Job — Chapter 12

1And Job answered and said,

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

3But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you: yea, who knoweth not such things as these?

4I am as one mocked of his neighbour, who calleth upon God, and he answereth him: the just upright man is laughed to scorn.

5He that is ready to slip with his feet is as a lamp despised in the thought of him that is at ease.

6The tabernacles of robbers prosper, and they that provoke God are secure; into whose hand God bringeth abundantly.

7But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee:

8Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee.

9Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the LORD hath wrought this?

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

11Doth not the ear try words? and the mouth taste his meat?

12With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding.

13With him is wisdom and strength, he hath counsel and understanding.

14Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot be built again: he shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening.

15Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up: also he sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth.

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

17He leadeth counsellors away spoiled, and maketh the judges fools.

18He looseth the bond of kings, and girdeth their loins with a girdle.

19He leadeth princes away spoiled, and overthroweth the mighty.

20He removeth away the speech of the trusty, and taketh away the understanding of the aged.

21He poureth contempt upon princes, and weakeneth the strength of the mighty.

22He discovereth deep things out of darkness, and bringeth out to light the shadow of death.

23He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them: he enlargeth the nations, and straiteneth them again.

24He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth, and causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way.

25They grope in the dark without light, and he maketh them to stagger like a drunken man.

1Then Job answered and said,

2No doubt but ye are the people, And wisdom shall die with you.

3But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you: Yea, who knoweth not such things as these?

4I 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.

5In the thought of him that is at ease there is contempt for misfortune; It is ready for them whose foot slippeth.

6The tents of robbers prosper, And they that provoke God are secure; Into whose hand God bringeth [abundantly].

7But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; And the birds of the heavens, and they shall tell thee:

8Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee; And the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee.

9Who knoweth not in all these, That the hand of Jehovah hath wrought this,

10In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind?

11Doth not the ear try words, Even as the palate tasteth its food?

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

13With [God] is wisdom and might; He hath counsel and understanding.

14Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot be built again; He shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening.

15Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up; Again, he sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth.

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

17He leadeth counsellors away stripped, And judges maketh he fools.

18He looseth the bond of kings, And he bindeth their loins with a girdle.

19He leadeth priests away stripped, And overthroweth the mighty.

20He removeth the speech of the trusty, And taketh away the understanding of the elders.

21He poureth contempt upon princes, And looseth the belt of the strong.

22He uncovereth deep things out of darkness, And bringeth out to light the shadow of death.

23He increaseth the nations, and he destroyeth them: He enlargeth the nations, and he leadeth them captive.

24He 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.

25They grope in the dark without light; And he maketh them to stagger like a drunken man.

1Then Job answered:

2“Without a doubt you are the people, and wisdom will die with you.

3I also have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know such things as these?

4I am a laughingstock to my friends, I, who called on God and whom he answered— a righteous and blameless man is a laughingstock!

5For calamity, there is derision (according to the ideas of the fortunate)— a fate for those whose feet slip.

6But the tents of robbers are peaceful, and those who provoke God are confident— who carry their god in their hands.

7“But now, ask the animals and they will teach you, or the birds of the sky and they will tell you.

8Or speak to the earth and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea declare to you.

9Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this?

10In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all the human race.

11Does not the ear test words, as the tongue tastes food?

12Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding?

13With God are wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his.

14If he tears down, it cannot be rebuilt; if he imprisons a person, there is no escape.

15If he holds back the waters, then they dry up; if he releases them, they destroy the land.

16With him are strength and prudence; both the one who goes astray and the one who misleads are his.

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

18He loosens the bonds of kings and binds a loincloth around their waist.

19He leads priests away stripped and overthrows the potentates.

20He deprives the trusted advisers of speech and takes away the discernment of elders.

21He pours contempt on noblemen and disarms the powerful.

22He reveals the deep things of darkness and brings deep shadows into the light.

23He makes nations great and destroys them; he extends the boundaries of nations and disperses them.

24He deprives the leaders of the earth of their understanding; he makes them wander in a trackless desert waste.

25They grope about in darkness without light; he makes them stagger like drunkards.

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, Yahweh’s hand 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.