Job 28 — The Holy Bible

The Richness of the Earth

“Indeed, there is a place for silver, from whence it comes,

And a place for gold, from whence it is refined.

Certainly, iron is taken from the earth,

And copper is hewn out like a stone.

He set an order to darkness

And examines accurately every limit.

A stone is darkness and the shadow of death.

There is a narrow channel of the brook because of dust;

So those who forget the right way

Are weakened because of mortal men.

As for the earth, from it will come bread,

But underneath, it is turned up as by fire;

Its stones are the source of sapphires,

And its dust contains gold.

There is a path no bird knows,

Nor has the eye of a vulture seen it.

The sons of the arrogant have not trodden it,

Nor has the lion passed over it.

He has stretched forth his hand to quarry stones

And has overturned the mountains by the roots.

He has broken asunder the whirlpools of rivers,

And my eye has seen every valued thing.

He has uncovered the depths of the rivers

And has brought his power to light.

Where Is Wisdom Found?

“But where can wisdom be found?

What is the place of understanding?

Mortal man has not known its way,

Nor is it found among men.

The deep said, ‘It is not in me’;

And the sea said, ‘It is not with me.’

One shall not give massive piles of gold instead of it,

Nor can silver be weighed in exchange for it.

It cannot be compared with the gold of Ophir,

With the precious onyx or sapphire.

Neither gold nor crystal will equal it,

Nor can it be exchanged for vessels of gold.

No mention shall be made of coral and quartz,

But you must hold up wisdom above the most valued things.

The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it,

Nor can it be compared with pure gold.

“From where then is wisdom found,

And what is the place of understanding?

It has been hidden from every man

And concealed from the birds of the sky.

Destruction and Death said,

‘We have heard about its fame.’

God has well established its way,

And He knows its place.

For He watches over the whole earth under heaven,

Knowing the things in the earth, all He has made—

The weight of the winds and the measures of the water.

When He made them, He numbered them

And made a way for the claps of thunder.

Then He saw wisdom and declared it;

He prepared it and traced it out.

He said to man, ‘behold, the fear of God is wisdom,

And to abstain from evils is understanding.’”