1Then Job answered:
1And Job answered and said,
2“Truly then you are the people
with whom wisdom itself will die!
2“Truly it is that you are the people, and wisdom will die with you.
3But I also have a mind;
I am not inferior to you.
Who does not know such things as these?
3Also unto me is a heart like you; I am not falling below you. And with whom are not things like these?
4I am a laughingstock to my friends,
though I called on God, and He answered.
The righteous and upright man is a laughingstock.
4I have become a laughingstock to his neighbor, one calling on God and He answered him, righteous and blameless—a laughingstock.
5The one at ease scorns misfortune
as the fate of those whose feet are slipping.
5There is contempt for disaster in the thought of the secure, prepared for those slipping of foot.
6The tents of robbers are safe,
and those who provoke God are secure—
those who carry their god in their hands.a
6The tents of robbers are at rest, and those disturbing God are secure—to the one who carries his god in his hand.
7But ask the animals, and they will instruct you;
ask the birds of the air, and they will tell you.
7But ask now the beasts, and they will instruct you, and the birds of the heavens, and one will declare to you.
8Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you;
let the fish of the sea inform you.
8Or speak to the earth and it will instruct you, and the fish of the sea and they will recount to you.
9Which of all these does not know
that the hand of the LORD has done this?
9Who among all these does not know that the hand of YHWH has done this—
10The life of every living thing is in His hand,
as well as the breath of all mankind.
10in whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all the flesh of man?
11Does not the ear test words
as the tongue tastes its food?
11Does not the ear examine words, and the mouth taste food for itself?
12Wisdom is found with the elderly,
and understanding comes with long life.
12With the aged is wisdom, and in length of days is understanding.
13Wisdom and strength belong to God;
counsel and understanding are His.
13With Him are wisdom and strength; unto Him are counsel and understanding.
14What He tears down cannot be rebuilt;
the man He imprisons cannot be released.
14Behold, He tears down, and it cannot be rebuilt; He closes up upon a man, and it cannot be opened.
15If He holds back the waters, they dry up,
and if He releases them, they overwhelm the land.
15Behold, He restrains the waters and they dry up, and He sends them forth and they overthrow the land.
16True wisdom and power belong to Him.
The deceived and the deceiver are His.
16With Him are strength and wisdom and unto Him are the deceived and the deceiver.
17He leads counselors away barefoot
and makes fools of judges.
17He leads away counselors barefoot, and judges He makes foolish.
18He loosens the bonds placed by kings
and fastens a belt around their waists.
18The bond of kings He loosens, and He binds a waistband around their loins.
19He leads priests away barefoot
and overthrows the established.
19He leads away priests barefoot, and the established He overthrows.
20He deprives the trusted of speech
and takes away the discernment of elders.
20He deprives the lip of the trusted ones, and the discernment of the elders He takes away.
21He pours out contempt on nobles
and disarms the mighty.
21He pours out contempt on nobles, and the mighty He makes feeble.
22He reveals the deep things of darkness
and brings deep shadows into light.
22He uncovers deep things out of darkness, and brings to light the shadow of death.
23He makes nations great and destroys them;
He enlarges nations, then disperses them.
23He makes great nations, and destroys them; He enlarges nations and guides them away.
24He deprives the earth’s leaders of reason
and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland.
24He turns aside the understanding of the chiefs of the people of the earth, and makes them wander in a wilderness without a path.
25They grope in the darkness without light;
He makes them stagger like drunkards.
25They feel about in darkness without light, and He makes them stagger like a drunkard.