The Complete Jewish Bible CJB
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 "There are mines for silver and places where gold is refined;
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Truly there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is washed out.
2 iron is extracted from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore.
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Iron is taken out of the earth, and stone is changed into brass by the fire.
3 Miners conquer the darkness and dig as far in as they can, to the ore in gloom and deep darkness.
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Man puts an end to the dark, searching out to the farthest limit the stones of the deep places of the dark.
4 There where no one lives, they break open a shaft; the feet passing over are oblivious to them; far from people, suspended in space, they swing to and fro.
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He makes a deep mine far away from those living in the light of day; when they go about on the earth, they have no knowledge of those who are under them, who are hanging far from men, twisting from side to side on a cord.
5 "While the earth is [peacefully] yielding bread, underneath, it is being convulsed as if by fire;
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As for the earth, bread comes out of it; but under its face it is turned up as if by fire.
6 its rocks have veins of sapphire, and there are flecks of gold.
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Its stones are the place of sapphires, and it has dust of gold.
7 Birds of prey don't know that path, no falcon's eye has seen it,
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No bird has knowledge of it, and the hawk's eye has never seen it.
8 the proud beasts have never set foot on it, no lion has ever passed over it.
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The great beasts have not gone over it, and the cruel lion has not taken that way.
9 "[The miner] attacks the flint, overturns mountains at their roots,
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Man puts out his hand on the hard rock, overturning mountains by the roots.
10 and cuts out galleries in the rock, all the while watching for something of value.
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He makes deep ways, cut through the rock, and his eye sees everything of value.
11 He dams up streams to keep them from flooding, and brings what was hidden out into the light.
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He keeps back the streams from flowing, and makes the secret things come out into the light.
12 "But where can wisdom be found? Where is the source of understanding?
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But where may wisdom be seen? and where is the resting-place of knowledge?
13 No one knows its value, and it can't be found in the land of the living.
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Man has not seen the way to it, and it is not in the land of the living.
14 The deep says, 'It isn't in me,'and the sea says, 'It isn't with me.'
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The deep waters say, It is not in me: and the sea says, It is not with me.
15 It can't be obtained with gold, nor can silver be weighed out to buy it.
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Gold may not be given for it, or a weight of silver in payment for it.
16 It can't be purchased with choice gold from Ofir, or with precious onyx or sapphires.
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It may not be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the onyx of great price, or the sapphire.
17 Neither gold nor glass can be compared with it; nor can it be exchanged for a bowl of fine gold,
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Gold and glass are not equal to it in price, and it may not be exchanged for jewels of the best gold.
18 let alone coral or crystal; for indeed, the price of wisdom is above that of pearls.
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There is no need to say anything about coral or crystal; and the value of wisdom is greater than that of pearls.
19 It can't be compared with Ethiopian topaz, and it can't be valued with pure gold.
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The topaz of Ethiopia is not equal to it, and it may not be valued with the best gold.
20 "So where does wisdom come from? where is the source of understanding,
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From where then does wisdom come, and where is the resting-place of knowledge?
21 inasmuch as it is hidden from the eyes of all living and kept secret from the birds flying around in the sky?
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For it is kept secret from the eyes of all living, unseen by the birds of the air.
22 Destruction and Death say, 'We have heard a rumor about it with our ears.'
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Destruction and Death say, We have only had word of it with our ears.
23 "God understands its way, and he knows its place.
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God has knowledge of the way to it, and of its resting-place;
24 For he can see to the ends of the earth and view everything under heaven.
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For his eyes go to the ends of the earth, and he sees everything under heaven.
25 When he determined the force of the wind and parceled out water by measure,
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When he made a weight for the wind, measuring out the waters;
26 when he made a law for the rain and cleared a path for the thunderbolts;
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When he made a law for the rain, and a way for the thunder-flames;
27 then he saw [wisdom] and declared it, yes, he set it up and searched it out.
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Then he saw it, and put it on record; he gave it its fixed form, searching it out completely.
28 And to human beings he said, 'Look, fear of Adonai is wisdom! Shunning evil is understanding!'"
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And he said to man, Truly the fear of the Lord is wisdom, and to keep from evil is the way to knowledge.
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.