| 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 from the ore. |
| 3 | Men put an end to darkness, and search out to the farthest bound the ore in gloom and deep darkness. |
| 4 | They open shafts in a valley away from where men live; they are forgotten by travelers, they hang afar from men, they swing to and fro. |
| 5 | As for the earth, out of it comes bread; but underneath it is turned up as by fire. |
| 6 | Its stones are the place of sapphires, and it has dust of gold. |
| 7 | "That path no bird of prey knows, and the falcon's eye has not seen it. |
| 8 | The proud beasts have not trodden it; the lion has not passed over it. |
| 9 | "Man puts his hand to the flinty rock, and overturns mountains by the roots. |
| 10 | He cuts out channels in the rocks, and his eye sees every precious thing. |
| 11 | He binds up the streams so that they do not trickle, and the thing that is hid he brings forth to light. |
| 12 | "But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? |
| 13 | Man does not know the way to it, and it is not found in the land of the living. |
| 14 | The deep says, `It is not in me,' and the sea says, `It is not with me.' |
| 15 | It cannot be gotten for gold, and silver cannot be weighed as its price. |
| 16 | It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx or sapphire. |
| 17 | Gold and glass cannot equal it, nor can it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold. |
| 18 | No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal; the price of wisdom is above pearls. |
| 19 | The topaz of Ethiopia cannot compare with it, nor can it be valued in pure gold. |
| 20 | "Whence then comes wisdom? And where is the place of understanding? |
| 21 | It is hid from the eyes of all living, and concealed from the birds of the air. |
| 22 | Abaddon and Death say, `We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.' |
| 23 | "God understands the way to it, and he knows its place. |
| 24 | For he looks to the ends of the earth, and sees everything under the heavens. |
| 25 | When he gave to the wind its weight, and meted 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 he saw it and declared it; he established it, and searched it out. |
| 28 | And he said to man, `Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.'" |
| 1 | And Job again took up his discourse, and said: |
| 2 | "Oh, that I were as in the months of old, as in the days when God watched over me; |
| 3 | when his lamp shone upon my head, and by his light I walked through darkness; |
| 4 | as I was in my autumn days, when the friendship of God was upon my tent; |
| 5 | when the Almighty was yet with me, when my children were about me; |
| 6 | when my steps were washed with milk, and the rock poured out for me streams of oil! |
| 7 | When I went out to the gate of the city, when I prepared my seat in the square, |
| 8 | the young men saw me and withdrew, and the aged rose and stood; |
| 9 | the princes refrained from talking, and laid their hand on their mouth; |
| 10 | the voice of the nobles was hushed, and their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth. |
| 11 | When the ear heard, it called me blessed, and when the eye saw, it approved; |
| 12 | because I delivered the poor who cried, and the fatherless who had none to help him. |
| 13 | The blessing of him who was about to perish came upon me, and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy. |
| 14 | I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my justice was like a robe and a turban. |
| 15 | I was eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame. |
| 16 | I was a father to the poor, and I searched out the cause of him whom I did not know. |
| 17 | I broke the fangs of the unrighteous, and made him drop his prey from his teeth. |
| 18 | Then I thought, `I shall die in my nest, and I shall multiply my days as the sand, |
| 19 | my roots spread out to the waters, with the dew all night on my branches, |
| 20 | my glory fresh with me, and my bow ever new in my hand.' |
| 21 | "Men listened to me, and waited, and kept silence for my counsel. |
| 22 | After I spoke they did not speak again, and my word dropped upon them. |
| 23 | They waited for me as for the rain; and they opened their mouths as for the spring rain. |
| 24 | I smiled on them when they had no confidence; and the light of my countenance they did not cast down. |
| 25 | I chose their way, and sat as chief, and I dwelt like a king among his troops, like one who comforts mourners. |
