| New King James Version | Christian Standard Bible |
| 1“Surely there is a mine for silver, And a place where gold is refined. | 1Surely there is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined. |
| 2Iron is taken from the earth, And copper is smelted from ore. | 2Iron is taken from the ground, and copper is smelted from ore. |
| 3Man puts an end to darkness, And searches every recess For ore in the darkness and the shadow of death. | 3A miner puts an end to the darkness; he probes the deepest recesses for ore in the gloomy darkness. |
| 4He breaks open a shaft away from people; In places forgotten by feet They hang far away from men; They swing to and fro. | 4He cuts a shaft far from human habitation, in places unknown to those who walk above ground. Suspended far away from people, the miners swing back and forth. |
| 5As for the earth, from it comes bread, But underneath it is turned up as by fire; | 5Food may come from the earth, but below the surface the earth is transformed as by fire. |
| 6Its stones are the source of sapphires, And it contains gold dust. | 6Its rocks are a source of lapis lazuli, containing flecks of gold. |
| 7That path no bird knows, Nor has the falcon’s eye seen it. | 7No bird of prey knows that path; no falcon's eye has seen it. |
| 8The proud lions have not trodden it, Nor has the fierce lion passed over it. | 8Proud beasts have never walked on it; no lion has ever prowled over it. |
| 9He puts his hand on the flint; He overturns the mountains at the roots. | 9The miner uses a flint tool and turns up ore from the root of the mountains. |
| 10He cuts out channels in the rocks, And his eye sees every precious thing. | 10He cuts out channels in the rocks, and his eyes spot every treasure. |
| 11He dams up the streams from trickling; What is hidden he brings forth to light. | 11He dams up the streams from flowing so that he may bring to light what is hidden. |
| 12“But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? | 12But where can wisdom be found, and where is understanding located? |
| 13Man does not know its value, Nor is it found in the land of the living. | 13No one can know its value, since it cannot be found in the land of the living. |
| 14The deep says, ‘It is not in me’; And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’ | 14The ocean depths say, "It's not in me," while the sea declares, "I don't have it." |
| 15It cannot be purchased for gold, Nor can silver be weighed for its price. | 15Gold cannot be exchanged for it, and silver cannot be weighed out for its price. |
| 16It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, In precious onyx or sapphire. | 16Wisdom cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx or lapis lazuli. |
| 17Neither gold nor crystal can equal it, Nor can it be exchanged for jewelry of fine gold. | 17Gold and glass do not compare with it, and articles of fine gold cannot be exchanged for it. |
| 18No mention shall be made of coral or quartz, For the price of wisdom is above rubies. | 18Coral and quartz are not worth mentioning. The price of wisdom is beyond pearls. |
| 19The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it, Nor can it be valued in pure gold. | 19Topaz from Cush cannot compare with it, and it cannot be valued in pure gold. |
| 20“From where then does wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding? | 20Where then does wisdom come from, and where is understanding located? |
| 21It is hidden from the eyes of all living, And concealed from the birds of the air. | 21It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing and concealed from the birds of the sky. |
| 22Destruction and Death say, ‘We have heard a report about it with our ears.’ | 22Abaddon and Death say, "We have heard news of it with our ears." |
| 23God understands its way, And He knows its place. | 23But God understands the way to wisdom, and he knows its location. |
| 24For He looks to the ends of the earth, And sees under the whole heavens, | 24For he looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens. |
| 25To establish a weight for the wind, And apportion the waters by measure. | 25When God fixed the weight of the wind and distributed the water by measure, |
| 26When He made a law for the rain, And a path for the thunderbolt, | 26when he established a limit for the rain and a path for the lightning, |
| 27Then He saw wisdom and declared it; He prepared it, indeed, He searched it out. | 27he considered wisdom and evaluated it; he established it and examined it. |
| 28And to man He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, And to depart from evil is understanding.’ ” | 28He said to mankind, "The fear of the LORD--that is wisdom. And to turn from evil is understanding." |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. |
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