| King James Bible | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1Surely there is a vein for the silver, and a place for gold where they fine it. | 1Surely there is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined. |
| 2Iron is taken out of the earth, and brass is molten out of the stone. | 2Iron is taken from the ground, and copper is smelted from ore. |
| 3He setteth an end to darkness, and searcheth out all perfection: the stones of darkness, and the shadow of death. | 3A miner puts an end to the darkness; he probes the deepest recesses for ore in the gloomy darkness. |
| 4The flood breaketh out from the inhabitant; even the waters forgotten of the foot: they are dried up, they are gone away from men. | 4He cuts a shaft far from human habitation, in places unknown to those who walk above ground. Suspended far away from people, the miners swing back and forth. |
| 5As for the earth, out of it cometh bread: and under it is turned up as it were fire. | 5Food may come from the earth, but below the surface the earth is transformed as by fire. |
| 6The stones of it are the place of sapphires: and it hath dust of gold. | 6Its rocks are a source of sapphire, containing flecks of gold. |
| 7There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture's eye hath not seen: | 7No bird of prey knows that path; no falcon's eye has seen it. |
| 8The lion's whelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it. | 8Proud beasts have never walked on it; no lion has ever prowled over it. |
| 9He putteth forth his hand upon the rock; he overturneth the mountains by the roots. | 9The miner strikes the flint and transforms the mountains at their foundations. |
| 10He cutteth out rivers among the rocks; and his eye seeth every precious thing. | 10He cuts out channels in the rocks, and his eyes spot every treasure. |
| 11He bindeth the floods from overflowing; and the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light. | 11He dams up the streams from flowing so that he may bring to light what is hidden. |
| 12But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding? | 12But where can wisdom be found, and where is understanding located? |
| 13Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living. | 13No man can know its value, since it cannot be found in the land of the living. |
| 14The depth saith, It is not in me: and the sea saith, It is not with me. | 14The ocean depths say, "It's not in me," while the sea declares, "I don't have it." |
| 15It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof. | 15Gold cannot be exchanged for it, and silver cannot be weighed out for its price. |
| 16It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire. | 16Wisdom cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx or sapphire. |
| 17The gold and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold. | 17Gold and glass do not compare with it, and articles of fine gold cannot be exchanged for it. |
| 18No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies. | 18Coral and quartz are not worth mentioning. The price of wisdom is beyond pearls. |
| 19The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold. | 19Topaz from Cush cannot compare with it, and it cannot be valued in pure gold. |
| 20Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding? | 20Where then does wisdom come from, and where is understanding located? |
| 21Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air. | 21It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing and concealed from the birds of the sky. |
| 22Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears. | 22Abaddon and Death say, "We have heard news of it with our ears." |
| 23God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof. | 23But God understands the way to wisdom, and He knows its location. |
| 24For he looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven; | 24For He looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens. |
| 25To make the weight for the winds; and he weigheth the waters by measure. | 25When God fixed the weight of the wind and limited the water by measure, |
| 26When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder: | 26when He established a limit for the rain and a path for the lightning, |
| 27Then did he see it, and declare it; he prepared it, yea, and searched it out. | 27He considered wisdom and evaluated it; He established it and examined it. |
| 28And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding. | 28He said to mankind, "The fear of the Lord is this: wisdom. And to turn from evil is understanding." |
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