< Job 28 >

1 The siluer surely hath his veyne, and ye gold his place, where they take it.
Truly there is a vein for silver, And a place for gold, which men refine.
2 Yron is taken out of the dust, and brasse is molten out of the stone.
Iron is obtained from earth, And stone is melted into copper.
3 God putteth an end to darkenesse, and he tryeth the perfection of all things: he setteth a bond of darkenesse, and of the shadowe of death.
Man putteth an end to darkness; He searcheth to the lowest depths For the stone of darkness and the shadow of death.
4 The flood breaketh out against the inhabitant, and the waters forgotten of the foote, being higher then man, are gone away.
From the place where they dwell they open a shaft; Forgotten by the feet, They hang down, they swing away from men.
5 Out of the same earth commeth bread, and vnder it, as it were fire is turned vp.
The earth, out of which cometh bread, Is torn up underneath, as it were by fire.
6 The stones thereof are a place of saphirs, and the dust of it is golde.
Her stones are the place of sapphires, And she hath clods of gold for man.
7 There is a path which no foule hath knowen, neyther hath the kites eye seene it.
The path thereto no bird knoweth, And the vulture's eye hath not seen it;
8 The lyons whelpes haue not walked it, nor the lyon passed thereby.
The fierce wild beast hath not trodden it; The lion hath not passed over it.
9 He putteth his hand vpon the rockes, and ouerthroweth the mountaines by the rootes.
Man layeth his hand upon the rock; He upturneth mountains from their roots;
10 He breaketh riuers in the rockes, and his eye seeth euery precious thing.
He cleaveth out streams in the rocks, And his eye seeth every precious thing;
11 He bindeth the floods, that they doe not ouerflowe, and the thing that is hid, bringeth he to light.
He bindeth up the streams, that they trickle not, And bringeth hidden things to light.
12 But where is wisdome found? and where is the place of vnderstanding?
But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?
13 Man knoweth not the price thereof: for it is not found in the land of the liuing.
Man knoweth not the price thereof, Nor can it be found in the land of the living.
14 The depth sayth, It is not in mee: the sea also sayth, It is not with me.
The deep saith, It is not in me; And the sea saith, It is not with me.
15 Golde shall not be giuen for it, neyther shall siluer be weighed for the price thereof.
It cannot be gotten for gold, Nor shall silver be weighed out as the price thereof.
16 It shall not be valued with the wedge of golde of Ophir, nor with the precious onix, nor the saphir.
It cannot be bought with the gold of Ophir, With the precious onyx or the sapphire.
17 The golde nor the chrystall shall be equall vnto it, nor the exchange shalbe for plate of fine golde.
Gold and crystal are not to be compared with it; Nor can it be purchased with jewels of fine gold.
18 No mention shall be made of coral, nor of the gabish: for wisedome is more precious then pearles.
No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal; For wisdom is more precious than pearls.
19 The Topaz of Ethiopia shall not be equall vnto it, neither shall it be valued with the wedge of pure gold.
The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it, Nor can it be purchased with pure gold.
20 Whence then commeth wisedome? and where is the place of vnderstanding,
Whence then cometh wisdom? And where is the place of understanding?
21 Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all the liuing, and is hid from the foules of the heauen?
Since it is hidden from the eyes of all living, And kept close from the fowls of the air.
22 Destruction and death say, We haue heard the fame thereof with our eares.
Destruction and Death say, We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.
23 But God vnderstandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof.
God knoweth the way to it; He knoweth its dwelling-place.
24 For he beholdeth the endes of the world, and seeth all that is vnder heauen,
For he seeth to the ends of the earth, And surveyeth all things under the whole heaven.
25 To make the weight of the windes, and to weigh the waters by measure.
When he gave the winds their weight, And meted out the waters by measure;
26 When he made a decree for the rayne, and a way for the lightening of the thunders,
When he prescribed a law to the rain, And a path to the thunder-flash, —
27 Then did he see it, and counted it: he prepared it and also considered it.
Then did he see it, and make it known; He established it, and searched it out.
28 And vnto man he said, Behold, the feare of the Lord is wisedome, and to depart from euil is vnderstanding.
But he said unto man, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, And to depart from evil is understanding.

< Job 28 >