28 Surely there is a vein for the silver, and a place for gold where they fine it.

Iron is taken out of the earth, and brass is molten out of the stone.

He setteth an end to darkness, and searcheth out all perfection: the stones of darkness, and the shadow of death.

The flood breaketh out from the inhabitant; even the waters forgotten of the foot: they are dried up, they are gone away from men.

As for the earth, out of it cometh bread: and under it is turned up as it were fire.

The stones of it are the place of sapphires: and it hath dust of gold.

There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture's eye hath not seen:

The lion's whelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it.

He putteth forth his hand upon the rock; he overturneth the mountains by the roots.

10 He cutteth out rivers among the rocks; and his eye seeth every precious thing.

11 He bindeth the floods from overflowing; 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 depth 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 The gold and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold.

18 No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for 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 fowls of the air.

22 Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame 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 the weight for the winds; and he weigheth 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 prepared 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.

Job Tells of Earth’s Treasures

28 “Surely there is a mine for silver,
And a place where they refine gold.

“Iron is taken out of the earth,
And copper is smelted from the stone ore.

Man puts an end to darkness [by bringing in a light],
And to the farthest bounds he searches out
The rock buried in gloom and deep shadow.

“He breaks open (mine) shafts far away from where people live,
[In places] forgotten by the [human] foot;
They dangle [in the mines] and hang away from men.

“[As for] the earth, out of it comes food,
But underneath [its surface, down deep] it is turned over as fire.

“Its stones are the bed of sapphires;
It holds dust of gold.

“The path [deep within] no bird of prey knows,
And the falcon’s eye has not caught sight of it.

“The proud beasts [and their young] have not walked on it,
Nor has the fierce lion passed over it.

“Man puts his hand on [and tears apart] the flinty rock;
He overturns the mountains at the base [looking for treasure].
10 
“He cuts out channels and passages among the rocks;
And his eye sees every precious thing.
11 
“Man dams up the streams from flowing [so that they do not trickle into the mine],
And what is hidden he brings out to the light.

The Search for Wisdom Is Harder

12 
“But where can wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?
13 
“Man does not know the value of it;
Nor is it 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.’
15 
“It cannot be obtained for pure gold,
Nor can silver be weighed as its price.
16 
“It cannot be valued in [terms of] the gold of Ophir,
In the precious onyx or beryl, or the sapphire.
17 
“Gold and glass cannot equal wisdom,
Nor can it be exchanged for articles of fine gold.
18 
“No mention of coral and crystal can be made;
For the possession of wisdom is even above [that of] rubies or pearls.
19 
“The topaz of Ethiopia cannot compare with it,
Nor can it be valued in pure gold.
20 
“From where then does wisdom come?
And where is the place of understanding?
21 
“It is hidden from the eyes of all the living
And concealed from the birds of the heavens.
22 
“Abaddon (the place of destruction) and Death say,
‘We have [only] heard a report of it with our ears.’

23 
“God understands the way [to wisdom]
And He knows its place [for wisdom is with God alone].
24 
“For He looks to the ends of the earth
And sees everything under the heavens.
25 
“When He gave weight and pressure to the wind
And allotted the waters by measure,
26 
When He made a limit for the rain
And a way for the thunderbolt,
27 
Then He saw wisdom and declared it;
He established it and searched it out.
28 
“But to man He said, ‘Behold, the reverential and worshipful fear of the Lord—that is wisdom;
And to depart from evil is understanding.’”

Job Continues: Where Is Wisdom?

28 “Surely there is a mine for silver,
    and a place for gold that they (A)refine.
Iron is taken out of the earth,
    and copper is smelted from the ore.
Man puts an end to darkness
    and searches out to the farthest limit
    the ore in (B)gloom and (C)deep darkness.
He opens shafts in a valley away from where anyone lives;
    they are forgotten by travelers;
    they hang in the air, far away from mankind; they swing to and fro.
As for the earth, (D)out of it comes bread,
    but underneath it is turned up as by fire.
Its stones are the place of (E)sapphires,[a]
    and it has dust of gold.

“That path no bird of prey knows,
    and the falcon's eye has not seen it.
(F)The proud beasts have not trodden it;
    (G)the lion has not passed over it.

“Man puts his hand to (H)the flinty rock
    and overturns mountains by the roots.
10 He cuts out channels in the rocks,
    and his eye sees every precious thing.
11 He dams up the streams so that they do not trickle,
    and the thing that is hidden he brings out to light.

