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There are mines where silver is dug; There are places where gold is refined.
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We dig iron out of the ground And melt copper out of the stones.
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Miners explore the deepest darkness. They search the depths of the earth And dig for rocks in the darkness.
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Far from where anyone lives Or human feet ever travel, They dig the shafts of mines. There they work in loneliness, Clinging to ropes in the pits.
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Food grows out of the earth, But underneath the same earth All is torn up and crushed.
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The stones of the earth contain sapphires, And its dust contains gold.
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No hawk sees the roads to the mines, And no vulture ever flies over them.
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No lion or other fierce beast Ever travels those lonely roads.
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Miners dig the hardest rocks, Dig mountains away at their base.
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As they tunnel through the rocks, They discover precious stones.
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They dig to the sources of rivers And bring to light what is hidden.
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But where can wisdom be found? Where can we learn to understand?
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Wisdom is not to be found among mortals; No one knows its true value.
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The depths of the oceans and seas Say that wisdom is not found there.
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It cannot be bought with silver or gold.
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The finest gold and jewels Cannot equal its value.
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It is worth more than gold, Than a gold vase or finest glass.
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The value of wisdom is more Than coral or crystal or rubies.
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The finest topaz and the purest gold Cannot compare with the value of wisdom.
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Where, then, is the source of wisdom? Where can we learn to understand?
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No living creature can see it, Not even a bird in flight.
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Even death and destruction Admit they have heard only rumors.
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God alone knows the way, Knows the place where wisdom is found,
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Because he sees the ends of the earth, Sees everything under the sky.
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When God gave the wind its power And determined the size of the sea;
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When God decided where the rain would fall, And the path that the thunderclouds travel;
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It was then he saw wisdom and tested its worth--- He gave it his approval.
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God said to us humans, "To be wise, you must have reverence for the Lord. To understand, you must turn from evil."
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Job began speaking again.
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If only my life could once again be as it was when God watched over me.
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God was always with me then and gave me light as I walked through the darkness.
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Those were the days when I was prosperous, and the friendship of God protected my home.
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Almighty God was with me then, and I was surrounded by all my children.
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My cows and goats gave plenty of milk, and my olive trees grew in the rockiest soil.
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Whenever the city elders met and I took my place among them,
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young men stepped aside as soon as they saw me, and old men stood up to show me respect.
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The leaders of the people would stop talking;
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even the most important men kept silent.
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Everyone who saw me or heard of me had good things to say about what I had done.
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When the poor cried out, I helped them; I gave help to orphans who had nowhere to turn.
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People who were in deepest misery praised me, and I helped widows find security.
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I have always acted justly and fairly.
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I was eyes for the blind, and feet for the lame.
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I was like a father to the poor and took the side of strangers in trouble.
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I destroyed the power of cruel men and rescued their victims.
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I always expected to live a long life and to die at home in comfort.
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I was like a tree whose roots always have water and whose branches are wet with dew.
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Everyone was always praising me, and my strength never failed me.
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When I gave advice, people were silent and listened carefully to what I said;
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they had nothing to add when I had finished. My words sank in like drops of rain;
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everyone welcomed them just as farmers welcome rain in spring.
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I smiled on them when they had lost confidence; my cheerful face encouraged them.
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I took charge and made the decisions; I led them as a king leads his troops, and gave them comfort in their despair.
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From Paul, whose call to be an apostle did not come from human beings or by human means, but from Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from death.
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All the believers who are here join me in sending greetings to the churches of Galatia:
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May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
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In order to set us free from this present evil age, Christ gave himself for our sins, in obedience to the will of our God and Father.
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To God be the glory forever and ever! Amen.
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I am surprised at you! In no time at all you are deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ, and are accepting another gospel.
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Actually, there is no "other gospel," but I say this because there are some people who are upsetting you and trying to change the gospel of Christ.
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But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel that is different from the one we preached to you, may he be condemned to hell!
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We have said it before, and now I say it again: if anyone preaches to you a gospel that is different from the one you accepted, may he be condemned to hell!
