Capítulo 28

1 - Surely there is a mine for silver, And a place for gold which they refine.

2 - Iron is taken out of the earth, And copper is molten out of the stone.

3 - [Man] setteth an end to darkness, And searcheth out, to the furthest bound, The stones of obscurity and of thick darkness.

4 - He breaketh open a shaft away from where men sojourn; They are forgotten of the foot; They hang afar from men, they swing to and fro.

5 - As for the earth, out of it cometh bread; And underneath it is turned up as it were by fire.

6 - The stones thereof are the place of sapphires, And it hath dust of gold.

7 - That path no bird of prey knoweth, Neither hath the falcon's eye seen it:

8 - The proud beasts have not trodden it, Nor hath the fierce lion passed thereby.

9 - He putteth forth his hand upon the flinty rock; He overturneth the mountains by the roots.

10 - He cutteth out channels among the rocks; And his eye seeth every precious thing.

11 - He bindeth the streams that they trickle not; And the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light.

12 - But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?

13 - Man knoweth not the price thereof; Neither is it found in the land of the living.

14 - The deep saith, It is not in me; And the sea saith, It is not with me.

15 - It cannot be gotten for gold, Neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof.

16 - It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, With the precious onyx, or the sapphire.

17 - Gold and glass cannot equal it, Neither shall it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.

18 - No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal: Yea, the price of wisdom is above rubies.

19 - The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, Neither shall it be valued with pure gold.

20 - Whence then cometh wisdom? And where is the place of understanding?

21 - Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, And kept close from the birds of the heavens.

22 - Destruction and Death say, We have heard a rumor thereof with our ears.

23 - God understandeth the way thereof, And he knoweth the place thereof.

24 - For he looketh to the ends of the earth, And seeth under the whole heaven;

25 - To make a weight for the wind: Yea, he meteth out the waters by measure.

26 - When he made a decree for the rain, And a way for the lightning of the thunder;

27 - Then did he see it, and declare it; He established it, yea, and searched it out.

28 - And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding.