Study Desk

"Certainly there is a ^(F1)mine for silver And a place ^(F2)for refining gold.

-"Iron is taken from the dust, And copper is smelted from rock.

-"Man puts an end to darkness, And ^(C1)to the farthest limit he searches out The rock in gloom and deep shadow.

-"He ^(F1)sinks a shaft away from ^(F2)inhabited areas, Forgotten by the foot; They hang and swing, away from people.

-"^(F1)From the earth comes food, And underneath, it is turned over like fire.

-"Its rocks are the ^(F1)source of sapphires, And its dust contains gold.

-"No bird of prey knows the path, Nor has the falcon's eye caught sight of it.

-"The ^(F1)proud animals have not trodden it, Nor has the lion passed over it.

-"He puts his hand on the flint; He overturns the mountains at the ^(F1)base.

-"He carves out channels through the rocks, And his eye sees anything precious.

-"He dams up the streams from ^(F1)flowing, And brings to light what is hidden.

"But ^(C1)where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?

-"^(C1)Mankind does not know its value, Nor is it found in the land of the living.

-"The ocean depth says, 'It is not in me'; And the sea says, 'It is not with me.'

-"^(C1)Pure gold cannot be given in exchange for it, Nor can silver be weighed as its price.

-"It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, In precious onyx, or sapphire.

-"^(C1)Gold or glass cannot equal it, Nor can it be exchanged for articles of pure gold.

-"Coral and crystal are not to be mentioned; And the acquisition of ^(C1)wisdom is more valuable than pearls.

-"The topaz of ^(F1)Cush cannot equal it, Nor can it be valued in ^(C1)pure gold.

-"^(C1)Where then does wisdom come from? And where is this place of understanding?

-"It is hidden from the eyes of every living creature, And concealed from the birds of the sky.

-"^(F1)(C1)Abaddon and Death say, 'With our ears we have heard a report of it.'

"^(C1)God understands its way, And He knows its place.

-"For He ^(C1)looks to the ends of the earth; He sees everything under the heavens.

-"When He imparted ^(C1)weight to the wind, And ^(C2)assessed the waters by measure,

When He made a ^(C1)limit for the rain, And a course for the ^(C2)thunderbolt,

Then He saw it and declared it; He established it and also searched it out.

-"And to mankind He said, 'Behold, the ^(C1)fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to turn away from evil is understanding.'"

Job again took up his ^(C1)discourse and said,

"Oh that I were as in months gone by, As in the days when God ^(C1)watched over me;

When ^(C1)His lamp shone over my head, And ^(C2)by His light I walked through darkness;

Just as I was in the days of my youth, When the ^(C1)protection of God was over my tent;

When ^(F1)the Almighty was still with me, And my children were around me;

When my steps were bathed in ^(C1)cream, And the ^(C2)rock poured out streams of oil for me!

-"When I went out to ^(C1)the gate of the city, When I ^(F1)took my seat in the public square,

The young men saw me and hid themselves, And the old men arose and stood.

-"The leaders ^(C1)stopped talking And ^(C2)put their hands on their mouths;

The voices of the prominent people were ^(F1)(C1)hushed, And their ^(C2)tongues stuck to their palates.

-"For when ^(C1)an ear heard, it called me blessed, And when an eye saw, it testified in support of me,

Because I saved ^(C1)the poor who cried for help, And the ^(C2)orphan who had no helper.

-"The blessing of the one who ^(C1)was about to perish came upon me, And I made the ^(C2)widow's heart sing for joy.

-"I ^(C1)put on righteousness, and it clothed me; My justice was like a robe and a headband.

-"I was ^(C1)eyes to those who were blind, And feet to those who ^(F1)could not walk.

-"I was a father to ^(C1)the poor, And I investigated the case which I did not know.

-"I ^(C1)broke the jaws of the wicked And rescued the prey from his teeth.

-"Then I ^(F1)thought, 'I will die with my ^(F2)family, And I will multiply my days as the sand.

-'My ^(C1)root is spread out to the waters, And ^(C2)dew lies on my branch all night.

-'My glory is ever new with me, And my ^(C1)bow is renewed in my hand.'

"To me ^(C1)they listened and waited, And they kept silent for my advice.

-"After my words ^(C1)they did not speak again, And ^(C2)my speech dropped on them.

-"They waited for me as for the rain, And opened their mouths as for the late rain.

-"I smiled at them when they did not believe, And they did not look at ^(F1)my kindness ungraciously.

-"I chose a way for them and sat as ^(C1)chief, And lived as a king among the troops, As one who ^(C2)comforted the mourners.