Where Can Wisdom Be Found? 1 UST There certainly are places where people dig to find silver. There certainly are places where people refine gold that they have dug from the ground. BSB BSB: “Surely there is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined.
2 UST People get iron from ore that they dig out of the ground. They get copper by heating and melting ore that contains it. BSB BSB: Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore.
3 UST People use lamps so that they can see while they work far down under the ground. They search for ore in many places where it is very dark. BSB BSB: Man puts an end to the darkness; he probes the farthest recesses for ore in deepest darkness.
4 UST People dig shafts deep into the ground in places that are far from where other people live, As they work underground, the people who walk above them are not aware of them. People have to climb down ropes in order to descend into the deep shafts they have dug. BSB BSB: Far from human habitation he cuts a shaft in places forgotten by the foot of man. Far from men he dangles and sways.
5 UST Food grows on the surface of the ground. But deep below the ground, miners make fires to break apart the rocks. BSB BSB: Food may come from the earth, but from below it is transformed as by fire.
6 UST The stones that people dig from under the ground contain sapphires. The dirt they dig up contains bits of gold. BSB BSB: Its rocks are the source of sapphires, containing flecks of gold.
7 UST Even birds that have very good eyesight can not see deep down into these mines. Even birds such as falcons have not looked into them. BSB BSB: No bird of prey knows that path; no falcon’s eye has seen it.
8 UST Strong beasts can go wherever they want, but they have never gone to those places. Not even lions have gone there. BSB BSB: Proud beasts have never trodden it; no lion has ever prowled over it.
9 UST Miners dig through even very hard rock. It is as though they are turning mountains upside down in order to get at the ore that is at the bases of them. BSB BSB: The miner strikes the flint; he overturns mountains at their base.
10 UST Miners cut tunnels through rocks in order to find many precious things. BSB BSB: He hews out channels in the rocks, and his eyes spot every treasure.
11 UST They dam up small streams to stop the water from flowing. That allows them to find things that were hidden beneath the water of the streams. BSB BSB: He stops up the sources of the streams to bring what is hidden to light.
12 UST { It takes great effort to find valuable ore.} It is even more difficult to obtain wisdom. Yes, it is very difficult to obtain understanding. BSB BSB: But where can wisdom be found, and where does understanding dwell?
13 UST Humans do not know how to obtain wisdom. Wisdom is not available on earth, where people live. BSB BSB: No man can know its value, nor is it found in the land of the living.
14 UST It is as though the ocean depths and the water of the seas said,‘There is no wisdom here!’ BSB BSB: The ocean depths say, ‘It is not in me,’ while the sea declares, ‘It is not with me.’
15 UST People can not buy wisdom by paying for it with gold or silver. BSB BSB: It cannot be bought with gold, nor can its price be weighed out in silver.
16 UST Wisdom is worth much more than fine gold that comes from the land of Ophir.{ Wisdom is worth much more} than very valuable stones. BSB BSB: It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx or sapphire.
17 UST Wisdom is worth much more than gold or beautiful quartz. It is more expensive than an article made of pure gold. BSB BSB: Neither gold nor crystal can compare to it, nor jewels of fine gold be exchanged for it.
18 UST Wisdom is worth more than coral or jasper. The price of wisdom is higher than the price of rubies. BSB BSB: Coral and quartz are unworthy of mention; the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.
19 UST Wisdom is worth more than topaz from the land of Cush. One can not express the value of wisdom even in terms of gold. BSB BSB: Topaz from Cush cannot compare to it, nor can it be valued in pure gold.
20 UST So, then, wisdom is very difficult to obtain; understanding is indeed a very valuable thing to get. BSB BSB: From where, then, does wisdom come, and where does understanding dwell?
21 UST Living creatures are not able to see it. Not even the birds can see it while they are up in the sky. BSB BSB: It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing and concealed from the birds of the air.
22 UST Even after people die, they do not have a better experience of wisdom in the different place to which they go. BSB BSB: Abaddon and Death say, ‘We have heard a rumor about it.’
23 UST God is the only one who knows how people can become wise. BSB BSB: But God understands its way, and He knows its place.
24 UST God knows this because he can see everything on earth, even in its most remote places. God can see everything that is below the sky. BSB BSB: For He looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.
25 UST He decided how strongly the winds should blow and how much rain should be in the clouds. BSB BSB: When God fixed the weight of the wind and measured out the waters,
26 UST God decided where rain should fall and what path lightning should take from the clouds down to the ground. BSB BSB: when He set a limit for the rain and a path for the thunderbolt,
27 UST At that time, he identified wisdom and recognized that it was very valuable. He was delighted by its capabilities and made it a permanent part of his creation. BSB BSB: then He looked at wisdom and appraised it; He established it and searched it out.
28 UST Then God told human beings,‘Listen! You will become wise to the extent that you respect me. If you want to understand what you should do, you must first decide that you will not do anything wicked.’” BSB BSB: And He said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.