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Job 28 (CEV)

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¹ Gold and silver are mined, then purified; ² the same is done with iron and copper. ³ Miners carry lanterns deep into the darkness to search for these metals. ⁴ They dig tunnels in distant, unknown places, where they dangle by ropes. ⁵ Far beneath the grain fields, fires are built to break loose those rocks ⁶ that have jewels or gold. ⁷ Miners go to places unseen by the eyes of hawks; ⁸ they walk on soil unknown to the proudest lions. ⁹ With their own hands they remove sharp rocks and uproot mountains. ¹⁰ They dig through the rocks in search of jewels and precious metals. ¹¹ They also uncover the sources of rivers and discover secret places. ¹² But where is wisdom found? ¹³ No human knows the way. ¹⁴ Nor can it be discovered in the deepest sea. ¹⁵ It is worth much more than silver or pure gold ¹⁶ or precious stones. ¹⁷ Nothing is its equal-- not gold or costly glass. ¹⁸ Wisdom is worth much more than coral, jasper, or rubies. ¹⁹ All the topaz of Ethiopia and the finest gold cannot compare with it. ²⁰ Where then is wisdom? ²¹ It is hidden from human eyes and even from birds. ²² Death and destruction have merely heard rumors about where it is found. ²³ God is the only one who knows the way to wisdom, ²⁴ because he sees everything beneath the heavens. ²⁵ When God divided out the wind and the water, ²⁶ and when he decided the path for rain and lightning, ²⁷ he also determined the truth and defined wisdom. ²⁸ God told us, "Wisdom means that you respect me, the Lord, and turn from sin."