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20 Where then does wisdom come from?
    Where is the place of understanding?
21 Seeing it is hidden from the eyes of all living,
    and kept close from the birds of the sky.
22 Destruction and Death say,
    ‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’

23 “God understands its way,
    and he knows its place.
24 For he looks to the ends of the earth,
    and sees under the whole sky.
25 He establishes the force of the wind.
    Yes, he measures 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 he saw it, and declared it.
    He established it, yes, and searched it out.
28 To man he said,
    ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord,[a] that is wisdom.
    To depart from evil is understanding.’”

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Footnotes

  1. 28:28 The word translated “Lord” is “Adonai.”

20 “But do people know where to find wisdom?
    Where can they find understanding?
21 It is hidden from the eyes of all humanity.
    Even the sharp-eyed birds in the sky cannot discover it.
22 Destruction[a] and Death say,
    ‘We’ve heard only rumors of where wisdom can be found.’

23 “God alone understands the way to wisdom;
    he knows where it can be found,
24 for he looks throughout the whole earth
    and sees everything under the heavens.
25 He decided how hard the winds should blow
    and how much rain should fall.
26 He made the laws for the rain
    and laid out a path for the lightning.
27 Then he saw wisdom and evaluated it.
    He set it in place and examined it thoroughly.
28 And this is what he says to all humanity:
‘The fear of the Lord is true wisdom;
    to forsake evil is real understanding.’”

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Footnotes

  1. 28:22 Hebrew Abaddon.