[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. Indeed, who does not know such things as these?
[4] “I am one mocked by his friends, Who called on God, and He answered him, The just and blameless who is ridiculed.
[5] A lamp is despised in the thought of one who is at ease; It is made ready for those whose feet slip.
[6] The tents of robbers prosper, And those who provoke God are secure— In what God provides by His hand.
[7] “But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you; And the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
[8] Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; And the fish of the sea will explain to you.
[9] Who among all these does not know That the hand of the Lord has done this,
[10] In whose hand is the life of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind?
[11] Does not the ear test words And the mouth taste its food?
[12] Wisdom is with aged men, And with length of days, understanding.
[13] “With Him are wisdom and strength, He has counsel and understanding.
[14] If He breaks a thing down, it cannot be rebuilt; If He imprisons a man, there can be no release.
[15] If He withholds the waters, they dry up; If He sends them out, they overwhelm the earth.
[16] With Him are strength and prudence. The deceived and the deceiver are His.
[17] He leads counselors away plundered, And makes fools of the judges.
[18] He loosens the bonds of kings, And binds their waist with a belt.
[19] He leads princes away plundered, And overthrows the mighty.
[20] He deprives the trusted ones of speech, And takes away the discernment of the elders.
[21] He pours contempt on princes, And disarms the mighty.
[22] He uncovers deep things out of darkness, And brings the shadow of death to light.
[23] He makes nations great, and destroys them; He enlarges nations, and guides them.
[24] He takes away the understanding of the chiefs of the people of the earth, And makes them wander in a pathless wilderness.
[25] They grope in the dark without light, And He makes them stagger like a drunken man.