1 Then Job answered,

2 "No doubt, but you are the people,

and wisdom will die with you.

3 But I have understanding as well as you;

I am not inferior to you.

Yes, who doesn’t know such things as these?

4 I 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.

5 In the thought of him who is at ease there is contempt for misfortune.

It is ready for them whose foot slips.

6 The 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 will teach you;

the birds of the sky, and they will tell you.

8 Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you.

The fish of the sea will declare to you.

9 Who doesn’t know that in all these,

Yahweh’s hand has done this,

10 in whose hand is the life of every living thing,

and the breath of all mankind?

11 Doesn’t the ear try words,

even as the palate tastes its food?

12 With aged men is wisdom,

in length of days understanding.

13 "With God is wisdom and might.

He has counsel and understanding.

14 Behold, he breaks down, and it can’t be built again.

He imprisons a man, and there can be no release.

15 Behold, he withholds the waters, and they dry up.

Again, he sends them out, and they overturn the earth.

16 With him is strength and wisdom.

The deceived and the deceiver are his.

17 He leads counselors away stripped.

He makes judges fools.

18 He loosens the bond of kings.

He binds their waist with a belt.

19 He leads priests away stripped,

and overthrows the mighty.

20 He removes the speech of those who are trusted,

and takes away the understanding of the elders.

21 He pours contempt on princes,

and loosens the belt of the strong.

22 He uncovers deep things out of darkness,

and brings out to light the shadow of death.

23 He increases the nations, and he destroys them.

He enlarges the nations, and he leads them captive.

24 He 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.

25 They grope in the dark without light.

He makes them stagger like a drunken man.

1 And Job answered and said,

2 No doubt but ye [are] the people, and wisdom shall die with you.

3 But I have a heart as well as you; I [am] not inferior to you; and who shall not be able to say as much again?

4 He who invokes God and he answers him is mocked by his friend; the just and perfect [man is] laughed to scorn.

5 The torch is held in low esteem in the thought of him that is prosperous, which was prepared to guard against a slip of the feet.

6 The tents of robbers are at ease, and those that provoke God and those who carry gods in their hands live secure.

7 But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the heavens, and they shall show thee;

8 or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee; the fishes of the sea shall declare [it] unto thee [also].

9 What thing of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD made them?

10 In his hand [is] the soul of every living thing and the spirit of all flesh of man.

11 Certainly the ear proves words and the mouth tastes foods.

12 With the ancient [is] wisdom; and in length of days intelligence.

13 With him [is] wisdom and strength; he has counsel and intelligence.

14 Behold, he shall break down, and it shall not be built again; he shall shut up a man, and no one shall be able to open unto him.

15 Behold, he shall withhold the waters, and they shall dry up; also he shall send them forth, and they shall destroy the earth.

16 With him [is] strength and existence; he who errs and he who leads astray [are] his.

17 He causes the counsellors to walk away stripped of counsel and makes the judges to be fools.

18 He looses the bond of kings and girds their loins with a girdle.

19 He leads priests away spoiled and overthrows the mighty.

20 He impedes the lips of those that speak the truth and takes away the counsel of the aged.

21 He pours contempt upon princes and weakens the strength of the mighty.

22 He uncovers the depths of the darkness and brings out to light the shadow of death.

23 He multiplies the Gentiles and destroys them; he scatters the Gentiles and gathers them [again].

24 He takes away the heart of the heads of the people of the earth and causes them to become lost, wandering without a way.

25 They grope in the darkness and not the light, and he causes them to err like drunken [men].: