Where Can Wisdom Be Found?

1The siluer surely hath his veyne, and ye gold his place, where they take it.

2Yron is taken out of the dust, and brasse is molten out of the stone.

3God 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.

4The flood breaketh out against the inhabitant, and the waters forgotten of the foote, being higher then man, are gone away.

5Out of the same earth commeth bread, & vnder it, as it were fire is turned vp.

6The stones thereof are a place of saphirs, and the dust of it is golde.

7There is a path which no foule hath knowen, neyther hath the kites eye seene it.

8The lyons whelpes haue not walked it, nor the lyon passed thereby.

9He putteth his hand vpon the rockes, & ouerthroweth the mountaines by the rootes.

10He breaketh riuers in the rockes, and his eye seeth euery precious thing.

11He bindeth the floods, that they doe not ouerflowe, and the thing that is hid, bringeth he to light.

12But where is wisdome found? and where is the place of vnderstanding?

13Man knoweth not the price thereof: for it is not found in the land of the liuing.

14The depth sayth, It is not in mee: the sea also sayth, It is not with me.

15Golde shall not be giuen for it, neyther shall siluer be weighed for the price thereof.

16It shall not be valued with the wedge of golde of Ophir, nor with the precious onix, nor the saphir.

17The golde nor the chrystall shall be equall vnto it, nor the exchange shalbe for plate of fine golde.

18No mention shall be made of coral, nor of the gabish: for wisedome is more precious then pearles.

19The Topaz of Ethiopia shal not be equall vnto it, neither shall it be valued with the wedge of pure gold.

20Whence then commeth wisedome? And where is the place of vnderstanding,

21Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all the liuing, and is hid from the foules of the heauen?

22Destruction and death say, We haue heard the fame thereof with our eares.

23But God vnderstandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof.

24For he beholdeth the endes of the world, and seeth all that is vnder heauen,

25To make the weight of the windes, and to weigh the waters by measure.

26When he made a decree for the rayne, and a way for the lightening of the thunders,

27Then did he see it, and counted it: he prepared it and also considered it.

28And vnto man he said, Behold, the feare of the Lord is wisedome, and to depart from euil is vnderstanding.