Where Can Wisdom Be Found?

28 “For sure there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is made pure. ² Iron is taken out of the earth. And copper is melted from the rock. ³ Man looks into the deepest darkness. And he goes out to the farthest part of the earth to look for rocks in the dark places. ⁴ Men break open deep holes far from where people live, forgotten by travelers. In the holes they hang and move from side to side far from men. ⁵ As for the earth, out of it comes food. But below, it is turned up as fire. ⁶ Sapphires come from its rocks and its dust has gold. ⁷ No bird who eats meat knows that path. The falcon’s eye has not seen it. ⁸ The proud animals have not stepped on it. The strong lion has not passed over it. ⁹ Man puts his hand on the hard rock. He turns the mountains over at its base. ¹⁰ He makes a path through the rocks, and his eyes see everything of much worth. ¹¹ He stops rivers from flowing. And he brings to light what is hidden.

¹² “But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? ¹³ Man does not know its worth, and it is not found in the land of the living. ¹⁴ The deep waters say, ‘It is not in me.’ The sea says, ‘It is not with me.’ ¹⁵ Pure gold cannot be traded for it and it cannot be bought with silver. ¹⁶ It cannot be compared in worth to the gold of Ophir, onyx of much worth, or sapphire. ¹⁷ Gold or glass cannot be compared to it in worth and it cannot be traded for objects of fine gold. ¹⁸ There is no need to say anything about coral or crystal because wisdom cannot be paid for with rubies. ¹⁹ The topaz of Ethiopia cannot be compared to it in worth and it cannot be compared with the worth of pure gold. ²⁰ Where then does wisdom come from? Where is the place of understanding? ²¹ It is hidden from the eyes of all living. It is hidden from the birds of the sky. ²² The Place That Destroys and Death say, ‘We have only heard about it with our ears.’

²³ “God understands the way to wisdom, and He knows its place. ²⁴ For He looks to the ends of the earth, and sees everything under the heavens. ²⁵ He gave weight to the wind. He decided how much water would be in the sea. ²⁶ He decided how much rain would fall, and the path for the lightning. ²⁷ Then He saw wisdom and made it known. He made it last, and found out all about it. ²⁸ And He said to man, ‘See, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom. And to turn away from sin is understanding.’”