New English [1970], THE NEW ENGLISH BIBLE (OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS; CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS, CAMBRIDGE) [word count] [B16000].
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God's unfathomable wisdom
1 There are mines for silver
and places where men refine gold;
2 where iron is won from the earth
and copper smelted from the ore;
3 the end of the seam lies in darkness,
and it is followed to its farthest limit. note
4 Strangers cut the galleries; note
they are forgotten as they drive forward far from men. note
5 While corn is springing from the earth above,
what lies beneath is raked over like a fire,
6 and out of its rocks comes lapis lazuli,
dusted with flecks of gold.
7 No bird of prey knows the way there,
and the falcon's keen eye cannot descry it;
8 proud beasts do not set foot on it,
and no serpent comes that way.
9 Man sets his hand to the granite rock
and lays bare the roots of the mountains;
10 he cuts galleries in the rocks,
and gems of every kind meet his eye;
11 he dams up the sources of the streams
and brings the hidden riches of the earth to light.
12 But where can wisdom be found?
And where is the source of understanding?
13 No man knows the way to it; note
it is not found in the land of living men.
14 The depths of ocean say, ‘It is not in us’,
and the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’
15 Red gold cannot buy it,
nor can its price be weighed out in silver;
16 it cannot be set in the scales against gold of Ophir,
against precious cornelian or lapis lazuli;
17 gold and crystal note are not to be matched with it,
no work in fine gold can be bartered for it;
18 black coral and alabaster are not worth mention,
and a parcel of wisdom fetches more than red coral;
-- --
God's unfathomable wisdom
19 topaz note from Ethiopia is not to be matched with it,
it cannot be set in the scales against pure gold.
20 Where then does wisdom come from,
and where is the source of understanding?
21 No creature on earth can see it,
and it is hidden from the birds of the air.
22 Destruction note and death say,
‘We know of it only by report.’
23 But God understands the way to it,
he alone knows its source;
24 for he can see to the ends of the earth
and he surveys everything under heaven.
25 When he made a counterpoise for the wind
and measured out the waters in proportion,
26 when he laid down a limit for the rain
and a path for the thunderstorm,
27 even then he saw wisdom and took stock of it,
he considered note it and fathomed its very depths.
28 And he said to man:
The fear of the Lord is wisdom,
and to turn from evil is understanding.
New English [1970], THE NEW ENGLISH BIBLE (OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS; CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS, CAMBRIDGE) [word count] [B16000].
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