New Living Translation NLT
New International Version NIV
1 “People know where to mine silver and how to refine gold.
1
There is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined.
2 They know where to dig iron from the earth and how to smelt copper from rock.
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Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore.
3 They know how to shine light in the darkness and explore the farthest regions of the earth as they search in the dark for ore.
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Mortals put an end to the darkness; they search out the farthest recesses for ore in the blackest darkness.
4 They sink a mine shaft into the earth far from where anyone lives. They descend on ropes, swinging back and forth.
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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 Food is grown on the earth above, but down below, the earth is melted as by fire.
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The earth, from which food comes, is transformed below as by fire;
6 Here the rocks contain precious lapis lazuli, and the dust contains gold.
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lapis lazuli comes from its rocks, and its dust contains nuggets of gold.
7 These are treasures no bird of prey can see, no falcon’s eye observe.
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No bird of prey knows that hidden path, no falcon’s eye has seen it.
8 No wild animal has walked upon these treasures; no lion has ever set his paw there.
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Proud beasts do not set foot on it, and no lion prowls there.
9 People know how to tear apart flinty rocks and overturn the roots of mountains.
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People assault the flinty rock with their hands and lay bare the roots of the mountains.
10 They cut tunnels in the rocks and uncover precious stones.
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They tunnel through the rock; their eyes see all its treasures.
11 They dam up the trickling streams and bring to light the hidden treasures.
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They search the sources of the rivers and bring hidden things to light.
12 “But do people know where to find wisdom? Where can they find understanding?
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But where can wisdom be found? Where does understanding dwell?
13 No one knows where to find it, for it is not found among the living.
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No mortal comprehends its worth; it cannot be found in the land of the living.
14 ‘It is not here,’ says the ocean. ‘Nor is it here,’ says the sea.
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The deep says, “It is not in me”; the sea says, “It is not with me.”
15 It cannot be bought with gold. It cannot be purchased with silver.
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It cannot be bought with the finest gold, nor can its price be weighed out in silver.
16 It’s worth more than all the gold of Ophir, greater than precious onyx or lapis lazuli.
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It cannot be bought with the gold of Ophir, with precious onyx or lapis lazuli.
17 Wisdom is more valuable than gold and crystal. It cannot be purchased with jewels mounted in fine gold.
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Neither gold nor crystal can compare with it, nor can it be had for jewels of gold.
18 Coral and jasper are worthless in trying to get it. The price of wisdom is far above rubies.
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Coral and jasper are not worthy of mention; the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.
19 Precious peridot from Ethiopia cannot be exchanged for it. It’s worth more than the purest gold.
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The topaz of Cush cannot compare with it; it cannot be bought with pure gold.
20 “But do people know where to find wisdom? Where can they find understanding?
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Where then does wisdom come from? Where does understanding dwell?
21 It is hidden from the eyes of all humanity. Even the sharp-eyed birds in the sky cannot discover it.
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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’ve heard only rumors of where wisdom can be found.’
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Destruction and Death say, “Only a rumor of it has reached our ears.”
23 “God alone understands the way to wisdom; he knows where it can be found,
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God understands the way to it and he alone knows where it dwells,
24 for he looks throughout the whole earth and sees everything under the heavens.
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for he views the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.
25 He decided how hard the winds should blow and how much rain should fall.
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When he established the force of the wind and measured out the waters,
26 He made the laws for the rain and laid out a path for the lightning.
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when he made a decree for the rain and a path for the thunderstorm,
27 Then he saw wisdom and evaluated it. He set it in place and examined it thoroughly.
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then he looked at wisdom and appraised it; he confirmed it and tested it.
28 And this is what he says to all humanity: ‘The fear of the Lord is true wisdom; to forsake evil is real 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.”
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by
Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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.