28:1 "Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place for gold that they refine. 28:2 Iron is taken out of the earth, and copper is smelted from the ore. 28:3 Man puts an end to darkness and searches out to the farthest limit the ore in gloom and deep darkness. 28:4 He opens shafts in a valley away from where anyone lives; they are forgotten by travelers; they hang in the air, far away from mankind; they swing to and fro. 28:5 As for the earth, out of it comes bread, but underneath it is turned up as by fire. 28:6 Its stones are the place of sapphires, and it has dust of gold. 28:7 "That path no bird of prey knows, and the falcon's eye has not seen it. 28:8 The proud beasts have not trodden it; the lion has not passed over it. 28:9 "Man puts his hand to the flinty rock and overturns mountains by the roots. 28:10 He cuts out channels in the rocks, and his eye sees every precious thing. 28:11 He dams up the streams so that they do not trickle, and the thing that is hidden he brings out to light. 28:12 "But where shall wisdom be found And where is the place of understanding 28:13 Man does not know its worth, and it is not found in the land of the living. 28:14 The deep says, 'It is not in me,' and the sea says, 'It is not with me.' 28:15 It cannot be bought for gold, and silver cannot be weighed as its price. 28:16 It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx or sapphire. 28:17 Gold and glass cannot equal it, nor can it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold. 28:18 No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal; the price of wisdom is above pearls. 28:19 The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it, nor can it be valued in pure gold. 28:20 "From where, then, does wisdom come And where is the place of understanding 28:21 It is hidden from the eyes of all living and concealed from the birds of the air. 28:22 Abaddon and Death say, 'We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.' 28:23 "God understands the way to it, and he knows its place. 28:24 For he looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens. 28:25 When he gave to the wind its weight and apportioned the waters by measure, 28:26 when he made a decree for the rain and a way for the lightning of the thunder, 28:27 then he saw it and declared it; he established it, and searched it out. 28:28 And he said to man, 'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.'"