28:1 "Surely there is a mine for silver, And a place for gold which they refine.
28:2 Iron is taken out of the earth, And copper is smelted out of the ore.
28:3 Man sets an end to darkness, And searches out, to the furthest bound, The stones of obscurity and of thick darkness.
28:4 He breaks open a shaft away from where people live. They are forgotten by the foot. They hang far from men, they swing back and forth.
28:5 As for the earth, out of it comes bread; Underneath it is turned up as it were by fire.
28:6 Sapphires come from its rocks. It has dust of gold.
28:7 That path no bird of prey knows, Neither has the falcon's eye seen it.
28:8 The proud animals have not trodden it, Nor has the fierce lion passed by there.
28:9 He puts forth his hand on the flinty rock, And he overturns the mountains by the roots.
28:10 He cuts out channels among the rocks. His eye sees every precious thing.
28:11 He binds the streams that they don't trickle; The thing that is hidden he brings forth to light.
28:12 "But where shall wisdom be found? Where is the place of understanding?
28:13 Man doesn't know its price; Neither is it found in the land of the living.
28:14 The deep says, 'It isn't in me.' The sea says, 'It isn't with me.'
28:15 It can't be gotten for gold, Neither shall silver be weighed for its price.
28:16 It can't be valued with the gold of Ophir, With the precious onyx, or the sapphire{or, lapis lazuli}.
28:17 Gold and glass can't equal it, Neither shall it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.
28:18 No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal: Yes, the price of wisdom is above rubies.
28:19 The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, Neither shall it be valued with pure gold.
28:20 Whence then comes wisdom? Where is the place of understanding?
28:21 Seeing it is hidden from the eyes of all living, And kept close from the birds of the sky.
28:22 Destruction and Death say, 'We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.'
28:23 "God understands its way, And he knows its place.
28:24 For he looks to the ends of the earth, And sees under the whole sky.
28:25 He establishes the force of the wind; Yes, he measures out the waters by measure.
28:26 When he made a decree for the rain, And a way for the lightning of the thunder;
28:27 Then did he see it, and declare it. He established it, yes, and searched it out.
28:28 To man he said, 'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom. To depart from evil is understanding.'"