[1] Then Job spoke again:
[2] “You people really know everything, don’t you? And when you die, wisdom will die with you!
[3] Well, I know a few things myself— and you’re no better than I am. Who doesn’t know these things you’ve been saying?
[4] Yet my friends laugh at me, for I call on God and expect an answer. I am a just and blameless man, yet they laugh at me.
[5] People who are at ease mock those in trouble. They give a push to people who are stumbling.
[6] But robbers are left in peace, and those who provoke God live in safety— though God keeps them in his power.
[7] “Just ask the animals, and they will teach you. Ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you.
[8] Speak to the earth, and it will instruct you. Let the fish in the sea speak to you.
[9] For they all know that my disaster has come from the hand of the Lord.
[10] For the life of every living thing is in his hand, and the breath of every human being.
[11] The ear tests the words it hears just as the mouth distinguishes between foods.
[12] Wisdom belongs to the aged, and understanding to the old.
[13] “But true wisdom and power are found in God; counsel and understanding are his.
[14] What he destroys cannot be rebuilt. When he puts someone in prison, there is no escape.
[15] If he holds back the rain, the earth becomes a desert. If he releases the waters, they flood the earth.
[16] Yes, strength and wisdom are his; deceivers and deceived are both in his power.
[17] He leads counselors away, stripped of good judgment; wise judges become fools.
[18] He removes the royal robe of kings. They are led away with ropes around their waist.
[19] He leads priests away, stripped of status; he overthrows those with long years in power.
[20] He silences the trusted adviser and removes the insight of the elders.
[21] He pours disgrace upon princes and disarms the strong.
[22] “He uncovers mysteries hidden in darkness; he brings light to the deepest gloom.
[23] He builds up nations, and he destroys them. He expands nations, and he abandons them.
[24] He strips kings of understanding and leaves them wandering in a pathless wasteland.
[25] They grope in the darkness without a light. He makes them stagger like drunkards.