Job 12  International Standard Version

⁴ “I’m a laughingstock to my friends,
    someone^[c] who called on God.
But then he answered this upright and blameless man,
    and I have become^[d] a laughingstock.
⁵ The carefree are thinking, ‘I have contempt for misfortune,’
    Those who are about to stumble deserve it.
⁶ The tents of robbers are at rest,
    and those who provoke God are secure,
        that is, those who carry their god in their pocket.^[e]

⁷ “Ask the wild animals, and they’ll teach you;
    the birds of the sky will tell you.
⁸ Or ask the green plants of the earth and they’ll teach you;
    let the fish in the sea tell you.
⁹ Who among all of these doesn’t know
    that the Lord’s hand made them,^[f]
10 and that the life of every living thing^[g] rests in his control,
    along with the breath of every living human being?
¹¹ The ear scrutinizes speech
    just as the palate tastes food.”

¹² “Wisdom may be found in the company of the aged.
    Understanding comes^[h] with longevity.
¹³ With God^[i] is wisdom and strength;
    counsel and understanding belongs to him.
¹⁴ When he tears down, nobody rebuilds;
    when^[j] he incarcerates, nobody escapes.
¹⁵ When he withholds water, rivers^[k] dry up;
    when he lets them loose, they’ll flood^[l] the land.