¹² But where shall ^[a]Wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?

¹³ Man knows not the price of it; neither is it found in the land of the living.

¹⁴ The deep says, [Wisdom] is not in me; and the sea says, It is not with me.

¹⁵ It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price of it.

¹⁶ It cannot be valued in [terms of] the gold of Ophir, in the precious onyx or beryl, or the sapphire.

¹⁷ Gold and glass cannot equal [Wisdom], nor can it be exchanged for jewels or vessels of fine gold.

¹⁸ No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal; for the possession of Wisdom is even above rubies or pearls.

¹⁹ The topaz of Ethiopia cannot compare with it, nor can it be valued in pure gold.

²⁰ From where then does Wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding?

²¹ It is hidden from the eyes of all living, and knowledge of it is withheld from the birds of the heavens.

²² Abaddon (the place of destruction) and Death say, We have [only] heard the report of it with our ears.

²³ God understands the way [to Wisdom] and He knows the place of it [Wisdom is with God alone].

²⁴ For He looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.

²⁵ When He gave to the wind weight or pressure and allotted the waters by measure,

²⁶ When He made a decree for the rain and a way for the lightning of the thunder,

²⁷ Then He saw [Wisdom] and declared it; He established it, yes, and searched it out [for His own use, and He alone possesses it].

²⁸ But to man He said, Behold, the reverential and worshipful fear of the Lord—that is Wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.

⁹ But, on the contrary, as the Scripture says, What eye has not seen and ear has not heard and has not entered into the heart of man, [all that] God has prepared (made and keeps ready) for those who love Him [^[a]who hold Him in affectionate reverence, promptly obeying Him and gratefully recognizing the benefits He has bestowed].^(A)

¹⁰ Yet to us God has unveiled and revealed them by and through His Spirit, for the [Holy] Spirit searches diligently, exploring and examining everything, even sounding the profound and bottomless things of God [the ^[b]divine counsels and things hidden and beyond man’s scrutiny].

¹¹ For what person perceives (knows and understands) what passes through a man’s thoughts except the man’s own spirit within him? Just so no one discerns (comes to know and comprehend) the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

¹² Now we have not received the spirit [that belongs to] the world, but the [Holy] Spirit Who is from God, [given to us] that we might realize and comprehend and appreciate the gifts [of divine favor and blessing so freely and lavishly] bestowed on us by God.

¹³ And we are setting these truths forth in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the [Holy] Spirit, combining and interpreting spiritual truths with spiritual language [to those who possess the Holy Spirit].

¹⁴ But the natural, nonspiritual man does not accept or welcome or admit into his heart the gifts and teachings and revelations of the Spirit of God, for they are folly (meaningless nonsense) to him; and he is incapable of knowing them [of progressively recognizing, understanding, and becoming better acquainted with them] because they are spiritually discerned and estimated and appreciated.

¹⁵ But the spiritual man tries all things [he ^[c]examines, investigates, inquires into, questions, and discerns all things], yet is himself to be put on trial and judged by no one [he can read the meaning of everything, but no one can properly discern or appraise or get an insight into him].

¹⁶ For who has known or understood the mind (the counsels and purposes) of the Lord so as to guide and instruct Him and give Him knowledge? But we have the mind of Christ (the Messiah) and do hold the thoughts (feelings and purposes) of His heart.^(B)