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¹ "Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place for gold which they refine.² Iron is taken out of the earth, and copper is smelted from the ore.³ Men put an end to darkness, and search out to the farthest bound the ore in gloom and deep darkness.⁴ They open shafts in a valley away from where men live; they are forgotten by travelers, they hang afar from men, they swing to and fro.⁵ As for the earth, out of it comes bread; but underneath it is turned up as by fire.⁶ Its stones are the place of sapphires, and it has dust of gold.⁷ "That path no bird of prey knows, and the falcon's eye has not seen it.⁸ The proud beasts have not trodden it; the lion has not passed over it.⁹ "Man puts his hand to the flinty rock, and overturns mountains by the roots.¹⁰ He cuts out channels in the rocks, and his eye sees every precious thing.¹¹ He binds up the streams so that they do not trickle, and the thing that is hid he brings forth to light.¹² "But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?¹³ Man does not know the way to it, and it is not found in the land of the living.

¹⁴ The deep says, 'It is not in me,' and the sea says, 'It is not with me.'¹⁵ It cannot be gotten for gold, and silver cannot be weighed as its price.¹⁶ It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx or sapphire.¹⁷ Gold and glass cannot equal it, nor can it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.¹⁸ No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal; the price of wisdom is above pearls.¹⁹ The topaz of Ethiopia cannot compare with it, nor can it be valued in pure gold.

²⁰ "Whence then comes wisdom? And where is the place of understanding?²¹ It is hid from the eyes of all living, and concealed from the birds of the air.²² Abaddon and Death say, 'We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.'²³ "God understands the way to it, and he knows its place.²⁴ For he looks to the ends of the earth, and sees everything under the heavens.²⁵ When he gave to the wind its weight, and meted out the waters by measure;²⁶ when he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder;²⁷ then he saw it and declared it; he established it, and searched it out.²⁸ And he said to man, 'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.'"