5. Food grows on the ground above. But underground it is different, as if everything were melted by fire.
6. In the rocks there are sapphires and grains of pure gold.
7. Wild birds know nothing about the way to these places. No falcon has ever seen it.
8. Wild animals have never been there. Lions have not traveled that way.
9. Miners dig the hardest rocks. They dig away at the mountains and make them bare.
10. They cut tunnels through the rocks and see all the treasures they hold.
11. They even find places where rivers begin. They bring to light what once was hidden.
12. “But where can anyone find wisdom? Where can we get understanding?
13. People don’t know where wisdom is. It cannot be found by anyone on earth.
14. The deep ocean says, ‘It’s not here with me.’ The sea says, ‘It’s not here with me.’
15. You cannot buy wisdom with even the purest gold. There’s not enough silver in the world to pay for it.
16. You cannot buy it with gold from Ophir or with precious onyx or sapphires.