American Standard Version ASV
New International Version NIV
1 Surely there is a mine for silver, And a place for gold which they refine.
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There is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined.
2 Iron is taken out of the earth, And copper is molten out of the stone.
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Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore.
3 [Man] setteth an end to darkness, And searcheth out, to the furthest bound, The stones of obscurity and of thick darkness.
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Mortals put an end to the darkness; they search out the farthest recesses for ore in the blackest darkness.
4 He breaketh open a shaft away from where men sojourn; They are forgotten of the foot; They hang afar from men, they swing to and fro.
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Far from human dwellings they cut a shaft, in places untouched by human feet; far from other people they dangle and sway.
5 As for the earth, out of it cometh bread; And underneath it is turned up as it were by fire.
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The earth, from which food comes, is transformed below as by fire;
6 The stones thereof are the place of sapphires, And it hath dust of gold.
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lapis lazuli comes from its rocks, and its dust contains nuggets of gold.
7 That path no bird of prey knoweth, Neither hath the falcon's eye seen it:
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No bird of prey knows that hidden path, no falcon’s eye has seen it.
8 The proud beasts have not trodden it, Nor hath the fierce lion passed thereby.
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Proud beasts do not set foot on it, and no lion prowls there.
9 He putteth forth his hand upon the flinty rock; He overturneth the mountains by the roots.
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People assault the flinty rock with their hands and lay bare the roots of the mountains.
10 He cutteth out channels among the rocks; And his eye seeth every precious thing.
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They tunnel through the rock; their eyes see all its treasures.
11 He bindeth the streams that they trickle not; And the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light.
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They search the sources of the rivers and bring hidden things to light.
12 But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?
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But where can wisdom be found? Where does understanding dwell?
13 Man knoweth not the price thereof; Neither is it found in the land of the living.
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No mortal comprehends its worth; it cannot be found in the land of the living.
14 The deep saith, It is not in me; And the sea saith, It is not with me.
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The deep says, “It is not in me”; the sea says, “It is not with me.”
15 It cannot be gotten for gold, Neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof.
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It cannot be bought with the finest gold, nor can its price be weighed out in silver.
16 It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, With the precious onyx, or the sapphire.
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It cannot be bought with the gold of Ophir, with precious onyx or lapis lazuli.
17 Gold and glass cannot equal it, Neither shall it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.
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Neither gold nor crystal can compare with it, nor can it be had for jewels of gold.
18 No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal: Yea, the price of wisdom is above rubies.
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Coral and jasper are not worthy of mention; the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.
19 The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, Neither shall it be valued with pure gold.
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The topaz of Cush cannot compare with it; it cannot be bought with pure gold.
20 Whence then cometh wisdom? And where is the place of understanding?
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Where then does wisdom come from? Where does understanding dwell?
21 Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, And kept close from the birds of the heavens.
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It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing, concealed even from the birds in the sky.
22 Destruction and Death say, We have heard a rumor thereof with our ears.
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Destruction and Death say, “Only a rumor of it has reached our ears.”
23 God understandeth the way thereof, And he knoweth the place thereof.
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God understands the way to it and he alone knows where it dwells,
24 For he looketh to the ends of the earth, And seeth under the whole heaven;
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for he views the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.
25 To make a weight for the wind: Yea, he meteth out the waters by measure.
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When he established the force of the wind and measured out the waters,
26 When he made a decree for the rain, And a way for the lightning of the thunder;
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when he made a decree for the rain and a path for the thunderstorm,
27 Then did he see it, and declare it; He established it, yea, and searched it out.
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then he looked at wisdom and appraised it; he confirmed it and tested it.
28 And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding.
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And he said to the human race, “The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.”
The American Standard Version is in the public domain.
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.