28:1 “Certainly there is a ①mine for silver
And a place ②for refining gold.
▷ ①Lit source ②Lit for gold they refine
28:2 Iron is taken from the dust,
And copper is smelted from rock.
28:3 Man puts an end to darkness,
And to the farthest limit he searches out
The rock in gloom and deep shadow.
28:4 He ①sinks a shaft away from ②inhabited areas,
Forgotten by the foot;
They hang and swing, away from people.
▷ ①Lit breaks open ②Lit sojourning
28:5 ①From the earth comes food,
And underneath, it is turned over like fire.
▷ ①Lit Earth, from it
28:6 Its rocks are the ①source of sapphires,
And its dust contains gold.
▷ ①Or place
28:7 No bird of prey knows the path,
Nor has the falcon’s eye caught sight of it.
28:8 The ①proud animals have not trodden it,
Nor has the lion passed over it.
▷ ①Lit sons of pride
28:9 He puts his hand on the flint;
He overturns the mountains at the ①base.
▷ ①Lit root
28:10 He carves out channels through the rocks,
And his eye sees anything precious.
28:11 He dams up the streams from ①flowing,
And brings to light what is hidden.
▷ ①Lit weeping
28:12 “But where can wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?
28:13 Mankind does not know its value,
Nor is it found in the land of the living.
28:14 The ocean depth says, ‘It is not in me’;
And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’
28:15 Pure gold cannot be given in exchange for it,
Nor can silver be weighed as its price.
28:16 It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,
In precious onyx, or sapphire.
28:17 Gold or glass cannot equal it,
Nor can it be exchanged for articles of pure gold.
28:18 Coral and crystal are not to be mentioned;
And the acquisition of wisdom is more valuable than pearls.
28:19 The topaz of ①Cush cannot equal it,
Nor can it be valued in pure gold.
▷ ①Or Ethiopia
28:20 Where then does wisdom come from?
And where is this place of understanding?
28:21 It is hidden from the eyes of every living creature,
And concealed from the birds of the sky.
28:22 ①Abaddon and Death say,
‘With our ears we have heard a report of it.’
▷ ①I.e., Destruction
28:23 “God understands its way,
And He knows its place.
28:24 For He looks to the ends of the earth;
He sees everything under the heavens.
28:25 When He imparted weight to the wind,
And assessed the waters by measure,
28:26 When He made a limit for the rain,
And a course for the thunderbolt,
28:27 Then He saw it and declared it;
He established it and also searched it out.
28:28 And to mankind He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;
And to turn away from evil is understanding.’ ”