Job Continues
Gold and Silver Are Mined
1Gold and silver are mined,
then purified;
2the same is done
with iron and copper.
3Miners carry lanterns
deep into the darkness
to search for these metals.
4They dig tunnels
in distant, unknown places,
where they dangle by ropes.
5Far beneath the grain fields,
fires are built
to break loose those rocks
6that have jewels or gold.
7Miners go to places unseen
by the eyes of hawks;
8they walk on soil unknown
to the proudest lions.
9With their own hands
they remove sharp rocks
and uproot mountains.
10They dig through the rocks
in search of jewels
and precious metals.
11They also uncover
the sources of rivers
and discover secret places.
Where Is Wisdom Found?
12 But where is wisdom found?
13 No human knows the way.
14Nor can it be discovered
in the deepest sea.
* 15It is worth much more
than silver or pure gold
16or precious stones.
17Nothing is its equal—
not gold or costly glass.
18Wisdom is worth much more than
coral, jasper, or rubies.
19All the topaz of Ethiopia
and the finest gold
cannot compare with it.
20Where then is wisdom?
21It is hidden from human eyes
and even from birds.
22Death and destruction
have merely heard rumors
about where it is found.
23 God is the only one who knows
the way to wisdom;
24he alone sees everything
beneath the heavens.
25When God divided out
the wind and the water,
26and when he decided the path
for rain and lightning,
27 he also determined the truth
and defined wisdom.
28 God told us, “Wisdom means
that you respect me, the Lord,
and turn from sin.”