New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures — With References (Rbi8, en_US, 1984)
Job
Job, 28
1 “Indeed, for silver there exists a place to find it And a place for gold that they refine;
2 Iron itself is taken from the very dust And [from] stone copper is being poured out.
3 An end to the darkness he has set; And to every limit he is searching out Stone in the gloom and deep shadow.
4 He has sunk a shaft far from where [people] reside as aliens, Places forgotten far from the foot; Some of mortal men*1 have swung down, they have dangled.
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5 As for the earth, out of it food goes forth; But underneath it, it has been upturned as if by fire.
6 Its stones are the place of the sapphire, And it has gold dust.
7 A pathway—no bird of prey has known it, Nor has the eye of a black kite caught sight of it.
8 The majestic wild beasts*1 have not trodden it down solid; The young lion has not paced over it.
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9 Upon the flint he has thrust out his hand; He has overthrown mountains from [their] root;
10 Into the rocks he has channeled water-filled galleries, And all precious things his eye has seen.
11 The places from which rivers trickled he has dammed up, And the concealed thing he brings forth to the light.
12 But wisdom—where can it be found, And where, now, is the place of understanding?
13 Mortal man has not come to know its valuation,*1 And it is not found in the land of those living.
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14 The watery deep*1 itself has said, ‘It is not in me!’ The sea too has said, ‘It is not with me!’
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15 Pure gold cannot be given in exchange for it, And silver cannot be weighed out as its price.
16 It cannot be paid for with gold*1 of Oʹphir, With the rare onyx stone and the sapphire.
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17 Gold*1 and glass cannot be compared to it, Nor is any vessel of refined gold an exchange for it.
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18 Coral and rock crystal themselves will not be mentioned, But a bagful of wisdom is worth more than [one full of] pearls.
19 The topaz of Cush*1 cannot be compared to it; It cannot be paid for even with gold in its purity.
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20 But wisdom itself—from where does it come, And where, now, is the place of understanding?
21 It has been hidden even from the eyes of everyone alive, And from the flying creatures of the heavens it has been concealed.
22 Destruction*1 and death themselves have said, ‘With our ears we have heard a report of it.’
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23 God*1 is the One who has understood its way, And he himself has known its place,
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24 For he himself looks to the very ends of the earth; Under the whole heavens*1 he sees,
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25 To make a weight for the wind,*1 While he has proportioned the waters themselves by a measure;
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26 When he made for the rain a regulation, And a way for the thunderous storm cloud,
27 Then it was that he saw [wisdom]*1 and proceeded to tell about it; He prepared it and also searched it through.
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28 And he went on to say to man,*1 ‘Look! The fear of Jehovah*2—that is wisdom, And to turn away from bad is understanding.’”
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