¹Sølvet har jo sit Leje, som renses, sit sted

¹Surely there is for silver a source, And a place for the gold they refine;

²Jern hentes op af Jorden, og Sten smeltes om til Kobber.

²Iron from the dust is taken, And [from] the firm stone brass.

³På Mørket gør man en Ende og ransager indtil de dybeste Kroge Mørkets og Mulmets Sten;

³An end hath he set to darkness, And to all perfection he is searching, A stone of darkness and death-shade.

⁴man bryder en Skakt under Foden, og glemte, foruden Fodfæste, hænger de svævende fjernt fra Mennesker.

⁴A stream hath broken out from a sojourner, Those forgotten of the foot, They were low, from man they wandered.

⁵Af Jorden fremvokser Brød, imedens dens Indre omvæltes som af Ild;

⁵The earth! from it cometh forth bread, And its under-part is turned like fire.

⁶i Stenen der sidder Safiren, og der er Guldstøv i den.

⁶A place of the sapphire [are] its stones, And it hath dust of gold.

⁷Stien derhen er Rovfuglen ukendt, Falkens Øje udspejder den ikke;

⁷A path — not known it hath a ravenous fowl, Nor scorched it hath an eye of the kite,

⁸den trædes ikke af stolte Vilddyr, Løven skrider ej frem ad den.

⁸Nor trodden it have the sons of pride, Not passed over it hath the fierce lion.

⁹På Flinten lægger man Hånd og omvælter Bjerge fra Roden;

⁹Against the flint he sent forth his hand, He overturned from the root mountains.

¹⁰i Klipperne hugger man Gange, alskens Klenodier skuer Øjet;

¹⁰Among rocks, brooks he hath cleaved, And every precious thing hath his eye seen.

¹¹man tilstopper Strømmenes Kilder og bringer det skjulte for Lyset.

¹¹From overflowing floods he hath bound, And the hidden thing bringeth out [to] light.

¹²Men Visdommen - hvor mon den findes, og hvor er Indsigtens Sted?

¹²And the wisdom — whence is it found? And where [is] this, the place of understanding?

¹³Mennesket kender ikke dens Vej, den findes ej i de levendes Land;

¹³Man hath not known its arrangement, Nor is it found in the land of the living.

¹⁴Dybet siger: "I mig er den ikke!" Havet: "Ej heller hos mig!"

¹⁴The deep hath said, `It [is] not in me,` And the sea hath said, `It is not with me.`

¹⁵Man får den ej for det fineste Guld, for Sølv kan den ikke købes,

¹⁵Gold is not given for it, Nor is silver weighed — its price.

¹⁶den opvejes ikke med Ofirguld, med kostelig Sjoham eller Safir;

¹⁶It is not valued with pure gold of Ophir, With precious onyx and sapphire,

¹⁷Guld og Glar kan ej måle sig med den, den fås ej i Bytte for gyldne Kar,

¹⁷Not equal it do gold and crystal, Nor [is] its exchange a vessel of fine gold.

¹⁸Krystal og Koraller ikke at nævne. At eje Visdom er mere end Perler,

¹⁸Corals and pearl are not remembered, The acquisition of wisdom [is] above rubies.

¹⁹Ætiopiens Topas kan ej måle sig med den, den opvejes ej med det rene Guld.

¹⁹Not equal it doth the topaz of Cush, With pure gold it is not valued.

²⁰Men Visdommen - hvor mon den kommer fra, og hvor er Indsigtens Sted?

²⁰And the wisdom — whence doth it come? And where [is] this, the place of understanding?

²¹Den er dulgt for alt levendes Øje og skjult for Himmelens Fugle;

²¹It hath been hid from the eyes of all living. And from the fowl of the heavens It hath been hidden.

²²Afgrund og Død må sige: "Vi hørte kun tale derom."

²²Destruction and death have said: `With our ears we have heard its fame.`

²³Gud er kendt med dens Vej, han ved, hvor den har sit Sted;

²³God hath understood its way, And He hath known its place.

²⁴thi han skuer til Jordens Ender, alt under Himmelen ser han.

²⁴For He to the ends of the earth doth look, Under the whole heavens He doth see,

²⁵Dengang han fastsatte Vindens Vægt og målte Vandet med Mål,

²⁵To make for the wind a weight, And the waters He meted out in measure.

²⁶da han satte en Lov for Regnen, afmærked Tordenskyen dens Vej,

²⁶In His making for the rain a limit, And a way for the brightness of the voices,

²⁷da skued og mønstred han den, han stilled den op og ransaged den.

²⁷Then He hath seen and declareth it, He hath prepared it, and also searched it out,

²⁸Men til Mennesket sagde han: "Se, HERRENs Frygt, det er Visdom, at sky det onde er Indsigt."

²⁸And He saith to man: — `Lo, fear of the Lord, that [is] wisdom, And to turn from evil [is] understanding.`