28 “Certainly there is a ^[a]mine for silver
And a place ^[b]for refining gold.
² Iron is taken from the dust,
And copper is smelted from rock.
³ Man puts an end to darkness,
And ^(A)to the farthest limit he searches out
The rock in gloom and deep shadow.
⁴ He ^[c]sinks a shaft away from ^[d]inhabited areas,
Forgotten by the foot;
They hang and swing, away from people.
^5 [e]From the earth comes food,
And underneath, it is turned over like fire.
⁶ Its rocks are the ^[f]source of sapphires,
And its dust contains gold.
⁷ No bird of prey knows the path,
Nor has the falcon’s eye caught sight of it.
⁸ The ^[g]proud animals have not trodden it,
Nor has the lion passed over it.
⁹ He puts his hand on the flint;
He overturns the mountains at the ^[h]base.
¹⁰ He carves out channels through the rocks,
And his eye sees anything precious.
¹¹ He dams up the streams from ^[i]flowing,
And brings to light what is hidden.

¹² “But ^(B)where can wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?
^13 (C)Mankind does not know its value,
Nor is it found in the land of the living.
¹⁴ The ocean depth says, ‘It is not in me’;
And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’
^15 (D)Pure gold cannot be given in exchange for it,
Nor can silver be weighed as its price.
¹⁶ It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,
In precious onyx, or sapphire.
^17 (E)Gold or glass cannot equal it,
Nor can it be exchanged for articles of pure gold.
¹⁸ Coral and crystal are not to be mentioned;
And the acquisition of ^(F)wisdom is more valuable than pearls.
¹⁹ The topaz of ^[j]Cush cannot equal it,
Nor can it be valued in ^(G)pure gold.
^20 (H)Where then does wisdom come from?
And where is this place of understanding?
²¹ It is hidden from the eyes of every living creature,
And concealed from the birds of the sky.
^22 [k](I)Abaddon and Death say,
‘With our ears we have heard a report of it.’

¹⁰ For ^(A)wisdom will enter your heart,
And ^(B)knowledge will be delightful to your soul;
¹¹ Discretion will ^(C)watch over you,
Understanding will guard you,
¹² To ^(D)rescue you from the way of evil,
From a person who speaks ^(E)perverse things;
¹³ From those who ^(F)leave the paths of uprightness
To walk in the ^(G)ways of darkness;
¹⁴ Who ^(H)delight in doing evil
And rejoice in the perversity of evil;
¹⁵ Whose paths are ^(I)crooked,
And who are devious in their ways;
¹⁶ To ^(J)rescue you from the strange woman,
From the ^(K)foreign woman who flatters with her words,
¹⁷ Who leaves the ^(L)companion of her youth
And forgets the ^(M)covenant of her God;
¹⁸ For ^(N)her house sinks down to death,
And her tracks lead to the ^[a]dead;
¹⁹ None ^(O)who go to her return,
Nor do they reach the ^(P)paths of life.