Chapter 28. Surely there is a mine for silver and a Place where gold is refined Iron is taken from the earth and copper Is smelted from ore Man puts an end to Darkness and searches Every recess for awe in the darkness and The shadow of death He breaks open a shaft away from people In places forgotten by feet they hang Far away from Men They swing to and fro As for the Earth from it comes bread But underneath it is turned up as by Fire Its stones are the source of sapphires And it contains gold dust That path no bird knows nor has the Falcon's eye seen it The proud Lions have not trodden it nor Has the fierce lion passed over it He puts his hand on the Flint he Overturns the mountains at the roots He cuts out channels in the rocks and His eye sees every precious thing He dams up the streams from trickling What is hidden he brings forth to light But where can wisdom be found And where is the place of understanding Man does not know its value Nor is it found in the land of the Living The Deep says it is not in me And the Sea says it is not with me
It cannot be purchased for gold nor can Silver be weighed for its price It cannot be valued in the gold of OFA In Precious Onyx or Sapphire Neither gold nor Crystal can equal it Nor can it be exchanged for jewelry of Fine gold No mention shall be made of coral or Quartz For the price of wisdom is above rubies The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it Nor can it be valued in pure gold From where then does wisdom come And where is the place of understanding It is hidden from the eyes of all living And concealed from the birds of the air Destruction and death say We have heard a report about it with our Ears God understands its way and he knows its Place For he looks to the ends of the Earth And sees Under the whole heavens To establish a wheat for the wind and a Portion The Waters by measure When he made a law for the rain and a Path for the Thunderbolt then he saw Wisdom and declared it He prepared it indeed he searched it out And a man he said Behold The fear of the Lord that is wisdom And to depart from Evil is understanding