28 Surely there’s a mine where silver is extracted,

≈and a place where gold is refined.

2 Iron is taken from the ground,

≈and copper is smelted from rock.

3 People have ways to end the darkness.

They search the furtherest places

for the stone of gloom and deep darkness. ???

4 They break open a shaft far from villages—

where feet have forgotten to go.

They hang down on ropes and swing around far from people.

5 Food comes from the land on the surface of the earth,

but underneath it keeps changing like fire.

6 Its rocks are a source of sapphires,

≈and its dust a source of gold.

7 The birds of prey don’t know that path,

≈and the falcon’s eye hasn’t seen it.

8 The sons of pride haven’t walked on it.

≈The lion hasn’t passed over it.

9  The miner works the flinty rock with his hands.

He overturns mountains by their roots.

10 He splits open shafts in the rocks,

and his eyes notice everything that’s valuable.

11 He dams up rivers upstream towards the source,

then hidden things are brought into the light.

12 But where can wisdom be found,

≈and where does understanding live?

13 People don’t know their worth,

and it’s not found in the land of the living.

14 The deep waters say, ‘I don’t have it,’

≈and the ocean says, ‘It’s not in me.’

15 Gold can’t be used to obtain it,

≈and silver can’t be weighed out to match its price.

16 Even the gold from Ofir can’t be used to pay for wisdom,

nor can precious onyx stones and sapphires.

17 Neither gold nor clear glass can equal it,

≈and it can’t be exchanged for a gold goblet.

18 It’s not even worth mentioning coral and jasper.

≈Yes, wisdom is way more expensive than pearls.

19 The good topaz from Ethiopia can’t be compared with it.

≈It can’t be paid for with gold.