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2 Iron is taken from the earth,
and copper is smelted from ore.
3 Man puts an end to the darkness;
he searches to the farthest recesses
for ore in gloom and deep shadow.
4 He cuts a shaft far from where people dwell,
in places forgotten by the foot of man;
they sway back and forth.
5 As for the earth, from it comes food,
but underneath it is turned up as fire.
6 Its stones are the source of sapphires,
and its dust contains gold.
7 “No bird of prey knows the path,
no falcon’s eye has seen it.
8 The proud beasts have not trodden it,
the fierce lion has not passed over it.
9 “The hand of man assaults the flinty rocks,
and overturns the mountains by the roots.
10 He cuts out tunnels through the rocks,
and his eye sees all its treasures.
11 He dams up the stream from flowing,
and brings forth hidden things to light.
12 “But where can wisdom be found?
and where is the place of understanding?
13 Man does not know its value,
it cannot found in the land of the living.
14 The deep says, ‘It is not in me’;
the sea says, ‘It is not with me’.
15 It cannot be exchanged for gold,
nor can silver be weighed out as its price.
16 Wisdom cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,
or in precious onyx, or sapphire.
17 Gold or glass cannot equal it,
nor can it be exchanged for jewellery of fine gold.
18 Coral and crytal hardly rate a mention,
and the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.
19 The topaz of Cush cannot equal it,
nor can it be valued in pure gold.
20 “Where then does wisdom come from?
Where is the place of understanding located?
21 It is hidden from the eyes of all things living,
and concealed from the birds of the air.
22Abaddon and Death say,
‘We have heard a report about it with our ears’.
23 God understands the way to it,
and He alone knows its location,
24 for He looks to the ends of the earth,
and sees everything under the heavens.
25 When He established a weight for the winds,
and measured out the waters,
26 when He made a decree for the rain,
and a path for the thunderbolt,
27 then He saw wisdom and declared it;
He established it, and searched it out.
28 To man He said,
‘Behold, the fear of the Lord—that is wisdom,
and to shun from evil is understanding’.”