Chapter 12
Job
Verse 1Then Job answered and said:
Verse 2“No doubt you are the people,and wisdom will die with you.Verse 3But I have understanding as well as you;I am not inferior to you.Who does not know such things as these?Verse 4I am a laughingstock to my friends;I, who called to God and he answered me,a just and blameless man, am a laughingstock.Verse 5In the thought of one who is at ease there is contempt for misfortune;it is ready for those whose feet slip.Verse 6The tents of robbers are at peace,and those who provoke God are secure,who bring their god in their hand.Verse 7“But ask the beasts, and they will teach you;the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you;Verse 8or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you;and the fish of the sea will declare to you.Verse 9Who among all these does not knowthat the hand of the LORD has done this?Verse 10In his hand is the life of every living thingand the breath of all mankind.Verse 11Does not the ear test wordsas the palate tastes food?Verse 12Wisdom is with the aged,and understanding in length of days.Verse 13“With God are wisdom and might;he has counsel and understanding.Verse 14If he tears down, none can rebuild;if he shuts a man in, none can open.Verse 15If he withholds the waters, they dry up;if he sends them out, they overwhelm the land.Verse 16With him are strength and sound wisdom;the deceived and the deceiver are his.Verse 17He leads counselors away stripped,and judges he makes fools.Verse 18He looses the bonds of kingsand binds a waistcloth on their hips.Verse 19He leads priests away strippedand overthrows the mighty.Verse 20He deprives of speech those who are trustedand takes away the discernment of the elders.Verse 21He pours contempt on princesand loosens the belt of the strong.Verse 22He uncovers the deeps out of darknessand brings deep darkness to light.Verse 23He makes nations great, and he destroys them;he enlarges nations, and leads them away.Verse 24He takes away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earthand makes them wander in a trackless waste.Verse 25They grope in the dark without light,and he makes them stagger like a drunken man.
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