Job 28:1-13 ▼

1 “Surely there is a mine for silver, And a place where they refine gold.

2 “Iron is taken out of the earth, And copper is smelted from the stone ore.

3 “Man puts an end to darkness [by bringing in a light], And to the farthest bounds he searches out The rock buried in gloom and deep shadow.

4 “He breaks open (mine) shafts far away from where people live, [In places] forgotten by the [human] foot; They dangle [in the mines] and hang away from men.

5 “[As for] the earth, out of it comes food, But underneath [its surface, down deep] it is turned over as fire.

6 “Its stones are the bed of sapphires; It holds dust of gold.

7 “The path [deep within] no bird of prey knows, And the falcon’s eye has not caught sight of it.

8 “The proud beasts [and their young] have not walked on it, Nor has the fierce lion passed over it.

9 “Man puts his hand on [and tears apart] the flinty rock; He overturns the mountains at the base [looking for treasure].

10 “He cuts out channels and passages among the rocks; And his eye sees every precious thing.

11 “Man dams up the streams from flowing [so that they do not trickle into the mine], And what is hidden he brings out to the light.

12 “But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?

13 “Man does not know the value of it; Nor is it found in the land of the living.