[1] Then Job answered and said: [2] "No doubt you are the people, And wisdom will die with you! [3] But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Indeed, who does not know such things as these? [4] "I am one mocked by his friends, Who called on God, and He answered him, The just and blameless who is ridiculed. [5] A lamp is despised in the thought of one who is at ease; It is made ready for those whose feet slip. [6] The tents of robbers prosper, And those who provoke God are secure- In what God provides by His hand. [7] "But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you; And the birds of the air, and they will tell you; [8] Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; And the fish of the sea will explain to you. [9] Who among all these does not know That the hand of the LORD has done this, [10] In whose hand is the life of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind? [11] Does not the ear test words And the mouth taste its food? [12] Wisdom is with aged men, And with length of days, understanding. [13] "With Him are wisdom and strength, He has counsel and understanding. [14] If He breaks a thing down, it cannot be rebuilt; If He imprisons a man, there can be no release. [15] If He withholds the waters, they dry up; If He sends them out, they overwhelm the earth. [16] With Him are strength and prudence. The deceived and the deceiver are His. [17] He leads counselors away plundered, And makes fools of the judges. [18] He loosens the bonds of kings, And binds their waist with a belt. [19] He leads princes away plundered, And overthrows the mighty. [20] He deprives the trusted ones of speech, And takes away the discernment of the elders. [21] He pours contempt on princes, And disarms the mighty. [22] He uncovers deep things out of darkness, And brings the shadow of death to light. [23] He makes nations great, and destroys them; He enlarges nations, and guides them. [24] He takes away the understanding of the chiefs of the people of the earth, And makes them wander in a pathless wilderness. [25] They grope in the dark without light, And He makes them stagger like a drunken man.
