| New King James Version | King James Bible |
| 1“Surely there is a mine for silver, And a place where gold is refined. | 1Surely there is a vein for the silver, and a place for gold where they fine it. |
| 2Iron is taken from the earth, And copper is smelted from ore. | 2Iron is taken out of the earth, and brass is molten out of the stone. |
| 3Man puts an end to darkness, And searches every recess For ore in the darkness and the shadow of death. | 3He setteth an end to darkness, and searcheth out all perfection: the stones of darkness, and the shadow of death. |
| 4He breaks open a shaft away from people; In places forgotten by feet They hang far away from men; They swing to and fro. | 4The flood breaketh out from the inhabitant; even the waters forgotten of the foot: they are dried up, they are gone away from men. |
| 5As for the earth, from it comes bread, But underneath it is turned up as by fire; | 5As for the earth, out of it cometh bread: and under it is turned up as it were fire. |
| 6Its stones are the source of sapphires, And it contains gold dust. | 6The stones of it are the place of sapphires: and it hath dust of gold. |
| 7That path no bird knows, Nor has the falcon’s eye seen it. | 7There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture's eye hath not seen: |
| 8The proud lions have not trodden it, Nor has the fierce lion passed over it. | 8The lion's whelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it. |
| 9He puts his hand on the flint; He overturns the mountains at the roots. | 9He putteth forth his hand upon the rock; he overturneth the mountains by the roots. |
| 10He cuts out channels in the rocks, And his eye sees every precious thing. | 10He cutteth out rivers among the rocks; and his eye seeth every precious thing. |
| 11He dams up the streams from trickling; What is hidden he brings forth to light. | 11He bindeth the floods from overflowing; and the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light. |
| 12“But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? | 12But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding? |
| 13Man does not know its value, Nor is it found in the land of the living. | 13Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living. |
| 14The deep says, ‘It is not in me’; And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’ | 14The depth saith, It is not in me: and the sea saith, It is not with me. |
| 15It cannot be purchased for gold, Nor can silver be weighed for its price. | 15It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof. |
| 16It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, In precious onyx or sapphire. | 16It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire. |
| 17Neither gold nor crystal can equal it, Nor can it be exchanged for jewelry of fine gold. | 17The gold and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold. |
| 18No mention shall be made of coral or quartz, For the price of wisdom is above rubies. | 18No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies. |
| 19The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it, Nor can it be valued in pure gold. | 19The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold. |
| 20“From where then does wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding? | 20Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding? |
| 21It is hidden from the eyes of all living, And concealed from the birds of the air. | 21Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air. |
| 22Destruction and Death say, ‘We have heard a report about it with our ears.’ | 22Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears. |
| 23God understands its way, And He knows its place. | 23God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof. |
| 24For He looks to the ends of the earth, And sees under the whole heavens, | 24For he looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven; |
| 25To establish a weight for the wind, And apportion the waters by measure. | 25To make the weight for the winds; and he weigheth the waters by measure. |
| 26When He made a law for the rain, And a path for the thunderbolt, | 26When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder: |
| 27Then He saw wisdom and declared it; He prepared it, indeed, He searched it out. | 27Then did he see it, and declare it; he prepared it, yea, and searched it out. |
| 28And to man He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, And to depart from evil is understanding.’ ” | 28And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding. |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com. |
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