Job 12 — ULB

12Verse 1Then Job answered and said,^{Verse 2}“No doubt you are the people;
wisdom will die with you.
^{Verse 3}But I have understanding as well as you;
I am not inferior to you.
Indeed, who does not know such things as these?
^{Verse 4}I 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.
^{Verse 5}In 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.
^{Verse 6}The tents of robbers prosper,
and those who provoke God feel secure;
their own hands are their gods.
^{Verse 7}But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you;
ask the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you.
^{Verse 8}Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you;
the fish of the sea will declare to you.
^{Verse 9}Which animal among all these does not know
that the hand of Yahweh has done this?
^{Verse 10}In his hand is the life of every living thing
and the breath of all mankind.
^{Verse 11}Does not the ear test words
just as the palate tastes its food?
^{Verse 12}With aged men is wisdom;
in length of days is understanding.
^{Verse 13}With God are wisdom and might;
he has counsel and understanding.
^{Verse 14}See, he breaks down, and it cannot be built again;
if he imprisons someone, there can be no release.
^{Verse 15}See, if he withholds the waters, they dry up;
and if he sends them out, they overwhelm the land.
^{Verse 16}With him are strength and wisdom;
people who are deceived and the deceiver are both in his power.
^{Verse 17}He leads counselors away barefoot in sorrow;
he turns judges into fools.
^{Verse 18}He takes off the chain of authority from kings;
he wraps a cloth about their waists.
^{Verse 19}He leads priests away barefoot in sorrow
and overthrows mighty people.
^{Verse 20}He removes the speech of those who had been trusted
and takes away the understanding of the elders.
^{Verse 21}He pours contempt upon princes
and unfastens the belt of strong people.
^{Verse 22}He reveals the deep things of darkness
and brings deep shadows into the light.
^{Verse 23}He makes nations strong, and he also destroys them;
He enlarges nations, and he also leads them along as prisoners.
^{Verse 24}He 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.
^{Verse 25}They grope in the dark without light;
he makes them stagger like a drunk man.