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[1]The silver surely hath his vein, and the gold his place, where they take it.
[2]Iron is taken out of the dust, and brass is molten out of the stone.
[3]God putteth an end to darkness, and he tryeth the perfection of all things: he setteth a bond of darkness, and of the shadow of death.
[4]The flood breaketh out against the inhabitant, and the waters forgotten of the foot, being higher than man, are gone away.
[5]Out of the same earth cometh bread, and under it, as it were fire is turned up.
[6]The stones thereof are a place of sapphires, and the dust of it is gold.
[7]There is a path which no fowl hath known, neither hath the kite's eye seen it.
[8]The lion's whelps have not walked it, nor the lion passed thereby.
[9]He putteth his hand upon the rocks, and overthroweth the mountains by the roots.
[10]He breaketh rivers in the rocks, and his eye seeth every precious thing.
[11]He bindeth the floods, that they do not overflow, and the thing that is hid, bringeth he to light.
[12]But where is wisdom found? And where is the place of understanding?
[13]Man knoweth not the price thereof: for it is not found in the land of the living.
[14]The depth saith, It is not in me: the sea also saith, It is not with me.
[15]Gold shall not be given for it, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof.
[16]It shall not be valued with the wedge of gold of Ophir , nor with the precious onyx, nor the sapphire.
[17]The gold nor the crystal shall be equal unto it, nor the exchange shall be for plate of fine gold.
[18]No mention shall be made of coral, nor of the gabish: for wisdom is more precious than pearls.
[19]The topaz of Ethiopia shall not be equal unto it, neither shall it be valued with the wedge of pure gold.
[20]Whence then cometh wisdom? And where is the place of understanding,
[21]Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all the living, and is hid from the fowls of the heaven?
[22]Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears.
[23]But God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof.
[24]For he beholdeth the ends of the world , and seeth all that is under heaven,
[25]To make the weight of the winds, and to weigh the waters by measure.
[26]When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunders,
[27]Then did he see it, and counted it: he prepared it and also considered it.
[28]And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding.
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