The Earth's Treasures
1Surely there is a vein for the silver, and a place for gold where they fine it.
2Iron is taken out of the earth, and brass is molten out of the stone.
3He setteth an end to darkness, and searcheth out all perfection: the stones of darkness, and the shadow of death.
4The flood breaketh out from the inhabitant; even the waters forgotten of the foot: they are dried up, they are gone away from men.
5As for the earth, out of it cometh bread: and under it is turned up as it were fire.
6The stones of it are the place of sapphires: and it hath dust of gold.
7There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture's eye hath not seen:
8The lion's whelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it.
9He putteth forth his hand upon the rock; he overturneth the mountains by the roots.
10He cutteth out rivers among the rocks; and his eye seeth every precious thing.
11He bindeth the floods from overflowing; and the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light.
Wisdom an Excellent Gift of God
12But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding?
13Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living.
14The depth saith, It is not in me: and the sea saith, It is not with me.
15It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof.
16It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire.
17The gold and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold.
18No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies.
19The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold.
20Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding?
21Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air.
22Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears.
23God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof.
24For he looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven;
25To make the weight for the winds; and he weigheth the waters by measure.
26When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder:
27Then did he see it, and declare it; he prepared it, yea, and searched it out.
28And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.
King James Bible
Text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.
Where Can Wisdom Be Found?
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 out of the ore.
3 Man sets an end to darkness, and searches out, to the furthest bound, the stones of obscurity and of thick darkness.
4 He breaks open a shaft away from where people live. They are forgotten by the foot. They hang far from men, they swing back and forth.
5 As for the earth, out of it comes bread; Underneath it is turned up as it were by fire.
6 Sapphires come from its rocks. It has dust of gold.
7 That path no bird of prey knows, neither has the falcon’s eye seen it.
8 The proud animals have not trodden it, nor has the fierce lion passed by there.
9 He puts forth his hand on the flinty rock, and he overturns the mountains by the roots.
10 He cuts out channels among the rocks. His eye sees every precious thing.
11 He binds the streams that they don’t trickle. The thing that is hidden he brings forth to light.
12 “But where shall wisdom be found? Where is the place of understanding?
13 Man doesn’t know its price; Neither is it found in the land of the living.
14 The deep says, ‘It isn’t in me.’ The sea says, ‘It isn’t with me.’
15 It can’t be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for its price.
16 It can’t be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire.
17 Gold and glass can’t equal it, neither shall it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.
18 No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal. Yes, the price of wisdom is above rubies.
19 The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, Neither shall it be valued with pure gold.
20 Where then does wisdom come from? Where is the place of understanding?
21 Seeing it is hidden from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the birds of the sky.
22 Destruction and Death say, ‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’
23 “God understands its way, and he knows its place.
24 For he looks to the ends of the earth, and sees under the whole sky.
25 He establishes the force of the wind. Yes, he measures 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, yes, and searched it out.
28 To man he said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom. To depart from evil is understanding.’”
Where Can Wisdom Be Found?
1 “Surely there is a mine for silver
and a place where gold is refined.
2 Iron is taken from the earth,
and copper is smelted from ore.
3 Man puts an end to the darkness;
he probes the farthest recesses
for ore in deepest darkness.
4 Far from human habitation he cuts a shaft
in places forgotten by the foot of man.
Far from men he dangles and sways.
5 Food may come from the earth,
but from below it is transformed as by fire.
6 Its rocks are the source of sapphires,
containing flecks of gold.
7 No bird of prey knows that path;
no falcon’s eye has seen it.
8 Proud beasts have never trodden it;
no lion has ever prowled over it.
9 The miner strikes the flint;
he overturns mountains at their base.
10 He hews out channels in the rocks,
and his eyes spot every treasure.
11 He stops up a the sources of the streams
to bring what is hidden to light.
12 But where can wisdom be found,
and where does understanding dwell?
13 No man can know its value,
nor is it found in the land of the living.
14 The ocean depths say, ‘It is not in me,’
while the sea declares, ‘It is not with me.’
15 It cannot be bought with gold,
nor can its price be weighed out in silver.
16 It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,
in precious onyx or sapphire.
17 Neither gold nor crystal can compare to it,
nor jewels of fine gold be exchanged for it.
18 Coral and quartz are unworthy of mention;
the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.
19 Topaz from Cush b cannot compare to it,
nor can it be valued in pure gold.
20 From where then does wisdom come,
and where does understanding dwell?
21 It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing
and concealed from the birds of the air.
22 Abaddon c and Death say,
‘We have heard a rumor about it.’
23 But God understands its way,
and He knows its place.
24 For He looks to the ends of the earth
and sees everything under the heavens.
25 When God fixed the weight of the wind
and measured out the waters,
26 when He set a limit for the rain
and a path for the thunderbolt,
27 then He looked at wisdom and appraised 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 turn away from evil is understanding.’ ”
Footnotes:
11 a Hebrew; LXX and Vulgate He searches
19 b That is, the upper Nile region
22 c Abaddon means Destruction .
The Earth's Treasures
1Surely there is for silver a source, And a place for the gold they refine;
2Iron from the dust is taken, And from the firm stone brass.
3An end hath he set to darkness, And to all perfection he is searching, A stone of darkness and death-shade.
4A stream hath broken out from a sojourner, Those forgotten of the foot, They were low, from man they wandered.
5The earth! from it cometh forth bread, And its under-part is turned like fire.
6A place of the sapphire are its stones, And it hath dust of gold.
7A path -- not known it hath a ravenous fowl, Nor scorched it hath an eye of the kite,
8Nor trodden it have the sons of pride, Not passed over it hath the fierce lion.
9Against the flint he sent forth his hand, He overturned from the root mountains.
10Among rocks, brooks he hath cleaved, And every precious thing hath his eye seen.
11From overflowing floods he hath bound, And the hidden thing bringeth out to light.
Wisdom an Excellent Gift of God
12And the wisdom -- whence is it found? And where is this, the place of understanding?
13Man hath not known its arrangement, Nor is it found in the land of the living.
14The deep hath said, 'It is not in me,' And the sea hath said, 'It is not with me.'
15Gold is not given for it, Nor is silver weighed -- its price.
16It is not valued with pure gold of Ophir, With precious onyx and sapphire,
17Not equal it do gold and crystal, Nor is its exchange a vessel of fine gold.
18Corals and pearl are not remembered, The acquisition of wisdom is above rubies.
19Not equal it doth the topaz of Cush, With pure gold it is not valued.
20And the wisdom -- whence doth it come? And where is this, the place of understanding?
21It hath been hid from the eyes of all living. And from the fowl of the heavens It hath been hidden.
22Destruction and death have said: 'With our ears we have heard its fame.'
23God hath understood its way, And He hath known its place.
24For He to the ends of the earth doth look, Under the whole heavens He doth see,
25To make for the wind a weight, And the waters He meted out in measure.
26In His making for the rain a limit, And a way for the brightness of the voices,
27Then He hath seen and declareth it, He hath prepared it, and also searched it out,
28And He saith to man: -- 'Lo, fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, And to turn from evil is understanding.'
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