⁷ “That path no bird of prey knows,
    and the falcon’s eye has not seen it.
⁸ The proud wild animals have not trodden it;
    the lion has not passed over it.

⁹ “They put their hand to the flinty rock
    and overturn mountains by the roots.^(C)
10 They cut out channels in the rocks,
    and their eyes see every precious thing.
¹¹ The sources of the rivers they probe;^[c]
    hidden things they bring to light.

¹² “But where shall wisdom be found?
    And where is the place of understanding?^(D)
13 Mortals do not know the way to it,^[d]
    and it is not found in the land of the living.^(E)
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 out as its price.
¹⁶ It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,
    in precious onyx or sapphire.^[e]
17 Gold and glass cannot equal it,
    nor can it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.^(F)
18 No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal;
    the price of wisdom is above pearls.^(G)
19 The chrysolite of Cush cannot compare with it,
    nor can it be valued in pure gold.^(H)

²⁰ “Where then does wisdom come from?
    And where is the place of understanding?^(I)
21 It is hidden 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.’^(J)

²³ “God understands the way to it,
    and he knows its place.^(K)
24 For he looks to the ends of the earth
    and sees everything under the heavens.^(L)
25 When he gave to the wind its weight
    and apportioned out the waters by measure,^(M)
26 when he made a decree for the rain,
    and a way for the thunderbolt,^(N)
27 then he saw it and declared it;
    he established it and searched it out.
²⁸ And he said to humankind,
‘Truly, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;
    and to depart from evil is understanding.’ ”^(O)

² “O that I were as in the months of old,
    as in the days when God watched over me,^(Q)
3 when his lamp shone over my head,
    and by his light I walked through darkness,^(R)
4 when I was in my prime,
    when the friendship of God was upon my tent,^(S)
5 when the Almighty^[f] was still with me,
    when my children were around me,
⁶ when my steps were washed with milk
    and the rock poured out for me streams of oil!^(T)
7 When I went out to the gate of the city,
    when I took my seat in the square,
⁸ the young men saw me and withdrew,
    and the aged rose up and stood;
⁹ the nobles refrained from talking
    and laid their hands on their mouths;^(U)
10 the voices of princes were hushed,
    and their tongues stuck to the roofs of their mouths.^(V)
11 When the ear heard, it commended me,
    and when the eye saw, it approved,
¹² because I delivered the poor who cried
    and the orphan who had no helper.^(W)
13 The blessing of the wretched came upon me,
    and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy.^(X)
14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me;
    my justice was like a robe and a turban.^(Y)
15 I was eyes to the blind
    and feet to the lame.
¹⁶ I was a father to the needy,
    and I championed the cause of the stranger.^(Z)
17 I broke the fangs of the unrighteous
    and made them drop their prey from their teeth.^(AA)
18 Then I thought, ‘I shall die in my nest,
    and I shall multiply my days like the phoenix;^[g](AB)
19 my roots spread out to the waters,
    with the dew all night on my branches;^(AC)
20 my glory was fresh with me
    and my bow ever new in my hand.’^(AD)

²¹ “They listened to me and waited
    and kept silence for my counsel.^(AE)
22 After I spoke they did not speak again,
    and my word dropped upon them like dew.^[h](AF)
23 They waited for me as for the rain;
    they opened their mouths as for the spring rain.
²⁴ I smiled on them when they had no confidence,
    and the light of my countenance they did not extinguish.^[i]
25 I chose what they should do and sat as chief,
    and I lived like a king among his troops,
    like one who comforts mourners.^(AG)