III. Job’s Search for Wisdom (28:1-28)

No Known Road to Wisdom

1“Surely there is a mine for silver,

and a place where gold is refined.

2Iron is taken from the ground,

and rock is poured out as copper.

3Man puts an end to the darkness;

he searches the farthest recesses

for the ore in the deepest darkness.

4Far from where people live he sinks a shaft,

in places travelers have long forgotten,

far from other people he dangles and sways.

5The earth, from which food comes,

is overturned below as though by fire;

6a place whose stones are sapphires

and which contains dust of gold;

7a hidden path no bird of prey knows –

no falcon’s eye has spotted it.

8Proud beasts have not set foot on it,

and no lion has passed along it.

9On the flinty rock man has set to work with his hand;

he has overturned mountains at their bases.

10He has cut out channels through the rocks;

his eyes have spotted every precious thing.

11He has searched the sources of the rivers

and what was hidden he has brought into the light.

No Price Can Buy Wisdom

12“But wisdom – where can it be found?

Where is the place of understanding?

13Mankind does not know its place;

it cannot be found in the land of the living.

14The deep says, ‘It is not with me.’

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

15Fine gold cannot be given in exchange for it,

nor can its price be weighed out in silver.

16It cannot be measured out for purchase with the gold of Ophir,

with precious onyx or sapphires.

17Neither gold nor crystal can be compared with it,

nor can a vase of gold match its worth.

18Of coral and jasper no mention will be made;

the price of wisdom is more than pearls.

19The topaz of Cush cannot be compared with it;

it cannot be purchased with pure gold.

God Alone Has Wisdom

20“But wisdom – where does it come from?

Where is the place of understanding?

21For it has been hidden

from the eyes of every living creature,

and from the birds of the sky it has been concealed.

22Destruction and Death say,

‘With our ears we have heard a rumor about where it can be found.’

23God understands the way to it,

and he alone knows its place.

24For he looks to the ends of the earth

and observes everything under the heavens.

25When he made the force of the wind

and measured the waters with a gauge.

26When he imposed a limit for the rain,

and a path for the thunderstorm,

27then he looked at wisdom and assessed its value;

he established it and examined it closely.

28And he said to mankind,

‘The fear of the Lord – that is wisdom,

and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”