| NET Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1"Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. | 1“People know where to mine silver and how to refine gold. |
| 2Iron is taken from the ground, and rock is poured out as copper. | 2They know where to dig iron from the earth and how to smelt copper from rock. |
| 3Man puts an end to the darkness; he searches the farthest recesses for the ore in the deepest darkness. | 3They know how to shine light in the darkness and explore the farthest regions of the earth as they search in the dark for ore. |
| 4Far from where people live he sinks a shaft, in places travelers have long forgotten, far from other people he dangles and sways. | 4They sink a mine shaft into the earth far from where anyone lives. They descend on ropes, swinging back and forth. |
| 5The earth, from which food comes, is overturned below as though by fire; | 5Food is grown on the earth above, but down below, the earth is melted as by fire. |
| 6a place whose stones are sapphires and which contains dust of gold; | 6Here the rocks contain precious lapis lazuli, and the dust contains gold. |
| 7a hidden path no bird of prey knows--no falcon's eye has spotted it. | 7These are treasures no bird of prey can see, no falcon’s eye observe. |
| 8Proud beasts have not set foot on it, and no lion has passed along it. | 8No wild animal has walked upon these treasures; no lion has ever set his paw there. |
| 9On the flinty rock man has set to work with his hand; he has overturned mountains at their bases. | 9People know how to tear apart flinty rocks and overturn the roots of mountains. |
| 10He has cut out channels through the rocks; his eyes have spotted every precious thing. | 10They cut tunnels in the rocks and uncover precious stones. |
| 11He has searched the sources of the rivers and what was hidden he has brought into the light. | 11They dam up the trickling streams and bring to light the hidden treasures. |
| 12"But wisdom--where can it be found? Where is the place of understanding? | 12“But do people know where to find wisdom? Where can they find understanding? |
| 13Mankind does not know its place; it cannot be found in the land of the living. | 13No one knows where to find it, for it is not found among the living. |
| 14The deep says, 'It is not with me.' And the sea says, 'It is not with me.' | 14‘It is not here,’ says the ocean. ‘Nor is it here,’ says the sea. |
| 15Fine gold cannot be given in exchange for it, nor can its price be weighed out in silver. | 15It cannot be bought with gold. It cannot be purchased with silver. |
| 16It cannot be measured out for purchase with the gold of Ophir, with precious onyx or sapphires. | 16It’s worth more than all the gold of Ophir, greater than precious onyx or lapis lazuli. |
| 17Neither gold nor crystal can be compared with it, nor can a vase of gold match its worth. | 17Wisdom is more valuable than gold and crystal. It cannot be purchased with jewels mounted in fine gold. |
| 18Of coral and jasper no mention will be made; the price of wisdom is more than pearls. | 18Coral and jasper are worthless in trying to get it. The price of wisdom is far above rubies. |
| 19The topaz of Cush cannot be compared with it; it cannot be purchased with pure gold. | 19Precious peridot from Ethiopia cannot be exchanged for it. It’s worth more than the purest gold. |
| 20"But wisdom--where does it come from? Where is the place of understanding? | 20“But do people know where to find wisdom? Where can they find 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 humanity. Even the sharp-eyed birds in the sky cannot discover it. |
| 22Destruction and Death say, 'With our ears we have heard a rumor about where it can be found.' | 22Destruction and Death say, ‘We’ve heard only rumors of where wisdom can be found.’ |
| 23God understands the way to it, and he alone knows its place. | 23“God alone understands the way to wisdom; he knows where it can be found, |
| 24For he looks to the ends of the earth and observes everything under the heavens. | 24for he looks throughout the whole earth and sees everything under the heavens. |
| 25When he made the force of the wind and measured the waters with a gauge. | 25He decided how hard the winds should blow and how much rain should fall. |
| 26When he imposed a limit for the rain, and a path for the thunderstorm, | 26He made the laws for the rain and laid out a path for the lightning. |
| 27then he looked at wisdom and assessed its value; he established it and examined it closely. | 27Then he saw wisdom and evaluated it. He set it in place and examined it thoroughly. |
| 28And he said to mankind, 'The fear of the LORD--that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.'" | 28And this is what he says to all humanity: ‘The fear of the Lord is true wisdom; to forsake evil is real understanding.’” |
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