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28 “There are mines where people dig silver
    and places where gold is ·made pure [refined].
Iron is taken from the ·ground [dust],
    and copper is ·melted out of [poured from the] rocks.
·Miners [L They] ·bring lights [L put an end to darkness]
    and ·search deep into the mines [L investigate every limit]
    for ore in thick darkness.
They ·dig a tunnel [sink a shaft] far from where people live,
    ·where no one has ever walked [L a place forgotten by human feet];
    they work far from people, ·swinging and swaying from ropes [L they sway suspended].
·Food grows on top of the earth [L Bread/Food comes out of the earth],
    but below ground things are ·changed [overturned] as if by fire.
·Sapphires [or Lapis lazuli] are found in rocks,
    and gold dust is also found there.
No ·hawk [bird of prey] knows that path;
    the ·falcon [or black kite] has not seen it.
Proud animals have not walked there,
    and no lions cross over it.
·Miners [L They] ·hit [L put their hands to] the rocks of flint
    ·and dig away at the bottom of the mountains [upturning the mountains from their root].
10 They cut tunnels through the rock
    and see all the ·treasures [precious things] there.
11 They ·search for places where rivers begin [or dam up the sources of the rivers]
    and bring things hidden out into the light.

12 “But where can wisdom be found,
    and where ·does understanding live [is understanding]?
13 People do not understand ·the value of wisdom [L its price];
    it cannot be found ·among those who are alive [L in the land of the living].
14 The ·deep ocean [or Deep] says, ‘It’s not in me;’
    the ·sea [or Sea; C the Deep and Sea may represent the forces of chaos] says, ‘It’s not in me.’
15 Wisdom cannot be bought with gold,
    and its cost cannot be weighed in silver.
16 Wisdom cannot be bought with ·fine gold [L the gold of Ophir; 22:24]
    or with ·valuable [precious] onyx or ·sapphire gems [or lapis lazuli].
17 Gold and ·crystal [or glass] ·are not as valuable as wisdom [L cannot match it],
    and you cannot buy it with jewels of gold.
18 Coral and ·jasper [or crystal; C the identification of gems is often uncertain] are not worth talking about,
    and the price of wisdom is much greater than ·rubies [or pearls].
19 The ·topaz [or chrysolite] from ·Cush [Ethiopia] cannot compare to wisdom;
    it cannot be bought with the purest gold.
20 “So where does wisdom come from,
    and where does understanding live?
21 It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing,
    [L concealed] even from the birds of ·the air [L the sky; heaven].
22 ·The places of destruction [L Abaddon] and ·death [or Death; C the forces of the underworld] say,
    ‘We have heard reports about it.’
23 Only God understands the way to wisdom,
    and he alone knows ·where it lives [L its place],
24 because he looks to the ·farthest parts [ends] of the earth
    and sees everything under ·the sky [or heaven].
25 When God gave ·power [substance; L weight] to the wind
    and measured the water,
26 when he made ·rules [or limits] for the rain
    and set a path for a thunderstorm to follow,
27 then he looked at ·wisdom [L it] and ·decided its worth [L declared it];
    he ·set wisdom up [L established it] and ·tested [or investigated] it.
28 Then he said to humans,
    ‘The fear of the Lord is wisdom [Prov. 1:7];
    to ·stay [or turn] away from evil is understanding [Prov. 3:7].’”

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