Job 28

ki yesh lakkesef motsa umaqom lazzahav yazoqqu

There is a mine for silver, And a place where gold is refined.

barzel me'afar yuqqakh ve'even yatsuq nekhushah

Iron is taken out of the earth, And copper smelted from rock.

qets sam lakhoshekh ulekhol-takhlit hu khoqer even ofel vetsalmavet

Bounds for darkness are set, Every limit is probed, To rocks in deepest darkness.

parats nakhal me'im-gar hannishkakhim minni-ragel dallu me'enosh na'u

A shaft was forged where no one lives, [In places] forgotten by wayfarers, Destitute of mortals, far removed.

erets mimmennah yetse-lakhem vetakhteha nehpakh kemo-esh

Earth, out of which food grows, Is changed below as if into fire.

meqom-sappir avaneha ve'afrot zahav lo

Its rocks are a source of sapphires; It contains gold dust too.

nativ lo-yeda'o ayit velo shezafattu en ayyah

No bird of prey knows the path to it; The falcon’s eye has not gazed upon it.

lo-hidrikhuhu vene-shakhats lo-adah alayw shakhal

The proud beasts have not reached it; The lion has not crossed it.

bakhallamish shalakh yado hafakh mishoresh harim

The hand is set against the flinty rock, And mountains are overturned by the roots.

batsurot ye'orim biqqea vekhol-yeqar ra'atah eno

Channels are carved through rock, And every precious thing can be seen;

mibbekhi neharot khibbesh veta'alumah yotsi or

The sources of the streams are dammed up So all that is hidden may be brought to light.

vehakhokhmah me'ayin timmatse ve'e zeh meqom binah

But where can wisdom be found; Where is the source of understanding?

lo-yada enosh erkah velo timmatse be'erets hakhayyim

No mortal can set a value on it; It cannot be found in the land of the living.

tehom amar lo vi-hi veyam amar en immadi

The deep says, “It is not in me”; The sea says, “I do not have it.”

lo-yuttan segor takhteha velo yishaqel kesef mekhirah

It cannot be bartered for gold; Silver cannot be paid out as its price.

lo-tesulleh bekhetem ofir beshoham yaqar vesappir

The finest gold of Ophir cannot be weighed against it, Nor precious onyx, nor sapphire.

lo-ya'arkhennah zahav uzekhokhit utemuratah keli-faz

Gold or glass cannot match its value, Nor vessels of fine gold be exchanged for it.

ramot vegavish lo yizzakher umeshekh khokhmah mippeninim

Coral and crystal cannot be mentioned with it; A pouch of wisdom is better than rubies.

lo-ya'arkhennah pitdat-kush bekhetem tahor lo tesulleh

Topaz from Cush cannot match its value; Pure gold cannot be weighed against it.

vehakhokhmah me'ayin tavo ve'e zeh meqom binah

But whence does wisdom come? Where is the source of understanding?

vene'elmah me'ene khol-khay ume'of hashamayim nistarah

It is hidden from the eyes of all living, Concealed from the fowl of heaven.

avaddon vamavet ameru be'oznenu shamanu shimah

Abaddon and Death say, “We have only a report of it.”

elohim hevin darkah vehu yada et-meqomah

God understands the way to it— Knowing its source,

ki-hu liqtsot-ha'arets yabbit takhat kol-hashamayim yireh

Seeing to the ends of the earth, Observing all that is beneath the heavens.

la'asot laruakh mishqal umayim tikken bemiddah

When [God] fixed the weight of the winds, Set the measure of the waters,

ba'asoto lammatar khoq vederekh lakhaziz qolot

And made a rule for the rain And a course for the thunderstorms,

az ra'ah vayesapperah hekhinah vegam-khaqarah

Then [God] saw it and gauged it, Measured it and probed it.

vayyomer la'adam hen yirat adonay hi khokhmah vesur mera binah

[God] said to humankind, “See! Fear of the Sovereign is wisdom; To shun evil is understanding.”