28:20] “From where, then, does wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding?
[28:21] It is hidden from the eyes of all living and concealed from the birds of the air.
[28:22] Abaddon and Death say, ‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’
[28:23] “God understands the way to it, and he knows its place.
[28:24] For he looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.
[28:25] When he gave to the wind its weight and apportioned the waters by measure,
[28:26] when he made a decree for the rain and a way for the lightning of the thunder,
[28:27] then he saw it and declared it; he established it, and searched it out.
[28:28] And he said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”