| 1 | Surely there is a mine for silver, And a place for gold which they refine. |
| 2 | Iron is taken out of the earth, And copper is molten out of the stone. |
| 3 | [Man] setteth an end to darkness, And searcheth out, to the furthest bound, The stones of obscurity and of thick darkness. |
| 4 | He 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. |
| 5 | As for the earth, out of it cometh bread; And underneath it is turned up as it were by fire. |
| 6 | The stones thereof are the place of sapphires, And it hath dust of gold. |
| 7 | That path no bird of prey knoweth, Neither hath the falcon's eye seen it: |
| 8 | The proud beasts have not trodden it, Nor hath the fierce lion passed thereby. |
| 9 | He putteth forth his hand upon the flinty rock; He overturneth the mountains by the roots. |
| 10 | He cutteth out channels among the rocks; And his eye seeth every precious thing. |
| 11 | He bindeth the streams that they trickle not; And the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light. |
| 12 | But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? |
| 13 | Man knoweth not the price thereof; Neither is it found in the land of the living. |
| 14 | The deep saith, It is not in me; And the sea saith, It is not with me. |
| 15 | It cannot be gotten for gold, Neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof. |
| 16 | It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, With the precious onyx, or the sapphire. |
| 17 | Gold and glass cannot equal it, Neither shall it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold. |
| 18 | No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal: Yea, the price of wisdom is above rubies. |
| 19 | The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, Neither shall it be valued with pure gold. |
| 20 | Whence then cometh wisdom? And where is the place of understanding? |
| 21 | Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, And kept close from the birds of the heavens. |
| 22 | Destruction and Death say, We have heard a rumor thereof with our ears. |
| 23 | God understandeth the way thereof, And he knoweth the place thereof. |
| 24 | For he looketh to the ends of the earth, And seeth under the whole heaven; |
| 25 | To make a weight for the wind: Yea, he meteth out the waters by measure. |
| 26 | When he made a decree for the rain, And a way for the lightning of the thunder; |
| 27 | Then did he see it, and declare it; He established it, yea, and searched it out. |
| 28 | And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding. |