1Surely there is a mine for silver,
2Iron is taken out of the earth,
3[Man] setteth an end to darkness,
4He 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.
5As for the earth, out of it cometh bread; And underneath it is turned up as it were by fire.
6The stones thereof are the place of sapphires,
7That path no bird of prey knoweth,
8The proud beasts have not trodden it,
9He putteth forth his hand upon the flinty rock; He overturneth the mountains by the roots.
10He cutteth out channels among the rocks; And his eye seeth every precious thing.
11He bindeth the streams that they trickle not; And the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light.
12But where shall wisdom be found?
13Man knoweth not the price thereof; Neither is it found in the land of the living.
14The deep saith, It is not in me; And the sea saith, It is not with me.
15It cannot be gotten for gold,
16It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir,
17Gold and glass cannot equal it,
18No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal:
19The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it,
20Whence then cometh wisdom?
21Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living,
22Destruction and Death say,
23God understandeth the way thereof,
24For he looketh to the ends of the earth,
25To make a weight for the wind:
26When he made a decree for the rain,
27Then did he see it, and declare it; He established it, yea, and searched it out.
28And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding.