| New American Standard Bible 1995 | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1"Surely there is a mine for silver And a place where they refine gold. | 1Surely there is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined. |
| 2"Iron is taken from the dust, And copper is smelted from rock. | 2Iron is taken from the ground, and copper is smelted from ore. |
| 3"Man puts an end to darkness, And to the farthest limit he searches out The rock in gloom and deep shadow. | 3A miner puts an end to the darkness; he probes the deepest recesses for ore in the gloomy darkness. |
| 4"He sinks a shaft far from habitation, Forgotten by the foot; They hang and swing to and fro far from men. | 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. |
| 5"The earth, from it comes food, And underneath it is turned up as fire. | 5Food may come from the earth, but below the surface the earth is transformed as by fire. |
| 6"Its rocks are the source of sapphires, And its dust contains gold. | 6Its rocks are a source of sapphire, containing flecks of gold. |
| 7"The path no bird of prey knows, Nor has the falcon's eye caught sight of it. | 7No bird of prey knows that path; no falcon's eye has seen it. |
| 8"The proud beasts have not trodden it, Nor has the fierce lion passed over it. | 8Proud beasts have never walked on it; no lion has ever prowled over it. |
| 9"He puts his hand on the flint; He overturns the mountains at the base. | 9The miner strikes the flint and transforms the mountains at their foundations. |
| 10"He hews out channels through the rocks, And his eye sees anything precious. | 10He cuts out channels in the rocks, and his eyes spot every treasure. |
| 11"He dams up the streams from flowing, And what is hidden he brings out to the light. | 11He dams up the streams from flowing so that he may bring to light what is hidden. |
| 12"But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? | 12But where can wisdom be found, and where is understanding located? |
| 13"Man does not know its value, Nor is it found in the land of the living. | 13No man can know its value, since it cannot be found in the land of the living. |
| 14"The deep says, 'It is not in me'; And the sea says, 'It is not with me.' | 14The ocean depths say, "It's not in me," while the sea declares, "I don't have it." |
| 15"Pure gold cannot be given in exchange for it, Nor can silver be weighed as its price. | 15Gold cannot be exchanged for it, and silver cannot be weighed out for its price. |
| 16"It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, In precious onyx, or sapphire. | 16Wisdom cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx or sapphire. |
| 17"Gold or glass cannot equal it, Nor can it be exchanged for articles of fine gold. | 17Gold and glass do not compare with it, and articles of fine gold cannot be exchanged for it. |
| 18"Coral and crystal are not to be mentioned; And the acquisition of wisdom is above that of pearls. | 18Coral and quartz are not worth mentioning. The price of wisdom is beyond pearls. |
| 19"The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it, Nor can it be valued in pure gold. | 19Topaz from Cush cannot compare with it, and it cannot be valued in pure gold. |
| 20"Where then does wisdom come from? And where is the place of understanding? | 20Where then does wisdom come from, and where is understanding located? |
| 21"Thus it is hidden from the eyes of all living And concealed from the birds of the sky. | 21It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing and concealed from the birds of the sky. |
| 22"Abaddon and Death say, 'With our ears we have heard a report of it.' | 22Abaddon and Death say, "We have heard news of it with our ears." |
| 23"God understands its way, And He knows its place. | 23But God understands the way to wisdom, and He knows its location. |
| 24"For He looks to the ends of the earth And sees everything under the heavens. | 24For He looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens. |
| 25"When He imparted weight to the wind And meted out the waters by measure, | 25When God fixed the weight of the wind and limited the water by measure, |
| 26When He set a limit for the rain And a course for the thunderbolt, | 26when He established a limit for the rain and a path for the lightning, |
| 27Then He saw it and declared it; He established it and also searched it out. | 27He considered wisdom and evaluated it; He established it and examined it. |
| 28"And to man He said, 'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding.'" | 28He said to mankind, "The fear of the Lord is this: wisdom. And to turn from evil is understanding." |
| New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org | Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. |
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