1 Gold and silver are mined,then purified;
2 the same is donewith iron and copper.
3 Miners carry lanternsdeep into the darknessto search for these metals.
4 They dig tunnelsin distant, unknown places,where they dangle by ropes.
5 Far beneath the grain fields,fires are builtto break loose those rocks
6 that have jewels or gold.
7 Miners go to places unseenby the eyes of hawks;
8 they walk on soil unknownto the proudest lions.
9 With their own handsthey remove sharp rocksand uproot mountains.
10 They dig through the rocksin search of jewelsand precious metals.
11 They also uncoverthe sources of riversand discover secret places.
12 But where is wisdom found?
13 No human knows the way.
14 Nor can it be discoveredin the deepest sea.*
15 It is worth much morethan silver or pure gold
16 or precious stones.
17 Nothing is its equal—not gold or costly glass.
18 Wisdom is worth much more thancoral, jasper, or rubies.
19 All the topaz of Ethiopiaand the finest goldcannot compare with it.
20 Where then is wisdom?
21 It is hidden from human eyesand even from birds.
22 Death and destructionhave merely heard rumorsabout where it is found.
23 God is the only one who knowsthe way to wisdom;
24 he alone sees everythingbeneath the heavens.
25 When God divided outthe wind and the water,
26 and when he decided the pathfor rain and lightning,
27 he also determined the truthand defined wisdom.
28 God told us, “Wisdom meansthat you respect me, the Lord,and turn from sin.”