| New American Standard Bible 1995 | New Living Translation |
| 1"Surely there is a mine for silver And a place where they refine gold. | 1“People know where to mine silver and how to refine gold. |
| 2"Iron is taken from the dust, And copper is smelted from rock. | 2They know where to dig iron from the earth and how to smelt copper from rock. |
| 3"Man puts an end to darkness, And to the farthest limit he searches out The rock in gloom and deep shadow. | 3They know how to shine light in the darkness and explore the farthest regions of the earth as they search in the dark for ore. |
| 4"He sinks a shaft far from habitation, Forgotten by the foot; They hang and swing to and fro far from men. | 4They sink a mine shaft into the earth far from where anyone lives. They descend on ropes, swinging back and forth. |
| 5"The earth, from it comes food, And underneath it is turned up as fire. | 5Food is grown on the earth above, but down below, the earth is melted as by fire. |
| 6"Its rocks are the source of sapphires, And its dust contains gold. | 6Here the rocks contain precious lapis lazuli, and the dust contains gold. |
| 7"The path no bird of prey knows, Nor has the falcon's eye caught sight of it. | 7These are treasures no bird of prey can see, no falcon’s eye observe. |
| 8"The proud beasts have not trodden it, Nor has the fierce lion passed over it. | 8No wild animal has walked upon these treasures; no lion has ever set his paw there. |
| 9"He puts his hand on the flint; He overturns the mountains at the base. | 9People know how to tear apart flinty rocks and overturn the roots of mountains. |
| 10"He hews out channels through the rocks, And his eye sees anything precious. | 10They cut tunnels in the rocks and uncover precious stones. |
| 11"He dams up the streams from flowing, And what is hidden he brings out to the light. | 11They dam up the trickling streams and bring to light the hidden treasures. |
| 12"But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? | 12“But do people know where to find wisdom? Where can they find understanding? |
| 13"Man does not know its value, Nor is it found in the land of the living. | 13No one knows where to find it, for it is not found among the living. |
| 14"The deep says, 'It is not in me'; And the sea says, 'It is not with me.' | 14‘It is not here,’ says the ocean. ‘Nor is it here,’ says the sea. |
| 15"Pure gold cannot be given in exchange for it, Nor can silver be weighed as its price. | 15It cannot be bought with gold. It cannot be purchased with silver. |
| 16"It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, In precious onyx, or sapphire. | 16It’s worth more than all the gold of Ophir, greater than precious onyx or lapis lazuli. |
| 17"Gold or glass cannot equal it, Nor can it be exchanged for articles of fine gold. | 17Wisdom is more valuable than gold and crystal. It cannot be purchased with jewels mounted in fine gold. |
| 18"Coral and crystal are not to be mentioned; And the acquisition of wisdom is above that of pearls. | 18Coral and jasper are worthless in trying to get it. The price of wisdom is far above rubies. |
| 19"The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it, Nor can it be valued in pure gold. | 19Precious peridot from Ethiopia cannot be exchanged for it. It’s worth more than the purest gold. |
| 20"Where then does wisdom come from? And where is the place of understanding? | 20“But do people know where to find wisdom? Where can they find understanding? |
| 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 all humanity. Even the sharp-eyed birds in the sky cannot discover it. |
| 22"Abaddon and Death say, 'With our ears we have heard a report of it.' | 22Destruction and Death say, ‘We’ve heard only rumors of where wisdom can be found.’ |
| 23"God understands its way, And He knows its place. | 23“God alone understands the way to wisdom; he knows where it can be found, |
| 24"For He looks to the ends of the earth And sees everything under the heavens. | 24for he looks throughout the whole earth and sees everything under the heavens. |
| 25"When He imparted weight to the wind And meted out the waters by measure, | 25He decided how hard the winds should blow and how much rain should fall. |
| 26When He set a limit for the rain And a course for the thunderbolt, | 26He made the laws for the rain and laid out a path for the lightning. |
| 27Then He saw it and declared it; He established it and also searched it out. | 27Then he saw wisdom and evaluated it. He set it in place and examined it thoroughly. |
| 28"And to man He said, 'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding.'" | 28And this is what he says to all humanity: ‘The fear of the Lord is true wisdom; to forsake evil is real 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 | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
|
