Job 12

¹And Job made answer and said,

²No doubt you have knowledge, and wisdom will come to an end with you.

³But I have a mind as well as you; I am equal to you: yes, who has not knowledge of such things as these?

⁴It seems that I am to be as one who is a cause of laughing to his neighbour, one who makes his prayer to God and is answered! the upright man who has done no wrong is to be made sport of!

⁵In the thought of him who is in comfort there is no respect for one who is in trouble; such is the fate of those whose feet are slipping.

⁶There is wealth in the tents of those who make destruction, and those by whom God is moved to wrath are safe; even those whose god is their strength.

⁷But put now a question to the beasts, and get teaching from them; or to the birds of the heaven, and they will make it clear to you;

⁸Or to the things which go flat on the earth, and they will give you wisdom; and the fishes of the sea will give you news of it.

⁹Who does not see by all these that the hand of the Lord has done this?

¹⁰In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all flesh of man.

¹¹Are not words tested by the ear, even as food is tasted by the mouth?

¹²Old men have wisdom, and a long life gives knowledge.

¹³With him there is wisdom and strength; power and knowledge are his.

¹⁴Truly, there is no building up of what is pulled down by him; when a man is shut up by him, no one may let him loose.

¹⁵Truly, he keeps back the waters and they are dry; he sends them out and the earth is overturned.

¹⁶With him are strength and wise designs; he who is guided into error, together with his guide, are in his hands;

¹⁷He takes away the wisdom of the wise guides, and makes judges foolish;

¹⁸He undoes the chains of kings, and puts his band on them;

¹⁹He makes priests prisoners, overturning those in safe positions;

²⁰He makes the words of responsible persons without effect, and takes away the good sense of the old;

²¹He puts shame on chiefs, and takes away the power of the strong;

²²Uncovering deep things out of the dark, and making the deep shade bright;

²³Increasing nations, and sending destruction on them; making wide the lands of peoples, and then giving them up.

²⁴He takes away the wisdom of the rulers of the earth, and sends them wandering in a waste where there is no way.

²⁵They go feeling about in the dark without light, wandering without help like those overcome with wine.

Job 12

¹Then Job answered,

²"No doubt, but you are the people, and wisdom shall die with you.

³But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Yes, who doesn't know such things as these?

⁴I am like one who is a joke to his neighbor, I, who called on God, and he answered. The just, the blameless man is a joke.

⁵In the thought of him who is at ease there is contempt for misfortune. It is ready for them whose foot slips.

⁶The tents of robbers prosper. Those who provoke God are secure, who carry their God in their hands.

⁷"But ask the animals, now, and they shall teach you; the birds of the sky, and they shall tell you.

⁸Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach you. The fish of the sea shall declare to you.

⁹Who doesn't know that in all these, the hand of the Lord has done this,

¹⁰in whose hand is the life of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind?

¹¹Doesn't the ear try words, even as the palate tastes its food?

¹²With aged men is wisdom, in length of days understanding.

¹³"With God is wisdom and might. He has counsel and understanding.

¹⁴Behold, he breaks down, and it can't be built again. He imprisons a man, and there can be no release.

¹⁵Behold, he withholds the waters, and they dry up. Again, he sends them out, and they overturn the earth.

¹⁶With him is strength and wisdom. The deceived and the deceiver are his.

¹⁷He leads counselors away stripped. He makes judges fools.

¹⁸He loosens the bond of kings. He binds their waist with a belt.

¹⁹He leads priests away stripped, and overthrows the mighty.

²⁰He removes the speech of those who are trusted, and takes away the understanding of the elders.

²¹He pours contempt on princes, and loosens the belt of the strong.

²²He uncovers deep things out of darkness, and brings out to light the shadow of death.

²³He increases the nations, and he destroys them. He enlarges the nations, and he leads them captive.

²⁴He takes away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth, and causes them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way.

²⁵They grope in the dark without light. He makes them stagger like a drunken man.