JOB 12 [†]Then Job answered and said:

2[†] “No doubt you are the people,

and wisdom will die with you.

3[^] But I have  b understanding as well as you;

I am not inferior to you.

Who does not know  c such things as these?

4[†] I am  d a laughingstock to my friends;

I, who  e called to God and he answered me,

a just and blameless man, am a laughingstock.

5 In the thought of one who is  f at ease there is contempt for misfortune;

it is ready for those whose feet slip.

6[†]  g The tents of robbers are at peace,

and those who provoke God are secure,

who bring their god in their hand. [1]

7[†] “But ask the beasts, and they will teach you;

the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you;

8 or the bushes of the earth, [2] and they will teach you;

and the fish of the sea will declare to you.

9[†] Who among all these does not know

that  h the hand of the LORD has done this?

10 In  i his hand is the life of every living thing

and the breath of all mankind.

11 Does not  j the ear test words

as the palate tastes food?

12 Wisdom is with  k the aged,

and understanding in length of days.

13[†]  l “With God [3] are wisdom and might;

he has counsel and understanding.

14 If he tears down, none can rebuild;

if he  m shuts a man in, none can open.

15 If he  n withholds the waters, they dry up;

if he  o sends them out, they overwhelm the land.

16 With him are strength and  p sound wisdom;

the deceived and the deceiver are his.

17[†] He leads  q counselors away stripped,

and  r judges he makes fools.

18[†] He  s looses the bonds of kings

and binds a waistcloth on their hips.

19 He leads priests away stripped

and overthrows the mighty.

20 He deprives of speech those who are trusted

 t and takes away the discernment of the elders.

21[†] He  u pours contempt on princes

and loosens the belt of the strong.

22 He  v uncovers the deeps out of darkness

and brings  w deep darkness to light.

23[†] He  x makes nations great, and he destroys them;

he enlarges nations, and  y leads them away.

24 He takes away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth

and  z makes them wander in a trackless waste.

25 They  a grope in the dark without light,

and he makes them  b stagger like a drunken man.