³ A miner puts an end to darkness by exploring its farthest limits.
He looks for ore in the gloom and in the deep darkness. ^[2]
4 He breaks open a mineshaft far from where settlers live,
in places no one has walked before.
Far away from other people, he dangles and sways.
⁵ The earth’s surface produces food,
but its depths are overturned as if by fire,
⁶ in places where the stones are sapphires ^[3]
and the dust is gold.
⁷ No scavenging bird knows the way there,
and the eyes of vultures ^[4] have not seen it.
⁸ The king of beasts has not set foot on it.
The lion has not prowled there.
⁹ The miner’s hand attacks the hard rock.
He overturns the roots of the mountain.
¹⁰ He cuts tunnels into the rocks,
and his eyes see every treasure.
¹¹ He dams up even the trickling water from the rivers,
and he brings light to the earth’s hidden places.

¹² But wisdom—where can it be found?
Where is the place for understanding?
¹³ Mankind does not know where it is kept.
It is not found in the land of the living.
¹⁴ The deep ocean says, “It is not in me!”
The sea says, “It is not with me!”
¹⁵ It cannot be purchased with the best gold, ^[5]
and silver cannot be weighed out as its price.
¹⁶ It cannot be bought with the gold of Ophir ^[6]
or with precious onyx or sapphires.
¹⁷ Gold and crystal cannot be compared to it.
The finest gold jewelry cannot be substituted for it.
¹⁸ Coral and quartz are not worth mentioning,
and the value of wisdom is greater than a bag of rubies.
¹⁹ The chrysolite of Cush cannot be compared with it.
It cannot be purchased even with pure gold.

²⁰ But what about wisdom—where does it come from?
And where is the place to find understanding?
²¹ It is hidden from the eyes of all the living.
It is concealed from the birds of the sky.
²² Destruction and Death ^[7] say,
“With our ears we have heard only a rumor about it.”

²³ God understands the way to it,
and he alone knows its place,
²⁴ because he watches the ends of the earth,
and he sees everything under the heavens.
²⁵ He determines the weight of the wind,
and he measures out the waters by volume.
²⁶ He made a decree for the rain
and established a path for the roaring thunderstorm.
²⁷ He saw wisdom and appraised its value.
He established it and also explored it.
²⁸ Then he said to mankind:
Listen carefully. The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom,
and to turn away from evil is understanding.

² Oh how I wish I could be as I used to be
    in the months gone by,
    in the days when God used to watch over me,
³ when his lamp was shining over my head,
and I walked through darkness toward ^[9] his light,
⁴ when I was in my prime,
and the friendly guidance of God was over my tent,
⁵ when the Almighty was still with me,
and my children still surrounded me,
⁶ when my footsteps were washed in cream,
and a rock poured out streams of oil for me,
⁷ when I went out to the gatehouse ^[10] of the city,
and I took my customary seat in the public square.
⁸ The young men saw me and stepped aside.
The elders rose and remained standing in my presence.
⁹ The officials held back their words.
They placed their hands over their mouths.
¹⁰ The voices of the nobles fell silent.
Their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.

¹¹ Every ear that heard what I said called me blessed.
Every eye that saw what I did testified on my behalf.
¹² Because I saved the poor when they cried for help
and the fatherless when they had no helper,
¹³ the blessing of the dying rested upon me,
and I made the heart of the widow happy.
¹⁴ I dressed myself with righteousness,
and it clothed me.
My justice clothed me like a robe and a turban.
¹⁵ I was eyes for the blind and feet for the lame.
¹⁶ I was a father for the needy.
I investigated their cases for people I did not know.
¹⁷ I shattered the fangs of the wicked,
and I snatched their prey from their teeth.
¹⁸ So I thought: “I will pass away in my own nest,
after multiplying my days like grains of sand.
¹⁹ My roots will be soaked with water,
and dew will settle on my branches at night.
²⁰ My honor will always be fresh for me,
and my bow in my hand will never wear out.”
²¹ People listened to me eagerly.
They kept silent, waiting for my advice.
²² After I spoke, they did not keep speaking. ^[11]
My words fell on them gently.
²³ They waited for me the way people wait for rain.
They opened their mouths the way people wait for spring showers.
²⁴ When I laughed with them, they did not believe it.
In the light from my face, they were never downcast.
²⁵ I chose the way for them,
and I was seated as their head,
like a king among the troops,
like one who comforts mourners.