Job 12

1Then Job answered and said,

1Then Job replied to his friends:

2No doubt but ye are the people, And wisdom shall die with you.

2No doubt you are the only people who matter, and wisdom will die when you do!

3But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you: Yea, who knoweth not such things as these?

3But I have a mind just like you do; I am not inferior to you. Who doesn't already know everything you've said?

4I am as one that is a laughing-stock to his neighbor, I who called upon God, and he answered: The just, the perfect man is a laughing-stock.

4I have become a joke to my friends—I, a man who called on God and received an answer. Even an upright and innocent man is now laughed at.

5In the thought of him that is at ease there is contempt for misfortune; It is ready for them whose foot slippeth.

5People who are comfortable have nothing but contempt for those in trouble; they think disaster is only for those whose feet are already slipping.

6The tents of robbers prosper, And they that provoke God are secure; Into whose hand God bringeth abundantly.

6Meanwhile, the tents of robbers are undisturbed, and those who provoke God live securely—those who carry their god in their own hands.

7But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; And the birds of the heavens, and they shall tell thee:

7But ask the animals, and they will teach you. Ask the birds in the sky, and they will tell you.

8Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee; And the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee.

8Speak to the earth, and it will instruct you. Let the fish of the sea explain it to you.

9Who knoweth not in all these, That the hand of Jehovah hath wrought this,

9Which of all these creatures doesn't know that the hand of the LORD has done this?

10In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind?

10The life of every living thing is in his hand, as is the breath of all humanity.

11Doth not the ear try words, Even as the palate tasteth its food?

11Doesn't the ear test words just as the tongue tastes food?

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

12Wisdom is supposed to be found among the elderly, and understanding comes with a long life.

13WithGodis wisdom and might; He hath counsel and understanding.

13But true wisdom and power belong to God; he is the one who has good advice and understanding.

14Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot be built again; He shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening.

14What he tears down cannot be rebuilt; whoever he imprisons cannot be set free.

15Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up; Again, he sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth.

15If he holds back the rain, everything dries up; if he releases the waters, they flood the earth.

16With him is strength and wisdom; The deceived and the deceiver are his.

16Strength and true success belong to him; both the person who is fooled and the one who fools them are under his control.

17He leadeth counsellors away stripped, And judges maketh he fools.

17He leads wise counselors away stripped of their status and makes fools out of judges.

18He looseth the bond of kings, And he bindeth their loins with a girdle.

18He removes the shackles put on by kings and ties a cloth of a captive around their own waist.

19He leadeth priests away stripped, And overthroweth the mighty.

19He leads priests away stripped of their office and overthrows those who have long been secure.

20He removeth the speech of the trusty, And taketh away the understanding of the elders.

20He silences the speech of trusted advisors and takes away the common sense of the elders.

21He poureth contempt upon princes, And looseth the belt of the strong.

21He pours disgrace on national leaders and takes away the strength of the powerful.

22He uncovereth deep things out of darkness, And bringeth out to light the shadow of death.

22He reveals deep secrets hidden in the darkness and brings the deepest shadows into the light.

23He increaseth the nations, and he destroyeth them: He enlargeth the nations, and he leadeth them captive.

23He makes nations great and then destroys them; he expands their borders and then scatters their people.

24He taketh away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth, And causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way.

24He takes away the intelligence of world leaders, leaving them to wander in a pathless wasteland.

25They grope in the dark without light; And he maketh them to stagger like a drunken man.

25They grope in the darkness without any light; he makes them stagger like a person who is drunk.