New International Version NIV
Young's Literal Translation YLT
1 There is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined.
1
Surely there is for silver a source, And a place for the gold they refine;
2 Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore.
2
Iron from the dust is taken, And [from] the firm stone brass.
3 Mortals put an end to the darkness; they search out the farthest recesses for ore in the blackest darkness.
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An end hath he set to darkness, And to all perfection he is searching, A stone of darkness and death-shade.
4 Far from human dwellings they cut a shaft, in places untouched by human feet; far from other people they dangle and sway.
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A stream hath broken out from a sojourner, Those forgotten of the foot, They were low, from man they wandered.
5 The earth, from which food comes, is transformed below as by fire;
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The earth! from it cometh forth bread, And its under-part is turned like fire.
6 lapis lazuli comes from its rocks, and its dust contains nuggets of gold.
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A place of the sapphire [are] its stones, And it hath dust of gold.
7 No bird of prey knows that hidden path, no falcon’s eye has seen it.
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A path -- not known it hath a ravenous fowl, Nor scorched it hath an eye of the kite,
8 Proud beasts do not set foot on it, and no lion prowls there.
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Nor trodden it have the sons of pride, Not passed over it hath the fierce lion.
9 People assault the flinty rock with their hands and lay bare the roots of the mountains.
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Against the flint he sent forth his hand, He overturned from the root mountains.
10 They tunnel through the rock; their eyes see all its treasures.
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Among rocks, brooks he hath cleaved, And every precious thing hath his eye seen.
11 They search the sources of the rivers and bring hidden things to light.
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From overflowing floods he hath bound, And the hidden thing bringeth out [to] light.
12 But where can wisdom be found? Where does understanding dwell?
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And the wisdom -- whence is it found? And where [is] this, the place of understanding?
13 No mortal comprehends its worth; it cannot be found in the land of the living.
13
Man hath not known its arrangement, Nor is it found in the land of the living.
14 The deep says, “It is not in me”; the sea says, “It is not with me.”
14
The deep hath said, `It [is] not in me,' And the sea hath said, `It is not with me.'
15 It cannot be bought with the finest gold, nor can its price be weighed out in silver.
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Gold is not given for it, Nor is silver weighed -- its price.
16 It cannot be bought with the gold of Ophir, with precious onyx or lapis lazuli.
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It is not valued with pure gold of Ophir, With precious onyx and sapphire,
17 Neither gold nor crystal can compare with it, nor can it be had for jewels of gold.
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Not equal it do gold and crystal, Nor [is] its exchange a vessel of fine gold.
18 Coral and jasper are not worthy of mention; the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.
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Corals and pearl are not remembered, The acquisition of wisdom [is] above rubies.
19 The topaz of Cush cannot compare with it; it cannot be bought with pure gold.
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Not equal it doth the topaz of Cush, With pure gold it is not valued.
20 Where then does wisdom come from? Where does understanding dwell?
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And the wisdom -- whence doth it come? And where [is] this, the place of understanding?
21 It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing, concealed even from the birds in the sky.
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It hath been hid from the eyes of all living. And from the fowl of the heavens It hath been hidden.
22 Destruction and Death say, “Only a rumor of it has reached our ears.”
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Destruction and death have said: `With our ears we have heard its fame.'
23 God understands the way to it and he alone knows where it dwells,
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God hath understood its way, And He hath known its place.
24 for he views the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.
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For He to the ends of the earth doth look, Under the whole heavens He doth see,
25 When he established the force of the wind and measured out the waters,
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To make for the wind a weight, And the waters He meted out in measure.
26 when he made a decree for the rain and a path for the thunderstorm,
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In His making for the rain a limit, And a way for the brightness of the voices,
27 then he looked at wisdom and appraised it; he confirmed it and tested it.
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Then He hath seen and declareth it, He hath prepared it, and also searched it out,
28 And he said to the human race, “The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.”
28
And He saith to man: -- `Lo, fear of the Lord, that [is] wisdom, And to turn from evil [is] understanding.'
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.
Young's Literal Translation is in the public domain.