Job 28

New Catholic Bible

¹ “There are mines for silver
    and places where gold is refined.
² Iron is extracted from the earth,
    and copper is smelted from ore.
³ Miners penetrate the darkness;
    they search to the farthest recesses
    to discover the ore hidden in gloom and shadow.
⁴ They open shafts in uninhabited places,
    swinging suspended, far away from anyone.
⁵ “While grain is coming forth from the earth above,
    what lies beneath is ravaged by fire.
⁶ Its rocks are the enclosure for sapphires,
    and there is gold contained in its dust.
⁷ No bird of prey knows the path there;
    the eye of a falcon has not seen it.
⁸ Proud beasts have not trodden it;
    no lion has ever passed over it.
⁹ “Man begins to assail the granite rock
    and overturns the mountains at their foundations.
¹⁰ He cuts channels into the rocks,
    and his eyes behold precious gems.
¹¹ He explores the sources of the streams
    and brings hidden riches to light.
¹² But where can wisdom be found?
    And where is the place of understanding?

¹³ “No one knows the way to it,
    nor is it to be found in the land of the living.
¹⁴ The abyss declares, ‘It is not in me.’
    The sea says, ‘I do not have it.’
¹⁵ It cannot be purchased with gold,
    nor can its price be weighed out in silver.
¹⁶ “It cannot be acquired with the gold of Ophir,
    nor with precious onyx or sapphire.
¹⁷ Gold or crystal^[d] cannot be compared to it,
    nor can it be exchanged for vessels of gold.
¹⁸ Neither coral nor alabaster deserve to be mentioned;
    the price of wisdom is beyond pearls.
¹⁹ Topaz from Ethiopia is worthless in comparison to it,
    nor can it be valued in terms of pure gold.
²⁰ “Where then is the source of wisdom?
    Where is intelligence to be found?

²¹ “It cannot be seen by the eye of any living creature;
    it is even concealed from the birds of the air.
²² Abaddon and the netherworld^[f] admit,
    ‘We have only heard rumors of it.’
²³ “God alone understands the path to wisdom;
    he alone knows where it can be found.
²⁴ For he can observe the farthest ends of the earth,
    and he sees everything under the heavens.
²⁵ “When God regulated the force of the wind
    and measured out the waters,
²⁶ when he imposed a limit for the rain
    and cleared a path for the thunderbolt,
²⁷ then he saw wisdom and evaluated it,
    established it and assessed it completely.
²⁸ And then he declared to man:
    ‘The fear of the Lord is wisdom,
    and to turn from evil is understanding.’ ”