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