Read the Bible

Where Can Wisdom Be Found?

Verse1“Surely there is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined.

Verse2Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore.

Verse3Man puts an end to the darkness; he probes the farthest recesses for ore in deepest darkness.

Verse4Far from human habitation he cuts a shaft in places forgotten by the foot of man. Far from men he dangles and sways.

Verse5Food may come from the earth, but from below it is transformed as by fire.

Verse6Its rocks are the source of sapphires, containing flecks of gold.

Verse7No bird of prey knows that path; no falcon’s eye has seen it.

Verse8Proud beasts have never trodden it; no lion has ever prowled over it.

Verse9The miner strikes the flint; he overturns mountains at their base.

Verse10He hews out channels in the rocks, and his eyes spot every treasure.

Verse11He stops up the sources of the streams to bring what is hidden to light.

Verse12But where can wisdom be found, and where does understanding dwell?

Verse13No man can know its value, nor is it found in the land of the living.

Verse14The ocean depths say, ‘It is not in me,’ while the sea declares, ‘It is not with me.’

Verse15It cannot be bought with gold, nor can its price be weighed out in silver.

Verse16It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx or sapphire.

Verse17Neither gold nor crystal can compare to it, nor jewels of fine gold be exchanged for it.

Verse18Coral and quartz are unworthy of mention; the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.

Verse19Topaz from Cush cannot compare to it, nor can it be valued in pure gold.

Verse20From where, then, does wisdom come, and where does understanding dwell?

Verse21It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing and concealed from the birds of the air.

Verse22Abaddon and Death say, ‘We have heard a rumor about it.’

Verse23But God understands its way, and He knows its place.

Verse24For He looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.

Verse25When God fixed the weight of the wind and measured out the waters,

Verse26when He set a limit for the rain and a path for the thunderbolt,

Verse27then He looked at wisdom and appraised it; He established it and searched it out.

Verse28And He said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”