15. Wisdom cannot be bought with the best gold.Its cost cannot be weighed in silver.
16. Wisdom cannot be bought with fine gold.It cannot be bought with valuable onyx or sapphire gems.
17. Gold and crystal are not as valuable as wisdom.And you cannot buy it with jewels of gold.
18. Coral and jasper are not even worth talking about.The price of wisdom is much greater than rubies.
19. The topaz from Cush cannot compare to wisdom.It cannot even be bought with the purest gold.
20. “So from where does wisdom come?And where does understanding live?
21. It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing.It is hidden even from the birds of the air.
22. The places of destruction and death say,‘We have only heard reports about it.’
23. God understands the way to wisdom.And he is the only one who knows where it lives.
24. This is because God sees to the farthest parts of the earth.And he sees everything under the heavens.
25. Wisdom began when God gave power to the wind.It was when he measured the water and put limits on it.
26. It was when God made rules for the rain.And he set a path for a thunderstorm to follow.
27. Then God looked at wisdom and decided its worth.He set wisdom up and tested it.
28. Then he said to man,‘The fear of the Lord is wisdom,and to stay away from evil is understanding.’”