GOD'S WORD Translation GW
New King James Version NKJV
1 "There is a place where silver is mined and a place where gold is refined.
1
"Surely there is a mine for silver, And a place where gold is refined.
2 Iron is taken from the ground, and rocks are melted for [their] copper.
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Iron is taken from the earth, And copper is smelted from ore.
3 [Humans] bring an end to darkness [there] and search to the limit of the gloomy, pitch-black rock.
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Man puts an end to darkness, And searches every recess For ore in the darkness and the shadow of death.
4 They open up a mineshaft far from civilization, where no one has set foot. [In this shaft] men dangle and swing back and forth.
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He breaks open a shaft away from people; In places forgotten by feet They hang far away from men; They swing to and fro.
5 "Above the ground food grows, but beneath it the food decays as if [it were burned] by fire.
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As for the earth, from it comes bread, But underneath it is turned up as by fire;
6 That place's stones are sapphire. Its dust contains gold.
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Its stones are the source of sapphires, And it contains gold dust.
7 No bird of prey knows the way to it. No hawk's eye has ever seen it.
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That path no bird knows, Nor has the falcon's eye seen it.
8 No proud beast has ever walked on it. No ferocious lion has ever passed over it.
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The proud lions have not trodden it, Nor has the fierce lion passed over it.
9 "Humans exert their power on the flinty rocks and overturn mountains at their base.
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He puts his hand on the flint; He overturns the mountains at the roots.
10 They cut out mineshafts in the rocks. Their eyes see every precious thing.
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He cuts out channels in the rocks, And his eye sees every precious thing.
11 They explore the sources of rivers so that they bring hidden treasures to light.
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He dams up the streams from trickling; What is hidden he brings forth to light.
12 "Where can wisdom be found? Where does understanding live?
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"But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?
13 No mortal knows where it is. It cannot be found in this world of the living.
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Man does not know its value, Nor is it found in the land of the living.
14 The deep ocean says, 'It isn't in me.' The sea says, 'It isn't with me.'
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The deep says, 'It is not in me'; And the sea says, 'It is not with me.'
15 You cannot obtain it with solid gold or buy it for any amount of silver.
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It cannot be purchased for gold, Nor can silver be weighed for its price.
16 It can't be bought with the gold from Ophir or with precious onyx or sapphire.
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It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, In precious onyx or sapphire.
17 Neither gold nor glass can equal its value. Nor can gold ornaments, jewels, or crystal
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Neither gold nor crystal can equal it, Nor can it be exchanged for jewelry of fine gold.
18 be exchanged for it. Wisdom is more valuable than gems.
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No mention shall be made of coral or quartz, For the price of wisdom is above rubies.
19 Topaz from Ethiopia cannot equal its value. It cannot be bought for [any amount of] pure gold.
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The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it, Nor can it be valued in pure gold.
20 "Where does wisdom come from? Where does understanding live?
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"From where then does wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding?
21 It is hidden from the eyes of every living being, hidden even from the birds in the air.
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It is hidden from the eyes of all living, And concealed from the birds of the air.
22 Decay and Death say, 'We've heard a rumor about it.'
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Destruction and Death say, 'We have heard a report about it with our ears.'
23 "God understands the way to it. He knows where it lives
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God understands its way, And He knows its place.
24 because he can see to the ends of the earth and observe everything under heaven.
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For He looks to the ends of the earth, And sees under the whole heavens,
25 When he gave the wind its force and measured the water [in the sea],
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To establish a weight for the wind, And apportion the waters by measure.
26 when he made rules for the rain and set paths for the thunderstorms,
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When He made a law for the rain, And a path for the thunderbolt,
27 then he saw it and announced it. He confirmed it and examined it.
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Then He saw wisdom and declared it; He prepared it, indeed, He searched it out.
28 So he told humans, 'The fear of the Lord is wisdom! To stay away from evil is understanding.'"
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And to man He said, 'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, And to depart from evil is understanding.' "