| NET Bible | New American Standard Bible 1995 |
| 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 where they refine gold. |
| 2Iron is taken from the ground, and rock is poured out as copper. | 2"Iron is taken from the dust, And copper is smelted from rock. |
| 3Man puts an end to the darkness; he searches the farthest recesses for the ore in the deepest darkness. | 3"Man puts an end to darkness, And to the farthest limit he searches out The rock in gloom and deep shadow. |
| 4Far from where people live he sinks a shaft, in places travelers have long forgotten, far from other people he dangles and sways. | 4"He sinks a shaft far from habitation, Forgotten by the foot; They hang and swing to and fro far from men. |
| 5The earth, from which food comes, is overturned below as though by fire; | 5"The earth, from it comes food, And underneath it is turned up as fire. |
| 6a place whose stones are sapphires and which contains dust of gold; | 6"Its rocks are the source of sapphires, And its dust contains gold. |
| 7a hidden path no bird of prey knows--no falcon's eye has spotted it. | 7"The path no bird of prey knows, Nor has the falcon's eye caught sight of it. |
| 8Proud beasts have not set foot on it, and no lion has passed along it. | 8"The proud beasts have not trodden it, Nor has the fierce lion passed over it. |
| 9On the flinty rock man has set to work with his hand; he has overturned mountains at their bases. | 9"He puts his hand on the flint; He overturns the mountains at the base. |
| 10He has cut out channels through the rocks; his eyes have spotted every precious thing. | 10"He hews out channels through the rocks, And his eye sees anything precious. |
| 11He has searched the sources of the rivers and what was hidden he has brought into the light. | 11"He dams up the streams from flowing, And what is hidden he brings out to the light. |
| 12"But wisdom--where can it be found? Where is the place of understanding? | 12"But where can 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. | 13"Man does not know its value, Nor is it found in the land of the living. |
| 14The deep says, 'It is not with me.' And the sea says, 'It is not with me.' | 14"The 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. | 15"Pure gold cannot be given in exchange for it, Nor can silver be weighed as its price. |
| 16It cannot be measured out for purchase with the gold of Ophir, with precious onyx or sapphires. | 16"It 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. | 17"Gold or glass cannot equal it, Nor can it be exchanged for articles of fine gold. |
| 18Of coral and jasper no mention will be made; the price of wisdom is more than pearls. | 18"Coral and crystal are not to be mentioned; And the acquisition of wisdom is above that of pearls. |
| 19The topaz of Cush cannot be compared with it; it cannot be purchased with pure gold. | 19"The 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"Where then does wisdom come from? 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. | 21"Thus it is hidden from the eyes of all living And concealed from the birds of the sky. |
| 22Destruction and Death say, 'With our ears we have heard a rumor about where it can be found.' | 22"Abaddon and Death say, 'With our ears we have heard a report of it.' |
| 23God understands the way to it, and he alone knows its place. | 23"God understands its way, And He knows its place. |
| 24For he looks to the ends of the earth and observes everything under the heavens. | 24"For 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. | 25"When He imparted weight to the wind And meted out the waters by measure, |
| 26When he imposed a limit for the rain, and a path for the thunderstorm, | 26When He set a limit for the rain And a course for the thunderbolt, |
| 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 also searched it out. |
| 28And he said to mankind, 'The fear of the LORD--that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.'" | 28"And to man He said, 'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding.'" |
| NET Bible copyright © 1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. //netbible.com. Used by permission. All rights reserved. | New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org |
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