1. “Surely there is a mine for silver,and a place for gold that they refine.
2. Iron is taken out of the earth,and copper is smelted from the ore.
3. Man puts an end to darknessand searches out to the farthest limitthe ore in gloom and deep darkness.
4. 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.
5. As for the earth, out of it comes bread,but underneath it is turned up as by fire.
6. Its stones are the place of sapphires,and it has dust of gold.
7. “That path no bird of prey knows,and the falcon’s eye has not seen it.
8. The proud beasts have not trodden it; the lion has not passed over it.
9. “Man puts his hand to the flinty rockand 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. “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 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 bought for gold,and silver cannot be weighed as its price.
16. It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,in precious onyx or sapphire.