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Does this sound as if I am trying to win human approval? No indeed! What I want is God's approval! Am I trying to be popular with people? If I were still trying to do so, I would not be a servant of Christ.
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Let me tell you, my friends, that the gospel I preach is not of human origin.
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I did not receive it from any human being, nor did anyone teach it to me. It was Jesus Christ himself who revealed it to me.
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You have been told how I used to live when I was devoted to the Jewish religion, how I persecuted without mercy the church of God and did my best to destroy it.
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I was ahead of most other Jews of my age in my practice of the Jewish religion, and was much more devoted to the traditions of our ancestors.
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But God in his grace chose me even before I was born, and called me to serve him. And when he decided
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to reveal his Son to me, so that I might preach the Good News about him to the Gentiles, I did not go to anyone for advice,
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nor did I go to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before me. Instead, I went at once to Arabia, and then I returned to Damascus.
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It was three years later that I went to Jerusalem to obtain information from Peter, and I stayed with him for two weeks.
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I did not see any other apostle except James, the Lord's brother.
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What I write is true. God knows that I am not lying!
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Afterward I went to places in Syria and Cilicia.
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At that time the members of the churches in Judea did not know me personally.
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They knew only what others were saying: "The man who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith that he once tried to destroy!"
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And so they praised God because of me.
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Fourteen years later I went back to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me.
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I went because God revealed to me that I should go. In a private meeting with the leaders I explained the gospel message that I preach to the Gentiles. I did not want my work in the past or in the present to be a failure.
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My companion Titus, even though he is Greek, was not forced to be circumcised,
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although some wanted it done. Pretending to be believers, these men slipped into our group as spies, in order to find out about the freedom we have through our union with Christ Jesus. They wanted to make slaves of us,
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but in order to keep the truth of the gospel safe for you, we did not give in to them for a minute.
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But those who seemed to be the leaders---I say this because it makes no difference to me what they were; God does not judge by outward appearances---those leaders, I say, made no new suggestions to me.
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On the contrary, they saw that God had given me the task of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as he had given Peter the task of preaching the gospel to the Jews.
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For by God's power I was made an apostle to the Gentiles, just as Peter was made an apostle to the Jews.
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James, Peter, and John, who seemed to be the leaders, recognized that God had given me this special task; so they shook hands with Barnabas and me, as a sign that we were all partners. We agreed that Barnabas and I would work among the Gentiles and they among the Jews.
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All they asked was that we should remember the needy in their group, which is the very thing I have been eager to do.
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But when Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him in public, because he was clearly wrong.
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Before some men who had been sent by James arrived there, Peter had been eating with the Gentile believers. But after these men arrived, he drew back and would not eat with the Gentiles, because he was afraid of those who were in favor of circumcising them.
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The other Jewish believers also started acting like cowards along with Peter; and even Barnabas was swept along by their cowardly action.
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When I saw that they were not walking a straight path in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, "You are a Jew, yet you have been living like a Gentile, not like a Jew. How, then, can you try to force Gentiles to live like Jews?"
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Indeed, we are Jews by birth and not "Gentile sinners," as they are called.
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Yet we know that a person is put right with God only through faith in Jesus Christ, never by doing what the Law requires. We, too, have believed in Christ Jesus in order to be put right with God through our faith in Christ, and not by doing what the Law requires. For no one is put right with God by doing what the Law requires.
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If, then, as we try to be put right with God by our union with Christ, we are found to be sinners, as much as the Gentiles are---does this mean that Christ is serving the cause of sin? By no means!
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If I start to rebuild the system of Law that I tore down, then I show myself to be someone who breaks the Law.
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So far as the Law is concerned, however, I am dead---killed by the Law itself---in order that I might live for God. I have been put to death with Christ on his cross,
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so that it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. This life that I live now, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave his life for me.
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I refuse to reject the grace of God. But if a person is put right with God through the Law, it means that Christ died for nothing!
