Job 12  New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

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 upon God and he answered me,
    a just and blameless man, I am a laughingstock.^(A)
5 Those at ease have contempt for misfortune,^[a]
    but it is ready for those whose feet are unstable.^(B)
6 The tents of robbers are at peace,
    and those who provoke God are secure,
    who bring their god in their hands.^[b](C)

⁷ “But ask the animals, and they will teach you,
    the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
⁸ ask the plants of the earth,^[c] 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?^(D)
10 In his hand is the life of every living thing
    and the breath of every human being.^(E)
11 Does not the ear test words
    as the palate tastes food?^(F)
12 Is wisdom with the aged
    and understanding in length of days?^(G)

¹³ “With God^[d] are wisdom and strength;
    he has counsel and understanding.^(H)
14 If he tears down, no one can rebuild;
    if he shuts someone in, no one can open up.^(I)
15 If he withholds the waters, they dry up;
    if he sends them out, they overwhelm the land.^(J)
16 With him are strength and wisdom;
    the deceived and the deceiver are his.^(K)
17 He leads counselors away stripped
    and makes fools of judges.^(L)
18 He looses the sash of kings
    and binds a waistcloth on their loins.^(M)
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.^(N)
21 He pours contempt on princes
    and looses the belt of the strong.^(O)
22 He uncovers deep things from the darkness
    and brings deep darkness to light.^(P)
23 He makes nations great, then destroys them;
    he enlarges nations, then leads them away.^(Q)
24 He strips understanding from the leaders^[e] of the earth
    and makes them wander in a pathless waste.^(R)
25 They grope in the dark without light;
    he makes them stagger like a drunkard.^(S)