[1] Then Job responded, [2] “Truly then you are the people, And with you wisdom will die! [3] “But I have intelligence as well as you; I am not inferior to you. And who does not know such things as these? [4] “I am a joke to my friends, The one who called on God and He answered him; The just and blameless man is a joke. [5] “He who is at ease holds disaster in contempt, As prepared for those whose feet slip. [6] “The tents of the destroyers prosper, And those who provoke God are secure, Whom God brings into their power. [7] “But just ask the animals, and have them teach you; And the birds of the sky, and have them tell you. [8] “Or speak to the earth, and have it teach you; And have the fish of the sea tell 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 the ear not put words to the test, As the palate tastes its food? [12] “Wisdom is with the aged, And with long life comes understanding. [13] “Wisdom and might are with Him; Advice and understanding belong to Him. [14] “Behold, He tears down, and it cannot be rebuilt; He imprisons a person, and there is no release. [15] “Behold, He restrains the waters, and they dry up; And He sends them out, and they inundate the earth. [16] “Strength and sound wisdom are with Him. One who goes astray and one who leads astray belong to Him. [17] “He makes advisers walk barefoot And makes fools of judges. [18] “He undoes the binding of kings, And ties a loincloth around their waist. [19] “He makes priests walk barefoot, And overthrows the secure ones. [20] “He deprives the trusted ones of speech, And takes away the discernment of the elders. [21] “He pours contempt on nobles, And loosens the belt of the strong. [22] “He reveals mysteries from the darkness, And brings the deep darkness into light. [23] “He makes the nations great, then destroys them; He enlarges the nations, then leads them away. [24] “He deprives the leaders of the earth’s people of intelligence And makes them wander in a pathless wasteland. [25] “They grope in darkness with no light, And He makes them stagger like a drunken person.
