Study Desk

"Certainly there is a ^(F1)mine for silver And a place ^(F2)for refining gold.

-"Iron is taken from the dust, And copper is smelted from rock.

-"Man puts an end to darkness, And ^(C1)to the farthest limit he searches out The rock in gloom and deep shadow.

-"He ^(F1)sinks a shaft away from ^(F2)inhabited areas, Forgotten by the foot; They hang and swing, away from people.

-"^(F1)From the earth comes food, And underneath, it is turned over like fire.

-"Its rocks are the ^(F1)source of sapphires, And its dust contains gold.

-"No bird of prey knows the path, Nor has the falcon's eye caught sight of it.

-"The ^(F1)proud animals have not trodden it, Nor has the lion passed over it.

-"He puts his hand on the flint; He overturns the mountains at the ^(F1)base.

-"He carves out channels through the rocks, And his eye sees anything precious.

-"He dams up the streams from ^(F1)flowing, And brings to light what is hidden.

"But ^(C1)where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?

-"^(C1)Mankind does not know its value, Nor is it found in the land of the living.

-"The ocean depth says, 'It is not in me'; And the sea says, 'It is not with me.'

-"^(C1)Pure gold cannot be given in exchange for it, Nor can silver be weighed as its price.

-"It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, In precious onyx, or sapphire.

-"^(C1)Gold or glass cannot equal it, Nor can it be exchanged for articles of pure gold.

-"Coral and crystal are not to be mentioned; And the acquisition of ^(C1)wisdom is more valuable than pearls.

-"The topaz of ^(F1)Cush cannot equal it, Nor can it be valued in ^(C1)pure gold.

-"^(C1)Where then does wisdom come from? And where is this place of understanding?

-"It is hidden from the eyes of every living creature, And concealed from the birds of the sky.

-"^(F1)(C1)Abaddon and Death say, 'With our ears we have heard a report of it.'

"^(C1)God understands its way, And He knows its place.

-"For He ^(C1)looks to the ends of the earth; He sees everything under the heavens.

-"When He imparted ^(C1)weight to the wind, And ^(C2)assessed the waters by measure,

When He made a ^(C1)limit for the rain, And a course for the ^(C2)thunderbolt,

Then He saw it and declared it; He established it and also searched it out.

-"And to mankind He said, 'Behold, the ^(C1)fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to turn away from evil is understanding.'"