[1] Then Job answered: [2] No doubt you are the people, and wisdom will die with you! [3] But I also have a mind like you; I am not inferior to you. Who doesn't know the things you are talking about? [4] I am a laughingstock to my friends, by calling on God, who answers me. The righteous and blameless man is a laughingstock. [5] The one who is at ease holds calamity in contempt and thinks it is prepared for those whose feet are slipping. [6] The tents of robbers are safe, and those who trouble God are secure; God holds them in his hands. [7] But ask the animals, and they will instruct you; ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you. [8] Or speak to the earth, and it will instruct you; let the fish of the sea inform you. [9] Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? [10] The life of every living thing is in his hand, as well as the breath of all humanity. [11] Doesn't the ear test words as the palate tastes food? [12] Wisdom is found with the elderly, and understanding comes with long life. [13] Wisdom and strength belong to God; counsel and understanding are his. [14] Whatever he tears down cannot be rebuilt; whoever he imprisons cannot be released. [15] When he withholds water, everything dries up, and when he releases it, it destroys the land. [16] True wisdom and power belong to him. The deceived and the deceiver are his. [17] He leads counselors away barefoot and makes judges go mad. [18] He releases the bonds put on by kings and fastens a belt around their waists. [19] He leads priests away barefoot and overthrows established leaders. [20] He deprives trusted advisers of speech and takes away the elders' good judgment. [21] He pours out contempt on nobles and disarms the strong. [22] He reveals mysteries from the darkness and brings the deepest darkness into the light. [23] He makes nations great, then destroys them; he enlarges nations, then leads them away. [24] He deprives the world's leaders of reason, and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland. [25] They grope around in darkness without light; he makes them stagger like a drunkard.
