1Then Job answered and said,

2“No doubt you are the people;
wisdom will die with you.

3But I have understanding as well as you;
I am not inferior to you.
Indeed, who does not know such things as these?

4I am something for my neighbor to laugh at—
I, one who called on God and who was answered by him!
I, a just and blameless man—I am now something to laugh at.

5In the thought of someone who is at ease, there is contempt for misfortune;
he thinks in a way that brings more misfortune to those whose foot is slipping.

6The tents of robbers prosper,
and those who provoke God feel secure;
their own hands are their gods.

7But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you;
ask the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you.

8Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you;
the fish of the sea will declare to you.

9Which animal among all these does not know
that the hand of Yahweh has done this?

10In his hand is the life of every living thing
and the breath of all mankind.

11Does not the ear test words
just as the palate tastes its food?

12With aged men is wisdom;
in length of days is understanding.

13With God are wisdom and might;
he has counsel and understanding.

14See, he breaks down, and it cannot be built again;
if he imprisons someone, there can be no release.

15See, if he withholds the waters, they dry up;
and if he sends them out, they overwhelm the land.

16With him are strength and wisdom;
people who are deceived and the deceiver are both in his power.

17He leads counselors away barefoot in sorrow;
he turns judges into fools.

18He takes off the chain of authority from kings;
he wraps a cloth about their waists.

19He leads priests away barefoot in sorrow
and overthrows mighty people.

20He removes the speech of those who had been trusted
and takes away the understanding of the elders.

21He pours contempt upon princes
and unfastens the belt of strong people.

22He reveals the deep things of darkness
and brings deep shadows into the light.

23He makes nations strong, and he also destroys them;
He enlarges nations, and he also leads them along as prisoners.

24He takes away understanding from the leaders of the people of the earth;
he causes them to wander in a wilderness where there is no path.

25They grope in the dark without light;
he makes them stagger like a drunk man.