| 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. |
