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