28 “There is a place to mine silver
And a place for gold that they refine;
2 Iron is taken from the ground,
And copper is smelted from rocks.
3 Man conquers the darkness;
He probes to the limit in the gloom and darkness,
4 He sinks a shaft far from where people reside,
In forgotten places, far from where people walk;
Some men descend and swing suspended.
5 Food grows on top of the earth;
But below, there is an upheaval as if by fire.
6 There in the stones is sapphire,
And the dust contains gold.
7 No bird of prey knows the path to it;
The eye of a black kite has not seen it.
8 No majestic beasts have trodden on it;
The young lion has not prowled there.
9 Man strikes the flinty rock with his hand;
He overturns the mountains at their foundation.
10 He cuts water channels in the rock;
His eyes spot every precious thing.
11 He dams up the sources of rivers
And brings what was hidden to the light.
12 But wisdom—where can it be found,
And where is the source of understanding?
13 No man recognizes its value,
And it cannot be found in the land of the living.
14 The deep waters say, ‘It is not in me!’
And the sea says, ‘It is not with me!’
15 It cannot be bought with pure gold;
Nor can silver be weighed out in exchange for it.
16 It cannot be bought with gold of Oʹphir
Nor with rare onyx and sapphire.
17 Gold and glass cannot be compared to it;
Nor can a vessel of fine gold be exchanged for it.
18 Coral and crystal are not worthy of mention,
For a bagful of wisdom is worth more than one full of pearls.
19 The topaz of Cush cannot be compared to it;
It cannot be purchased even with pure gold.
20 But from where does wisdom come,
And where is the source of understanding?
21 It has been hidden from the eyes of every living thing
And concealed from the birds of the heavens.
22 Destruction and death say,
‘Our ears have heard only a report of it.’
23 Al {pre. Ahl} understands the way to find it;
He alone knows where it resides,
24 For he looks to the ends of the earth,
And he sees everything under the heavens.
25 When he set the force of the wind
And measured out the waters,
26 When he made a regulation for the rain
And a path for the thunderous storm cloud,
27 Then he saw wisdom and explained it;
He established and tested it.
28 And he said to man:
‘Look! The fear of Ahv'ah {Heb. Yahvah}—that is wisdom,
And to turn away from bad is understanding.’”