Where Is Wisdom?

¹ And Job continued his discourse:

² "As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice,
the Almighty, who has made me taste bitterness of soul,

³ as long as I have life within me,
the breath of God in my nostrils,

⁴ my lips will not speak wickedness,
and my tongue will utter no deceit.

⁵ I will never admit you are in the right;
till I die, I will not deny my integrity.

⁶ I will maintain my righteousness and never let go of it;
my conscience will not reproach me as long as I live.

⁷ "May my enemies be like the wicked,
my adversaries like the unjust!

⁸ For what hope has the godless when he is cut off,
when God takes away his life?

⁹ Does God listen to his cry
when distress comes upon him?

¹⁰ Will he find delight in the Almighty?
Will he call upon God at all times?

¹¹ "I will teach you about the power of God;
the ways of the Almighty I will not conceal.

¹² You have all seen this yourselves.
Why then this meaningless talk?

¹³ "Here is the fate God allots to the wicked,
the heritage a ruthless man receives from the Almighty:

¹⁴ However many his children, their fate is the sword;
his offspring will never have enough to eat.

¹⁵ The plague will bury those who survive him,
and their widows will not weep for them.

¹⁶ Though he heaps up silver like dust
and clothes like piles of clay,

¹⁷ what he lays up the righteous will wear,
and the innocent will divide his silver.

¹⁸ The house he builds is like a moth's cocoon,
like a hut made by a watchman.

¹⁹ He lies down wealthy, but will do so no more;
when he opens his eyes, all is gone.

²⁰ Terrors overtake him like a flood;
a tempest snatches him away in the night.

²¹ The east wind carries him off, and he is gone;
it sweeps him out of his place.

²² It hurls itself against him without mercy
as he flees headlong from its power.

²³ It claps its hands in derision
and hisses him out of his place.

¹ "There is a mine for silver
and a place where gold is refined.

² Iron is taken from the earth,
and copper is smelted from ore.

³ Man puts an end to the darkness;
he searches the farthest recesses
for ore in the blackest darkness.

⁴ Far from where people dwell he cuts a shaft,
in places forgotten by the foot of man;
far from men he dangles and sways.

⁵ The earth, from which food comes,
is transformed below as by fire;

⁶ sapphires come from its rocks,
and its dust contains nuggets of gold.

⁷ No bird of prey knows that hidden path,
no falcon's eye has seen it.

⁸ Proud beasts do not set foot on it,
and no lion prowls there.

⁹ Man's hand assaults the flinty rock
and lays bare the roots of the mountains.

¹⁰ He tunnels through the rock;
his eyes see all its treasures.

¹¹ He searches the sources of the rivers
and brings hidden things to light.

¹² "But where can wisdom be found?
Where does understanding dwell?

¹³ Man does not comprehend its worth;
it cannot be found in the land of the living.

¹⁴ The deep says, 'It is not in me';
the sea says, 'It is not with me.'

¹⁵ It cannot be bought with the finest gold,
nor can its price be weighed in silver.

¹⁶ It cannot be bought with the gold of Ophir,
with precious onyx or sapphires.

¹⁷ Neither gold nor crystal can compare with it,
nor can it be had for jewels of gold.

¹⁸ Coral and jasper are not worthy of mention;
the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.

¹⁹ The topaz of Cush cannot compare with it;
it cannot be bought with pure gold.

²⁰ "Where then does wisdom come from?
Where does understanding dwell?

²¹ It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing,
concealed even from the birds of the air.

²² Destruction and Death say,
'Only a rumor of it has reached our ears.'

²³ God understands the way to it
and he alone knows where it dwells,

²⁴ for he views the ends of the earth
and sees everything under the heavens.

²⁵ When he established the force of the wind
and measured out the waters,

²⁶ when he made a decree for the rain
and a path for the thunderstorm,

²⁷ then he looked at wisdom and appraised it;
he confirmed it and tested it.

²⁸ And he said to man,
'The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom,
and to shun evil is understanding.' "

New International Version