12:1 Then Job replied:
12:2 “Doubtless you are the people, and wisdom will die with you!
12:3 But I have a mind as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know all these things?
12:4 “I have become a laughingstock to my friends, though I called upon God and he answered–a mere laughingstock, though righteous and blameless!
12:5 Men at ease have contempt for misfortune as the fate of those whose feet are slipping.
12:6 The tents of marauders are undisturbed, and those who provoke God are secure–those who carry their god in their hands.
12:7 “But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
12:8 or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you.
12:9 Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this?
12:10 In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.
12:11 Does not the ear test words as the tongue tastes food?
12:12 Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding?
12:13 “To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his.
12:14 What he tears down cannot be rebuilt; the man he imprisons cannot be released.
12:15 If he holds back the waters, there is drought; if he lets them loose, they devastate the land.
12:16 To him belong strength and victory; both deceived and deceiver are his.
12:17 He leads counselors away stripped and makes fools of judges.
12:18 He takes off the shackles put on by kings and ties a loincloth around their waist.
12:19 He leads priests away stripped and overthrows men long established.
12:20 He silences the lips of trusted advisers and takes away the discernment of elders.
12:21 He pours contempt on nobles and disarms the mighty.
12:22 He reveals the deep things of darkness and brings deep shadows into the light.
12:23 He makes nations great, and destroys them; he enlarges nations, and disperses them.
12:24 He deprives the leaders of the earth of their reason; he sends them wandering through a trackless waste.
12:25 They grope in darkness with no light; he makes them stagger like drunkards.
12:1 Then Job answered and said,
12:2 Surely then you are the people, / And wisdom will die with you.
12:3 I also have understanding as you do; / I am not inferior to you. / And who does not know things like these?
12:4 I have become a laughingstock to my friends, / I, who have called out to God and He answers me. / The righteous man, the perfect man, is a laughingstock.
12:5 There is contempt for calamity in the thought of him who is at ease: / It is prepared for those whose foot slips.
12:6 The tents of robbers prosper, / And those who provoke God have security, / Those who carry their god in their own might.
12:7 But ask now of the beasts, and they will teach you; / And of the birds of heaven, and they will tell you.
12:8 Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; / And the fish of the sea will declare to you.
12:9 Who among all these does not know / That the hand of Jehovah has done this,
12:10 In whose hand is the life of every living thing / And the breath of all flesh of man?
12:11 Does not the ear try words / Even as the palate tastes food for itself?
12:12 In aged men, you say, there is wisdom, / And in length of days there is understanding.
12:13 But with Him are wisdom and might; / Counsel and understanding are His.
12:14 Indeed, He breaks down, and it cannot be rebuilt; / He shuts a man up, and the door cannot be opened.
12:15 Indeed, He withholds the waters, and they dry up; / And He sends them forth, and they overturn the earth.
12:16 With Him are strength and effectual wisdom; / The deceived and the deceiver are His.
12:17 He leads counselors away stripped, / And He makes fools of judges.
12:18 He loosens the fetters of kings / And binds their loins with a belt.
12:19 He leads priests away stripped, / And He overturns dignitaries.
12:20 He removes the utterance of the trusty / And takes away the counsel of the elders.
12:21 He pours contempt upon the princes / And loosens the belt of the strong.
12:22 He uncovers the depths out of darkness / And brings to light the shadow of death.
12:23 He makes nations great and destroys them; / He expands nations and leads them off.
12:24 He removes the understanding of the heads of the people of the earth / And causes them to wander in a pathless waste.
12:25 They grope in darkness, and there is no light; / And He causes them to stagger like a drunken man.