Where Can Wisdom Be Found?

1Silver has its fissures where it is first found, and gold has a place where it is melted.

2Iron is taken from the earth, and ore, unbound by heat, is turned into brass.

3He has established a time for darkness, and he has settled on an end for all things, as well as for the stone that is in the gloom and shadow of death.

4The burning separates a pilgrim people from those who have been forgotten by the feet of the destitute man and from the unapproachable.

5The land, where bread appeared in its place, has been destroyed by fire.

6Its stones are embedded with sapphires, and its soil, with gold.

7The bird does not know its path, nor has the eye of the vulture beheld it.

8The sons of merchants have not walked there, nor has the lioness traveled through it.

9He has stretched out his hand to the rocks; he has overturned the foundations of the mountains.

10He has cut rivers through the rocks, and his eye has seen all precious things.

11The depths of rivers he has also examined, and he has brought hidden things into the light.

12But, in truth, where is wisdom to be found, and where is the place of understanding?

13Man does not know its price, nor is it found in the land of those who live in sweetness.

14The abyss declares, “It is not in me.” And the sea says, “It is not with me.”

15The finest gold will not be paid for it, nor will silver be weighed in exchange for it.

16It will not be compared with the dyed colors of India, nor with the very costly stone sardonyx, nor with the sapphire.

17Neither gold nor crystal will be its equal; neither will vessels of gold be fitted for it.

18The exalted and the eminent will not be remembered in comparison with it. Yet wisdom is drawn out of concealment.

19The topaz of Ethiopia will not be equal to it, nor will it be compared to the purest dyes.

20So then, where does wisdom begin, and where is the place of understanding?

21It has been hidden from the eyes of all living things, just as the birds of the heavens escape notice.

22Perdition and death have said, “With our ears, we have heard its fame.”

23God understands its way, and he knows its location.

24For he beholds the limits of the world, and he looks upon all things that are under heaven.

25He created a counterweight for the winds, and he suspended the waters to measure them.

26At that time, he gave a law to the rain and a path to the resounding storms.

27Then he saw and explained it, and he made ready and examined it.

28And he said to man, “Behold the fear of the Lord. Such is wisdom. And to withdraw from evil, this is understanding.”