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Job Tells of Earth's Treasures
1 "Surely there is a mine F305 for silver
And a place where F306 they refine gold.
2 "Iron is taken from the dust,
And copper is smelted from rock.
3 "Man puts an end to darkness,
And to R740 the farthest limit he searches out
The rock in gloom and deep shadow.
4 "He sinks F307 a shaft far from habitation, F308
Forgotten by the foot;
They hang and swing to and fro far from men.
5 "The earth, from it comes food,
And underneath it is turned up as fire.
6 "Its rocks are the source F309 of sapphires,
And its dust contains gold.
7 "The path no bird of prey knows,
Nor has the falcon's eye caught sight of it.
8 "The proud F310 beasts have not trodden it,
Nor has the fierce lion passed over it.
9 "He puts his hand on the flint;
He overturns the mountains at the base. F311
10 "He hews out channels through the rocks,
And his eye sees anything precious.
11 "He dams up the streams from flowing, F312
And what is hidden he brings out to the light.
The Search for Wisdom Is Harder
12 "But where R741 can wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?
13 "Man R742 does not know its value,
Nor is it found in the land of the living.
14 "The deep says, `It is not in me';
And the sea says, `It is not with me.'
15 "Pure R743 gold cannot be given in exchange for it,
Nor can silver be weighed as its price.
16 "It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,
In precious onyx, or sapphire.
17 "Gold R744 or glass cannot equal it,
Nor can it be exchanged for articles of fine gold.
18 "Coral and crystal are not to be mentioned;
And the acquisition of wisdom R745 is above that of pearls.
19 "The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it,
Nor can it be valued in pure R746 gold.
20 "Where R747 then does wisdom come from?
And where is the place of understanding?
21 "Thus it is hidden from the eyes of all living
And concealed from the birds of the sky.
22 "Abaddon R748 F313 and Death say,
`With our ears we have heard a report of it.'
23 "God R749 understands its way,
And He knows its place.
24 "For He looks R750 to the ends of the earth
And sees everything under the heavens.
25 "When He imparted weight R751 to the wind
And meted R752 out the waters by measure,
26 When He set a limit R753 for the rain
And a course for the thunderbolt, R754
27 Then He saw it and declared it;
He established it and also searched it out.
28 "And to man He said, `Behold, the fear R755 of the Lord, that is wisdom;
And to depart from evil is understanding.' "
FOOTNOTES:
F305: Or source
F306: Lit for gold they refine
F307: Lit breaks open
F308: Lit sojourning
F309: Or place
F310: Lit sons of pride
F311: Lit roots
F312: Lit weeping
F313: I.e. Destruction
CROSS REFERENCES:
R740: Ecclesiastes 1:13
R741: Job 1:28:23,28; Ecclesiastes 7:24
R742: Matthew 13:44-46
R743: Proverbs 3:13,14; 8:10,11; 16:16
R744: Proverbs 8:10; 16:16
R745: Proverbs 8:11
R746: Proverbs 8:19
R747: Job 1:28:23,28
R748: Job 1:26:6; Proverbs 8:32-36
R749: Job 1:9:4; Proverbs 8:22-36
R750: Psalms 11:4; 33:13,14; 66:7; Proverbs 15:3
R751: Psalms 135:7
R752: Job 1:12:15; 38:8-11
R753: Job 1:37:6,11,12; 38:26-28
R754: Job 1:37:3; 38:25
R755: Psalms 111:10; Proverbs 1:7; 9:10; Ecclesiastes 12:13
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