< Job 28 >

1 The siluer surely hath his veyne, and ye gold his place, where they take it.
Surely there is for silver a source, And a place for the gold they refine;
2 Yron is taken out of the dust, and brasse is molten out of the stone.
Iron from the dust is taken, And [from] the firm stone brass.
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.
An end hath he set to darkness, And to all perfection he is searching, A stone of darkness and death-shade.
4 The flood breaketh out against the inhabitant, and the waters forgotten of the foote, being higher then man, are gone away.
A stream hath broken out from a sojourner, Those forgotten of the foot, They were low, from man they wandered.
5 Out of the same earth commeth bread, and vnder it, as it were fire is turned vp.
The earth! from it cometh forth bread, And its under-part is turned like fire.
6 The stones thereof are a place of saphirs, and the dust of it is golde.
A place of the sapphire [are] its stones, And it hath dust of gold.
7 There is a path which no foule hath knowen, neyther hath the kites eye seene it.
A path — not known it hath a ravenous fowl, Nor scorched it hath an eye of the kite,
8 The lyons whelpes haue not walked it, nor the lyon passed thereby.
Nor trodden it have the sons of pride, Not passed over it hath the fierce lion.
9 He putteth his hand vpon the rockes, and ouerthroweth the mountaines by the rootes.
Against the flint he sent forth his hand, He overturned from the root mountains.
10 He breaketh riuers in the rockes, and his eye seeth euery precious thing.
Among rocks, brooks he hath cleaved, And every precious thing hath his eye seen.
11 He bindeth the floods, that they doe not ouerflowe, and the thing that is hid, bringeth he to light.
From overflowing floods he hath bound, And the hidden thing bringeth out [to] light.
12 But where is wisdome found? and where is the place of vnderstanding?
And the wisdom — whence is it found? And where [is] this, the place of understanding?
13 Man knoweth not the price thereof: for it is not found in the land of the liuing.
Man hath not known its arrangement, Nor is it 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 hath said, 'It [is] not in me,' And the sea hath said, 'It is not with me.'
15 Golde shall not be giuen for it, neyther shall siluer be weighed for the price thereof.
Gold is not given for it, Nor is silver weighed — its price.
16 It shall not be valued with the wedge of golde of Ophir, nor with the precious onix, nor the saphir.
It is not valued with pure gold of Ophir, With precious onyx and sapphire,
17 The golde nor the chrystall shall be equall vnto it, nor the exchange shalbe for plate of fine golde.
Not equal it do gold and crystal, Nor [is] its exchange a vessel of fine gold.
18 No mention shall be made of coral, nor of the gabish: for wisedome is more precious then pearles.
Corals and pearl are not remembered, The acquisition of wisdom [is] above rubies.
19 The Topaz of Ethiopia shall not be equall vnto it, neither shall it be valued with the wedge of pure gold.
Not equal it doth the topaz of Cush, With pure gold it is not valued.
20 Whence then commeth wisedome? and where is the place of vnderstanding,
And the wisdom — whence doth it come? And where [is] this, 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?
It hath been hid from the eyes of all living. And from the fowl of the heavens It hath been hidden.
22 Destruction and death say, We haue heard the fame thereof with our eares.
Destruction and death have said: 'With our ears we have heard its fame.'
23 But God vnderstandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof.
God hath understood its way, And He hath known its place.
24 For he beholdeth the endes of the world, and seeth all that is vnder heauen,
For He to the ends of the earth doth look, Under the whole heavens He doth see,
25 To make the weight of the windes, and to weigh the waters by measure.
To make for the wind a weight, And the waters He meted out in measure.
26 When he made a decree for the rayne, and a way for the lightening of the thunders,
In His making for the rain a limit, And a way for the brightness of the voices,
27 Then did he see it, and counted it: he prepared it and also considered it.
Then He hath seen and declareth it, He hath prepared it, and also searched it out,
28 And vnto man he said, Behold, the feare of the Lord is wisedome, and to depart from euil is vnderstanding.
And He saith to man: — 'Lo, fear of the Lord, that [is] wisdom, And to turn from evil [is] understanding.'

< Job 28 >