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

23 “God understands the way to it,
    and he knows its place.(C)
24 For he looks to the ends of the earth
    and sees everything under the heavens.(D)
25 When he gave to the wind its weight
    and apportioned out the waters by measure,(E)
26 when he made a decree for the rain,
    and a way for the thunderbolt,(F)
27 then he saw it and declared it;
    he established it and searched it out.
28 And he said to humankind,
‘Truly, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;
    and to depart from evil is understanding.’ ”(G)

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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.