1. “There are mines where people dig silver.And there are places where gold is made pure.
2. Iron is taken out of the ground.And copper is melted out of rocks.
3. Miners bring light into the mines.They search even the deepest parts of the mines.They look for metal in places of thick darkness.
4. Miners dig a tunnel far away from where people live.They dig it where people never go.They work far away from people, swinging and swaying from ropes.
5. Food grows on top of the earth.But below ground things are changed as if by fire.
6. Sapphires are found in rocks.And the dust of the earth contains gold.
7. No hawk knows the path.The falcon has not seen it.
8. Proud animals have not walked on this path.And no lions cross over it.
9. Men hit the rocks of flint.They dig away at the bottom of the mountains.
10. Miners cut tunnels through the rock.They see all the treasures there.
11. They search the places where rivers begin.And they bring things hidden there out into the light.
12. “But where can wisdom be found.Where does understanding live?
13. People do not understand the value of wisdom.It cannot be found among living people.
14. The deep ocean says, ‘It’s not in me.’The sea says, ‘It’s not in me.’
15. Wisdom cannot be bought with the best gold.Its cost cannot be weighed in silver.