28:1
Silver has its mines, and gold a place for refining.
28:2
Iron is extracted from the earth, the smelted rocks yield copper.
28:3
Man makes an end of darkness, to the utmost limit he digs the black rock in shadow dark as death.
28:4
Foreigners bore into ravines in unfrequented places, swinging suspended far from human beings.
28:5
That earth from which bread comes is ravaged underground by fire.
28:6
There, the rocks have veins of sapphire and their dust contains gold.
28:7
That is a path unknown to birds of prey, unseen by the eye of any vulture;
28:8
a path not trodden by the lordly beasts, where no lion ever walked.
28:9
Man attacks the flint, upturning mountains by their roots.
28:10
He cuts canals through the rock, on the watch for anything precious.
28:11
He explores the sources of rivers, bringing hidden things to light.
28:12
But where does Wisdom come from? Where is Intelligence to be found?
28:13
No human being knows the way to her, she is not to be found on earth where they live.
28:14
'She is not in me,' says the Abyss; 'Nor here,' replies the Sea.
28:15
She cannot be bought with solid gold, nor paid for with any weight of silver,
28:16
nor valued against gold of Ophir, precious agate or sapphire.
28:17
Neither gold nor glass compares with her, for her, a vase of fine gold would be no exchange,
28:18
let alone coral or crystal: better go fishing for Wisdom than for pearls!
28:19
Topaz from Cush is worthless in comparison, and gold, even refined, is valueless.
28:20
But where does Wisdom come from? Where is Intelligence to be found?
28:21
She cannot be seen by any living creature, she is hidden from the birds of the sky.
28:22
Perdition and Death both say, 'We have heard only rumours of her.'
28:23
God alone understands her path and knows where she is to be found.
28:24
(For he sees to the remotest parts of the earth, and observes all that lies under heaven.)
28:25
When he willed to give weight to the wind and measured out the waters with a gauge,
28:26
when he imposed a law on the rain and mapped a route for thunderclaps to follow,
28:27
then he saw and evaluated her, looked her through and through, assessing her.
28:28
Then he said to human beings, 'Wisdom? - that is fear of the Lord; Intelligence? - avoidance of evil.'
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