1The silver surely hath his vein, and the gold his palace, where they take it.
2Iron is taken out of the dust, and brass is molten out of the stone.
3God putteth an end to darkness, and he trieth the perfection of all things: he setteth a bond of darkness, and of the shadow of death.
4The flood breaketh out against the inhabitant, and the waters forgotten of the foot, being higher than man, are gone away.
5Out of the same earth cometh bread, and under it, as it were fire is turned up.
6The stones thereof are a place of Sapphires, and the dust of it is gold.
7There is a path which no fowl hath known, neither hath the kite’s eye seen it.
8The Lion’s whelps have not walked it, nor the Lion passed thereby.
9He putteth his hand upon the rocks, and overthroweth the mountains by the roots.
10He breaketh rivers in the roots, and his eye seeth every precious thing.
11He bindeth the floods, that they do not overflow, and the thing that is hid, bringeth he to light.
12But where is wisdom found? and where is the place of understanding?
13Man knoweth not the price thereof: for it is not found in the land of the living.
14The depth saith, It is not in me: the Sea also saith, It is not with me.
15Gold shall not be given for it, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof.
16It shall not be valued with the wedge of gold of Ophir, nor with the precious onyx, nor the sapphire.
17The gold nor the crystal shall be equal unto it, nor the exchange shall be for plate of fine gold.
18No mention shall be made of coral, nor of the gabish: for wisdom is more precious than pearls.
19The Topaz of Ethiopia shall not be equal unto it, neither shall it be valued with the wedge of pure gold.
20Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding,
21Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all the living, and is hid from the fowls of the heaven?
22Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears.
23But God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof.
24For he beholdeth the ends of the world, and seeth all that is under heaven,
25To make the weight of the winds and to weigh the waters by measure.
26When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunders,
27Then did he see it, and counted it: he prepared it, and also considered it.
28And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding.