1 Então, Jó respondeu:
2 Na verdade, vós sois o povo,
e convosco morrerá a sabedoria.
3 Também eu tenho entendimento como vós;
eu não vos sou inferior;
quem não sabe coisas como essas?
4 Eu sou irrisão para os meus amigos;
eu, que invocava a Deus, e ele me respondia;
o justo e o reto servem de irrisão.
5 No pensamento de quem está seguro, há desprezo para o infortúnio,
um empurrão para aquele cujos pés já vacilam.
6 As tendas dos tiranos gozam paz,
e os que provocam a Deus estão seguros;
têm o punho por seu deus.
7 Mas pergunta agora às alimárias, e cada uma delas to ensinará;
e às aves dos céus, e elas to farão saber.
8 Ou fala com a terra, e ela te instruirá;
até os peixes do mar to contarão.
9 Qual entre todos estes não sabe
que a mão do Senhor fez isto?
10 Na sua mão está a alma de todo ser vivente
e o espírito de todo o gênero humano.
11 Porventura, o ouvido não submete à prova as palavras,
como o paladar prova as comidas?
12 Está a sabedoria com os idosos,
e, na longevidade, o entendimento?
13 Não! Com Deus está a sabedoria e a força;
ele tem conselho e entendimento.
14 O que ele deitar abaixo não se reedificará;
lança na prisão, e ninguém a pode abrir.
15 Se retém as águas, elas secam;
se as larga, devastam a terra.
16 Com ele está a força e a sabedoria;
seu é o que erra e o que faz errar.
17 Aos conselheiros, leva-os despojados do seu cargo
e aos juízes faz desvairar.
18 Dissolve a autoridade dos reis,
e uma corda lhes cinge os lombos.
19 Aos sacerdotes, leva-os despojados do seu cargo
e aos poderosos transtorna.
20 Aos eloquentes ele tira a palavra
e tira o entendimento aos anciãos.
21 Lança desprezo sobre os príncipes
e afrouxa o cinto dos fortes.
22 Das trevas manifesta coisas profundas
e traz à luz a densa escuridade.
23 Multiplica as nações e as faz perecer;
dispersa-as e de novo as congrega.
24 Tira o entendimento aos príncipes do povo da terra
e os faz vaguear pelos desertos sem caminho.
25 Nas trevas andam às apalpadelas, sem terem luz,
e os faz cambalear como ébrios.
1 Then Job answered and said,
2 No doubt but ye are the people,
And wisdom shall die with you.
3 But I have understanding as well as you;
I am not inferior to you:
Yea, who knoweth not such things as these?
4 I am as one that is a laughing-stock to his neighbor,
I who called upon God, and he answered:
The just, the perfect man is a laughing-stock.
5 In the thought of him that is at ease there is contempt for misfortune;
It is ready for them whose foot slippeth.
6 The tents of robbers prosper,
And they that provoke God are secure;
Into whose hand God bringeth abundantly.
7 But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee;
And the birds of the heavens, and they shall tell thee:
8 Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee;
And the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee.
9 Who knoweth not in all these,
That the hand of Jehovah hath wrought this,
10 In whose hand is the soul of every living thing,
And the breath of all mankind?
11 Doth not the ear try words,
Even as the palate tasteth its food?
12 With aged men is wisdom,
And in length of days understanding.
13 With God is wisdom and might;
He hath counsel and understanding.
14 Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot be built again;
He shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening.
15 Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up;
Again, he sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth.
16 With him is strength and wisdom;
The deceived and the deceiver are his.
17 He leadeth counsellors away stripped,
And judges maketh he fools.
18 He looseth the bond of kings,
And he bindeth their loins with a girdle.
19 He leadeth priests away stripped,
And overthroweth the mighty.
20 He removeth the speech of the trusty,
And taketh away the understanding of the elders.
21 He poureth contempt upon princes,
And looseth the belt of the strong.
22 He uncovereth deep things out of darkness,
And bringeth out to light the shadow of death.
23 He increaseth the nations, and he destroyeth them:
He enlargeth the nations, and he leadeth them captive.
24 He taketh away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth,
And causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way.
25 They grope in the dark without light;
And he maketh them to stagger like a drunken man.
1 Then Job replied:
2 "Doubtless you are the only people who matter, and wisdom will die with you!
3 But I have a mind as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know all these things?
4 "I have become a laughingstock to my friends, though I called on God and he answered — a mere laughingstock, though righteous and blameless!
5 Those who are at ease have contempt for misfortune as the fate of those whose feet are slipping.
6 The tents of marauders are undisturbed, and those who provoke God are secure — those God has in his hand. [^1]
7 "But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you;
8 or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you.
9 Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this?
10 In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.
11 Does not the ear test words as the tongue tastes food?
12 Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding?
13 "To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his.
14 What he tears down cannot be rebuilt; those he imprisons cannot be released.
15 If he holds back the waters, there is drought; if he lets them loose, they devastate the land.
16 To him belong strength and insight; both deceived and deceiver are his.
17 He leads rulers away stripped and makes fools of judges.
18 He takes off the shackles put on by kings and ties a loincloth "around their waist.
19 He leads priests away stripped and overthrows officials long established.
20 He silences the lips of trusted advisers and takes away the discernment of elders.
21 He pours contempt on nobles and disarms the mighty.
22 He reveals the deep things of darkness and brings utter darkness into the light.
23 He makes nations great, and destroys them; he enlarges nations, and disperses them.
24 He deprives the leaders of the earth of their reason; he makes them wander in a trackless waste.
25 They grope in darkness with no light; he makes them stagger like drunkards.