Job 12 — AAB
Job Presents His Case
12Verse 1Then Job answered:Verse 2“Truly then you are the peoplewith whom wisdom itself will die!Verse 3But I also have a mind;I am not inferior to you.Who does not know such things as these?Verse 4I am a laughingstock to my friends,though I called on God, and He answered.
The righteous and upright man is a laughingstock.Verse 5The one at ease scorns misfortuneas the fate of those whose feet are slipping.Verse 6The tents of robbers are safe,and those who provoke God are secure—
those who carry their god in their hands.+Verse 7But ask the animals, and they will instruct you;ask the birds of the air, and they will tell you.Verse 8Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you;let the fish of the sea inform you.Verse 9Which of all these does not knowthat the hand of the LORD has done this?Verse 10The life of every living thing is in His hand,as well as the breath of all mankind.Verse 11Does not the ear test wordsas the tongue tastes its food?Verse 12Wisdom is found with the elderly,and understanding comes with long life.Verse 13Wisdom and strength belong to God;counsel and understanding are His.Verse 14What He tears down cannot be rebuilt;the man He imprisons cannot be released.Verse 15If He holds back the waters, they dry up,and if He releases them, they overwhelm the land.Verse 16True wisdom and power belong to Him.The deceived and the deceiver are His.Verse 17He leads counselors away barefootand makes fools of judges.Verse 18He loosens the bonds placed by kingsand fastens a belt around their waists.Verse 19He leads priests away barefootand overthrows the established.Verse 20He deprives the trusted of speechand takes away the discernment of elders.Verse 21He pours out contempt on noblesand disarms the mighty.Verse 22He reveals the deep things of darknessand brings deep shadows into light.Verse 23He makes nations great and destroys them;He enlarges nations, then disperses them.Verse 24He deprives the earth’s leaders of reasonand makes them wander in a trackless wasteland.Verse 25They grope in the darkness without light;He makes them stagger like drunkards.