| King James Bible | NET Bible |
| 1Surely there is a vein for the silver, and a place for gold where they fine it. | 1"Surely 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 rock is poured out as copper. |
| 3He setteth an end to darkness, and searcheth out all perfection: the stones of darkness, and the shadow of death. | 3Man puts an end to the darkness; he searches the farthest recesses for the ore in the deepest 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. | 4Far from where people live he sinks a shaft, in places travelers have long forgotten, far from other people he dangles and sways. |
| 5As for the earth, out of it cometh bread: and under it is turned up as it were fire. | 5The earth, from which food comes, is overturned below as though by fire; |
| 6The stones of it are the place of sapphires: and it hath dust of gold. | 6a place whose stones are sapphires and which contains dust of gold; |
| 7There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture's eye hath not seen: | 7a hidden path no bird of prey knows--no falcon's eye has spotted it. |
| 8The lion's whelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it. | 8Proud beasts have not set foot on it, and no lion has passed along it. |
| 9He putteth forth his hand upon the rock; he overturneth the mountains by the roots. | 9On the flinty rock man has set to work with his hand; he has overturned mountains at their bases. |
| 10He cutteth out rivers among the rocks; and his eye seeth every precious thing. | 10He has cut out channels through the rocks; his eyes have spotted every precious thing. |
| 11He bindeth the floods from overflowing; and the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light. | 11He has searched the sources of the rivers and what was hidden he has brought into the light. |
| 12But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding? | 12"But wisdom--where can it be found? Where is the place of understanding? |
| 13Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living. | 13Mankind does not know its place; 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 deep says, 'It is not with me.' And the sea says, 'It is not with me.' |
| 15It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof. | 15Fine gold cannot be given in exchange for it, nor can its price be weighed out in silver. |
| 16It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire. | 16It cannot be measured out for purchase with the gold of Ophir, with precious onyx or sapphires. |
| 17The gold and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold. | 17Neither gold nor crystal can be compared with it, nor can a vase of gold match its worth. |
| 18No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies. | 18Of coral and jasper no mention will be made; the price of wisdom is more than pearls. |
| 19The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold. | 19The topaz of Cush cannot be compared with it; it cannot be purchased with pure gold. |
| 20Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding? | 20"But wisdom--where does it come from? 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. | 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, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears. | 22Destruction and Death say, 'With our ears we have heard a rumor about where it can be found.' |
| 23God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof. | 23God understands the way to it, and he alone knows its place. |
| 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 observes everything under the heavens. |
| 25To make the weight for the winds; and he weigheth the waters by measure. | 25When he made the force of the wind and measured the waters with a gauge. |
| 26When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder: | 26When he imposed a limit for the rain, and a path for the thunderstorm, |
| 27Then did he see it, and declare it; he prepared it, yea, and searched it out. | 27then he looked at wisdom and assessed its value; he established it and examined it closely. |
| 28And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding. | 28And he said to mankind, 'The fear of the LORD--that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.'" |
|
