| NET Bible | English Standard Version |
| 1"Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. | 1“Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place for gold that they refine. |
| 2Iron is taken from the ground, and rock is poured out as copper. | 2Iron is taken out of the earth, and copper is smelted from the ore. |
| 3Man puts an end to the darkness; he searches the farthest recesses for the ore in the deepest darkness. | 3Man puts an end to darkness and searches out to the farthest limit the ore in gloom and deep darkness. |
| 4Far from where people live he sinks a shaft, in places travelers have long forgotten, far from other people he dangles and sways. | 4He opens shafts in a valley away from where anyone lives; they are forgotten by travelers; they hang in the air, far away from mankind; they swing to and fro. |
| 5The earth, from which food comes, is overturned below as though by fire; | 5As for the earth, out of it comes bread, but underneath it is turned up as by fire. |
| 6a place whose stones are sapphires and which contains dust of gold; | 6Its stones are the place of sapphires, and it has dust of gold. |
| 7a hidden path no bird of prey knows--no falcon's eye has spotted it. | 7“That path no bird of prey knows, and the falcon’s eye has not seen it. |
| 8Proud beasts have not set foot on it, and no lion has passed along it. | 8The proud beasts have not trodden it; the lion has not passed over it. |
| 9On the flinty rock man has set to work with his hand; he has overturned mountains at their bases. | 9“Man puts his hand to the flinty rock and overturns mountains by the roots. |
| 10He has cut out channels through the rocks; his eyes have spotted every precious thing. | 10He cuts out channels in the rocks, and his eye sees every precious thing. |
| 11He has searched the sources of the rivers and what was hidden he has brought into the light. | 11He dams up the streams so that they do not trickle, and the thing that is hidden he brings out to light. |
| 12"But wisdom--where can it be found? Where is the place of understanding? | 12“But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? |
| 13Mankind does not know its place; it cannot be found in the land of the living. | 13Man does not know its worth, and it is not found in the land of the living. |
| 14The deep says, 'It is not with me.' And the sea says, 'It is not with me.' | 14The deep says, ‘It is not in 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. | 15It cannot be bought for gold, and silver cannot be weighed as its price. |
| 16It cannot be measured out for purchase with the gold of Ophir, with precious onyx or sapphires. | 16It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx or sapphire. |
| 17Neither gold nor crystal can be compared with it, nor can a vase of gold match its worth. | 17Gold and glass cannot equal it, nor can it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold. |
| 18Of coral and jasper no mention will be made; the price of wisdom is more than pearls. | 18No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal; the price of wisdom is above pearls. |
| 19The topaz of Cush cannot be compared with it; it cannot be purchased with pure gold. | 19The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it, nor can it be valued in pure gold. |
| 20"But wisdom--where does it come from? Where is the place of understanding? | 20“From where, then, does wisdom come? And 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. | 21It is hidden from the eyes of all living and concealed from the birds of the air. |
| 22Destruction and Death say, 'With our ears we have heard a rumor about where it can be found.' | 22Abaddon and Death say, ‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’ |
| 23God understands the way to it, and he alone knows its place. | 23“God understands the way to it, and he knows its place. |
| 24For he looks to the ends of the earth and observes everything under the heavens. | 24For he looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens. |
| 25When he made the force of the wind and measured the waters with a gauge. | 25When he gave to the wind its weight and apportioned the waters by measure, |
| 26When he imposed a limit for the rain, and a path for the thunderstorm, | 26when he made a decree for the rain and a way for the lightning of the thunder, |
| 27then he looked at wisdom and assessed its value; he established it and examined it closely. | 27then he saw it and declared it; he established it, and searched it out. |
| 28And he said to mankind, 'The fear of the LORD--that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.'" | 28And he said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’” |
|
