| New King James Version | International Standard Version |
| 1“Surely there is a mine for silver, And a place where gold is refined. | 1"Surely there are mines for silver and places where gold is refined. |
| 2Iron is taken from the earth, And copper is smelted from ore. | 2Iron is taken from the ground; and copper is smelted from ore. |
| 3Man puts an end to darkness, And searches every recess For ore in the darkness and the shadow of death. | 3Mankind limits the darkness as they search the deepest depths for ore in unfathomable darkness. |
| 4He breaks open a shaft away from people; In places forgotten by feet They hang far away from men; They swing to and fro. | 4He sinks his shaft far from human habitations, in a place forgotten by explorers; they hang on harnesses as they swing back and forth. |
| 5As for the earth, from it comes bread, But underneath it is turned up as by fire; | 5"While the ground produces food, underneath it is torn up and burning hot, |
| 6Its stones are the source of sapphires, And it contains gold dust. | 6where stones are sapphire and gold dust can be found, |
| 7That path no bird knows, Nor has the falcon’s eye seen it. | 7a place where birds of prey never fly, and the eyes of the falcon have never seen. |
| 8The proud lions have not trodden it, Nor has the fierce lion passed over it. | 8The proud beasts haven't walked there; lions have never passed over it. |
| 9He puts his hand on the flint; He overturns the mountains at the roots. | 9"Using a flint, he thrusts his hand, overturning mountains by the roots. |
| 10He cuts out channels in the rocks, And his eye sees every precious thing. | 10He cuts a channel through the rocks, while his eyes search for anything of value. |
| 11He dams up the streams from trickling; What is hidden he brings forth to light. | 11He dams up flowing rivers, bringing hidden things to light." |
| 12“But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? | 12"Where can wisdom be found? Where is understanding's home? |
| 13Man does not know its value, Nor is it found in the land of the living. | 13Mankind doesn't appreciate their value; and you won't find it anywhere on earth. |
| 14The deep says, ‘It is not in me’; And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’ | 14The deepest ocean says, 'It's not within me.' and the sea says, 'You'll never find it with me.' |
| 15It cannot be purchased for gold, Nor can silver be weighed for its price. | 15You can't buy it with gold, and its value cannot be calculated in silver. |
| 16It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, In precious onyx or sapphire. | 16It cannot be compared to gold from Ophir, with precious onyx, or with sapphire. |
| 17Neither gold nor crystal can equal it, Nor can it be exchanged for jewelry of fine gold. | 17It cannot be compared to gold and fine glass crystal, nor can it be exchanged for gold-plated weaponry. |
| 18No mention shall be made of coral or quartz, For the price of wisdom is above rubies. | 18Don't even bother to mention coral and crystal— wisdom is more valuable than a bag of rubies. |
| 19The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it, Nor can it be valued in pure gold. | 19It can neither be compared with the topaz of Ethiopia nor valued in comparison to pure gold." |
| 20“From where then does wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding? | 20"From where, then, does wisdom originate? Where does understanding live? |
| 21It is hidden from the eyes of all living, And concealed from the birds of the air. | 21It has been concealed from the sight of every living creature and hidden even from the birds in the skies. |
| 22Destruction and Death say, ‘We have heard a report about it with our ears.’ | 22Abaddon and death said, 'We did hear a rumor about it.' |
| 23God understands its way, And He knows its place. | 23God understands how to get there; he knows where they live. |
| 24For He looks to the ends of the earth, And sees under the whole heavens, | 24For he looks as far as the ends of the earth and sees everything under the sky. |
| 25To establish a weight for the wind, And apportion the waters by measure. | 25"He imparted weight to the wind; he regulated water by his measurement. |
| 26When He made a law for the rain, And a path for the thunderbolt, | 26He set in place ordinances for the rain; and determined the pathway for thunder that accompanies lightning. |
| 27Then He saw wisdom and declared it; He prepared it, indeed, He searched it out. | 27Then he looked at wisdom, and fixed it in place; he established it, and also examined it. |
| 28And to man He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, And to depart from evil is understanding.’ ” | 28He has commanded mankind: 'To fear the Lord—that is wisdom; to move away from evil—that is understanding.'" |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. |
|
