Job 12

Job Chides His Accusers

1 Then Job ^{▼▼ Lit answered and said}responded, 2 “Truly then ^byou are the people,
And with you wisdom will die!
3 “But ^cI have intelligence as well as you;
I am not inferior to you.
And ^{▼▼ Lit with whom is there not like these?}who does not know such things as these?
4 “I am a ^ejoke to ^{▼▼ Lit his}my friends,
The one who called on God and He answered him;
The just and ^gblameless man is a joke.
5 ^{▼▼ Lit Contempt for calamity is the thought of him who is at ease}“He who is at ease holds calamity in contempt,
As prepared for those whose feet slip.
6 “The ⁱtents of the destroyers prosper,
And those who provoke God ^jare secure,
^{▼▼ Or He who brings God into his hand}Whom God brings ^linto their power.

7 “But now ask the beasts, and let them teach you;
And the birds of the heavens, and let them tell you.
8 “Or speak to the earth, and let it teach you;
And let the fish of the sea declare to you.
9 “Who among all these does not know
That ^mthe hand of the Lord has done this,
10 ⁿIn whose hand is the life of every living thing,
And ^othe breath of all mankind?
11 “Does not ^pthe ear test words,
As the palate ^{▼▼ Lit tastes food for itself}tastes its food?
12 “Wisdom is with ^raged men,
With ^{▼▼ Lit length of days}long life is understanding.

Job Speaks of the Power of God

13 “With Him are ^twisdom and ^umight;
To Him belong counsel and ^vunderstanding.
14 “Behold, He ^wtears down, and it cannot be rebuilt;
He ^{▼▼ Lit shuts against
,} ^yimprisons a man, and ^{▼▼ Lit it is not opened}there can be no release.
15 “Behold, He ^aarestrains the waters, and they dry up;
And He ^absends them out, and they ^{▼▼ Lit overturn}inundate the earth.
16 “With Him are strength and sound wisdom,
The ^admisled and the misleader belong to Him.
17 “He makes ^aecounselors walk ^{▼▼ Or stripped}barefoot
And makes fools of ^agjudges.
18 “He ^ahloosens the ^{▼▼ Or discipline}bond of kings
And binds their loins with a girdle.
19 “He makes priests walk ^{▼▼ Or stripped}barefoot
And overthrows ^akthe secure ones.
20 “He deprives the trusted ones of speech
And ^altakes away the discernment of the elders.
21 “He ^ampours contempt on nobles
And ^anloosens the belt of the strong.
22 “He ^aoreveals mysteries from the darkness
And brings the deep darkness into light.
23 “He ^apmakes the nations great, then destroys them;
He ^{▼▼ Or spreads out}enlarges the nations, then leads them away.
24 “He ^ardeprives of intelligence the chiefs of the earth’s people
And makes them wander in a pathless waste.
25 “They ^asgrope in darkness with no light,
And He makes them ^atstagger like a drunken man.