| Holman Christian Standard Bible | NET Bible |
| 1Surely there is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined. | 1"Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. |
| 2Iron is taken from the ground, and copper is smelted from ore. | 2Iron is taken from the ground, and rock is poured out as copper. |
| 3A miner puts an end to the darkness; he probes the deepest recesses for ore in the gloomy darkness. | 3Man puts an end to the darkness; he searches the farthest recesses for the ore in the deepest darkness. |
| 4He cuts a shaft far from human habitation, in places unknown to those who walk above ground. Suspended far away from people, the miners swing back and forth. | 4Far from where people live he sinks a shaft, in places travelers have long forgotten, far from other people he dangles and sways. |
| 5Food may come from the earth, but below the surface the earth is transformed as by fire. | 5The earth, from which food comes, is overturned below as though by fire; |
| 6Its rocks are a source of sapphire, containing flecks of gold. | 6a place whose stones are sapphires and which contains dust of gold; |
| 7No bird of prey knows that path; no falcon's eye has seen it. | 7a hidden path no bird of prey knows--no falcon's eye has spotted it. |
| 8Proud beasts have never walked on it; no lion has ever prowled over it. | 8Proud beasts have not set foot on it, and no lion has passed along it. |
| 9The miner strikes the flint and transforms the mountains at their foundations. | 9On the flinty rock man has set to work with his hand; he has overturned mountains at their bases. |
| 10He cuts out channels in the rocks, and his eyes spot every treasure. | 10He has cut out channels through the rocks; his eyes have spotted every precious thing. |
| 11He dams up the streams from flowing so that he may bring to light what is hidden. | 11He has searched the sources of the rivers and what was hidden he has brought into the light. |
| 12But where can wisdom be found, and where is understanding located? | 12"But wisdom--where can it be found? Where is the place of understanding? |
| 13No man can know its value, since it cannot be found in the land of the living. | 13Mankind does not know its place; it cannot be found in the land of the living. |
| 14The ocean depths say, "It's not in me," while the sea declares, "I don't have it." | 14The deep says, 'It is not with me.' And the sea says, 'It is not with me.' |
| 15Gold cannot be exchanged for it, and silver cannot be weighed out for its price. | 15Fine gold cannot be given in exchange for it, nor can its price be weighed out in silver. |
| 16Wisdom cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx or sapphire. | 16It cannot be measured out for purchase with the gold of Ophir, with precious onyx or sapphires. |
| 17Gold and glass do not compare with it, and articles of fine gold cannot be exchanged for it. | 17Neither gold nor crystal can be compared with it, nor can a vase of gold match its worth. |
| 18Coral and quartz are not worth mentioning. The price of wisdom is beyond pearls. | 18Of coral and jasper no mention will be made; the price of wisdom is more than pearls. |
| 19Topaz from Cush cannot compare with it, and it cannot be valued in pure gold. | 19The topaz of Cush cannot be compared with it; it cannot be purchased with pure gold. |
| 20Where then does wisdom come from, and where is understanding located? | 20"But wisdom--where does it come from? Where is the place of understanding? |
| 21It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing and concealed from the birds of the sky. | 21For it has been hidden from the eyes of every living creature, and from the birds of the sky it has been concealed. |
| 22Abaddon and Death say, "We have heard news of it with our ears." | 22Destruction and Death say, 'With our ears we have heard a rumor about where it can be found.' |
| 23But God understands the way to wisdom, and He knows its location. | 23God understands the way to it, and he alone knows its place. |
| 24For He looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens. | 24For he looks to the ends of the earth and observes everything under the heavens. |
| 25When God fixed the weight of the wind and limited the water by measure, | 25When he made the force of the wind and measured the waters with a gauge. |
| 26when He established a limit for the rain and a path for the lightning, | 26When he imposed a limit for the rain, and a path for the thunderstorm, |
| 27He considered wisdom and evaluated it; He established it and examined it. | 27then he looked at wisdom and assessed its value; he established it and examined it closely. |
| 28He said to mankind, "The fear of the Lord is this: wisdom. And to turn from evil is understanding." | 28And he said to mankind, 'The fear of the LORD--that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.'" |
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