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. |