| 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 smelted out of the ore. |
| 3 | Man sets an end to darkness, And searches out, to the furthest bound, The stones of obscurity and of thick darkness. |
| 4 | He breaks open a shaft away from where people live. They are forgotten by the foot. They hang far from men, they swing back and forth. |
| 5 | As for the earth, out of it comes bread; Underneath it is turned up as it were by fire. |
| 6 | Sapphires come from its rocks. It has dust of gold. |
| 7 | That path no bird of prey knows, Neither has the falcon's eye seen it. |
| 8 | The proud animals have not trodden it, Nor has the fierce lion passed by there. |
| 9 | He puts forth his hand on the flinty rock, And he overturns the mountains by the roots. |
| 10 | He cuts out channels among the rocks. His eye sees every precious thing. |
| 11 | He binds the streams that they don't trickle; The thing that is hidden he brings forth to light. |
| 12 | 'But where shall wisdom be found? Where is the place of understanding? |
| 13 | Man doesn't know its price; Neither is it found in the land of the living. |
| 14 | The deep says, 'It isn't in me.' The sea says, 'It isn't with me.' |
| 15 | It can't be gotten for gold, Neither shall silver be weighed for its price. |
| 16 | It can't be valued with the gold of Ophir, With the precious onyx, or the sapphire. |
| 17 | Gold and glass can't equal it, Neither shall it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold. |
| 18 | No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal: Yes, 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 comes wisdom? Where is the place of understanding? |
| 21 | Seeing it is hidden from the eyes of all living, And kept close from the birds of the sky. |
| 22 | Destruction and Death say, 'We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.' |
| 23 | 'God understands its way, And he knows its place. |
| 24 | For he looks to the ends of the earth, And sees under the whole sky. |
| 25 | He establishes the force of the wind; Yes, he measures 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, yes, and searched it out. |
| 28 | To man he said, 'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom. To depart from evil is understanding.'' |