[1] Then Job answered: [2] “Truly then you are the people with whom wisdom itself will die! [3] But I also have a mind; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know such things as these? [4] I am a laughingstock to my friends, though I called on God, and He answered. The righteous and upright man is a laughingstock. [5] The one at ease scorns misfortune as the fate of those whose feet are slipping. [6] The tents of robbers are safe, and those who provoke God are secure —those who carry their god in their hands. [7] But ask the animals, and they will instruct you; ask the birds of the air, and they will tell you. [8] Or speak to the earth, and it will teach 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 mankind. [11] Does not the ear test words as the tongue tastes its 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] What He tears down cannot be rebuilt; the man He imprisons cannot be released. [15] If He holds back the waters, they dry up, and if He releases them, they overwhelm 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 fools of judges. [18] He loosens the bonds placed by kings and fastens a belt around their waists. [19] He leads priests away barefoot and overthrows the established. [20] He deprives the trusted of speech and takes away the discernment of elders. [21] He pours out contempt on nobles and disarms the mighty. [22] He reveals the deep things of darkness and brings deep shadows into light. [23] He makes nations great and destroys them; He enlarges nations, then disperses them. [24] He deprives the earth’s leaders of reason and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland. [25] They grope in the darkness without light; He makes them stagger like drunkards.[’’]
