1 SURELY there is a vein for the silver, and a place for gold where they fine it.
2 Iron is taken out of the earth, and brass is molten out of the stone.
3 He setteth an end to darkness, and searcheth out all perfection: the stones of darkness, and the shadow of death.
4 The flood breaketh out from the inhabitant; even the waters forgotten of the foot: they are dried up, they are gone away from men.
5 As for the earth, out of it cometh bread: and under it is turned up as it were fire.
6 The stones of it are the place of sapphires: and it hath dust of gold.
7 There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture’s eye hath not seen:
8 The lion’s whelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it.
9 He putteth forth his hand upon the rock; he overturneth the mountains by the roots.
10 He cutteth out rivers among the rocks; and his eye seeth every precious thing.
11 He bindeth the floods from overflowing; and the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light.
12 But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding?
13 Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living.
14 The depth saith, It is not in me: and the sea saith, It is not with me.
15 It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof.
16 It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire.
17 The gold and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold.
18 No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies.
19 The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold.
20 Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding?
21 Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air.
22 Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears.
23 God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof.
24 For he looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven;
25 To make the weight for the winds; and he weigheth the waters by measure.
26 When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder:
27 Then did he see it, and declare it; he prepared it, yea, and searched it out.
28 And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.

1Surely there is a veine for the siluer, and a place for golde where they fine it.

2Iron is taken out of the earth, and brasse is molten out of the stone.

3Hee setteth an ende to darkenesse, and searcheth out all perfection: the stones of darkenesse and the shadow of death.

4The floud breaketh out from the inhabitant; euen the waters forgotten of the foote: they are dried vp, they are gone away from men.

5As for the earth, out of it commeth bread: and vnder it, is turned vp as it were fire.

6The stones of it are the place of Saphires: and it hath dust of golde.

7There is a path which no foule knoweth, and which the vulturs eye hath not seene.

8The lyons whelps haue not troden it, nor the fierce lyon passed by it.

9Hee putteth foorth his hand vpon the rocke; hee ouerturneth the mountaines by the rootes.

10Hee cutteth out riuers among the rockes, and his eye seeth euery precious thing.

11He bindeth the flouds from ouerflowing, and the thing that is hid, bringeth he foorth to light.

12But where shall wisedome bee found? and where is the place of vnderstanding?

13Man knoweth not the price thereof neither is it found in the land of the liuing.

14The depth saith, It is not in me: and the sea saith, It is not with me.

15It cannot be gotten for golde, neither shall siluer be weighed for the price thereof.

16It cannot be valued with the golde of Ophir, with the precious Onix, or the Saphire.

17The golde and the chrystall cannot equall it: and the exchange of it shall not be for iewels of fine golde.

18No mention shalbe made of Corall, or of Pearles: for the price of wisedome is aboue Rubies.

19The Topaze of Ethiopia shall not equall it, neither shall it be valued with pure golde.

20Whence then commeth wisedome? and where is the place of vnderstanding?

21Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all liuing, and kept close from the foules of the ayre.

22Destruction and death say, Wee haue heard the fame thereof with our eares.

23God vnderstandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof.

24For hee looketh to the endes of the earth, and seeth vnder the whole heauen:

25To make the weight for the windes, and he weigheth the waters by measure.

26When hee made a decree for the raine, and a way for the lightning of the thunder:

27Then did he see it, and declare it, he prepared it, yea and searched it out.

28And vnto man he said, Behold, the feare of the Lord, that is wisedome, and to depart from euill, is vnderstanding.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XII == Job 28:20 ; Eccl 7:24

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XIII == Prov 3:15

XIV == Job 28:22 ; Rom 11:33-34

XV == Prov 3:13-15 ; 8:10-11 , 19 ; 16:16

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XX == Job 28:12

 

 

 

XXII == Job 28:14

 

 

XXIV == Prov 15:3

XXV == Ps 135:7

XXVI == Job 38:25

 

 

XXVIII == Deut 4:6 ; Ps 111:10 ; Prov 1:7 ; 9:10 ; Eccl 12:13

1 There is indeed a mine for silver, and a place for gold which men refine.

2 Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is melted out of stone.

5 The earth, though out of it comes forth bread, is in fiery upheaval underneath.

6 Its stones are the source of sapphires, and there is gold in its dust.

12 But whence can wisdom be obtained, and where is the place of understanding?

13 Man knows nothing to equal it, nor is it to be had in the land of the living.

15 Solid gold cannot purchase it, nor can its price be paid with silver.

16 It cannot be bought with gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx or the sapphire.

17 Gold or crystal cannot equal it, nor can golden vessels reach its worth.

18 Neither coral nor jasper should be thought of; it surpasses pearls and

19 Arabian topaz.

20 Whence, then, comes wisdom, and where is the place of understanding?

21 It is hid from the eyes of any beast; from the birds of the air it is concealed.

7 The path to it no bird of prey knows, nor has the hawk's eye seen that path.

8 The proud beasts have not trodden it, nor has the lion gone that way.

14 The abyss declares, "It is not in me"; and the sea says, "I have it not."

22 Abaddon and Death say, "Only by rumor have we heard of it."

23 God knows the way to it; it is he who is familiar with its place.

24 For he beholds the ends of the earth and sees all that is under the heavens.

3 He has set a boundary for the darkness; to the farthest confines he penetrates.

9 He sets his hand to the flinty rock, and overturns the mountains at their foundations.

10 He splits channels in the rocks; his eyes behold all that is precious.

11 He probes the wellsprings of the streams, and brings hidden things to light.

25 He has weighed out the wind, and fixed the scope of the waters;

26 When he made rules for the rain and a path for the thunderbolts,

27 Then he saw wisdom and appraised it, gave it its setting, knew it through and through.

28 And to man he said: Behold, the fear of the LORD is wisdom; and avoiding evil is understanding.

v 1-11. These verses express man’s technological wisdom in mining. Man has the ability to search underground for silver, gold, iron (though the iron age of tools had not started yet), copper (and smelting) and precious stones. He has great skill in suspending himself, cutting through the rock, channeling and stopping waters, out of view of living creatures above.

 

v 12-19. In spite of man’s skill in mining, he cannot, without help, find wisdom. He can find all kinds of precious metals and stones, but they are nothing compared to wisdom, which is not an underground resource.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

v 20-27. Wisdom could not be found in the mines, the sea, on land or in Abaddon, for Wisdom is with God alone. In His omnipresence, God sees throughout the world. He knows and is in charge of wind, atmospheric pressure, the boundary of waters, rain, lightning and thunder. God established Wisdom for His own use, and He alone possesses it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

v 28. In contrast, for man, Wisdom is the reverential and worshipful fear of the Lord, Ps. 111:10; Prov. 9.10. To depart from evil is understanding, and in the very first verse of this book it was said of Job that he feared God, and eschewed evil, 1:1. This could not be said of his three fellows.