12 (I)“But where shall wisdom be found?
    And where is the place of understanding?
13 Man does not know its worth,
    and it is not found in (J)the land of the living.
14 (K)The deep says, ‘It is not in me,’
    and the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’
15 It (L)cannot be bought for gold,
    and silver cannot be weighed as its price.
16 It cannot be valued in (M)the gold of (N)Ophir,
    in precious (O)onyx or (P)sapphire.
17 Gold and glass cannot equal it,
    nor can it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.
18 No mention shall be made of (Q)coral or of crystal;
    the price of wisdom is above (R)(S)pearls.
19 (T)The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it,
    nor can it be valued in pure gold.

20 “From where, then, does wisdom come?
    And where is the place of understanding?
21 It is hidden from the eyes of (U)all living
    and concealed from the birds of the air.
22 (V)Abaddon and Death say,
    ‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’

23 (W)“God understands the way to it,
    and he knows its place.
24 For he (X)looks to the ends of the earth
    and sees everything under the heavens.
25 When he (Y)gave to the wind its weight
    and apportioned the waters by measure,
26 when he made a decree for the rain
    and (Z)a way for the lightning of the thunder,
27 then he saw it and declared it;
    he established it, and searched it out.
28 And he said to man,
‘Behold, (AA)the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,
    and to (AB)turn away from evil is understanding.’”

Footnotes

  1. Job 28:6 Or lapis lazuli; also verse 16

Los tesoros de la tierra y la sabiduría

28 »Ciertamente hay una mina[a] para la plata,
Y un lugar donde se refina el oro[b].
El hierro se saca de la tierra,
Y de la piedra se funde el cobre.
El hombre pone fin a las tinieblas,
Y hasta los límites más remotos escudriña(A)
La roca que está en densa oscuridad.
Abren[c] minas lejos de lo habitado[d],
Olvidado por el pie;
Suspendidos se balancean lejos de los hombres.
De la tierra viene el alimento,
Y abajo está revuelta como por fuego.
Sus piedras son yacimientos[e] de zafiros,
Y su polvo contiene oro.
Senda que ave de rapiña no conoce,
Ni que ojo de halcón ha alcanzado a ver;
Las orgullosas bestias[f] no la han pisado,
Ni el fiero león ha pasado por ella.
Pone el hombre su mano en el pedernal;
Vuelca de raíz los montes.
10 Abre canales en las rocas,
Y su ojo ve todo lo preciado.
11 Detiene los arroyos para que no corran[g],
Y saca a luz lo oculto.

12 »Pero la sabiduría, ¿dónde se hallará?
¿Y dónde está el lugar de la inteligencia(B)?
13 No conoce el hombre su valor,
Ni se encuentra en la tierra de los vivientes(C).
14 El abismo dice: “No está en mí”;
Y el mar dice: “No está conmigo”.
15 No se puede dar oro puro por ella,
Ni peso de plata por su precio(D).
16 No puede evaluarse con oro de Ofir,
Ni con ónice precioso, ni con zafiro.
17 No la pueden igualar ni el oro ni el vidrio,
Ni se puede cambiar por artículos de oro puro(E).
18 Coral y cristal ni se mencionen;
La adquisición de la sabiduría es mejor que las perlas(F).
19 El topacio de Etiopía[h] no puede igualarla,
Ni con oro puro(G) se puede evaluar.
20 ¿De dónde, pues, viene la sabiduría?
¿Y dónde está el lugar de la inteligencia(H)?
21 Está escondida de los ojos de todos los vivientes,
Y oculta a todas las aves del cielo.
22 El Abadón[i](I) y la muerte dicen:
“Con nuestros oídos hemos oído su fama”.

23 »Dios entiende el camino de ella,
Y conoce su lugar(J).
24 Porque Él contempla los confines de la tierra,
Y ve todo bajo los cielos(K).
25 Cuando Él dio peso al viento(L)
Y determinó las aguas por medida(M);
26 Cuando puso límite a la lluvia(N)
Y camino para el rayo(O),
27 Entonces Él la vio y la declaró,
La estableció y también la escudriñó.
28 Y dijo al hombre: “El temor[j] del Señor es sabiduría,
Y apartarse del mal, inteligencia(P)”».

Footnotes

  1. Job 28:1 O yacimiento.
  2. Job 28:1 Lit. para el oro que refinan.
  3. Job 28:4 Lit. Abre.
  4. Job 28:4 Lit. de la peregrinación.
  5. Job 28:6 O lugar.
  6. Job 28:8 Lit. los hijos de orgullo.
  7. Job 28:11 Lit. lloren.
  8. Job 28:19 Heb. Cush.
  9. Job 28:22 I.e. lugar de destrucción.
  10. Job 28:28 O La reverencia.