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Job chapter 12

English Standard Version

1Then Job answered and said:
2"No doubt you are the people, and wisdom will die with you. 3But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know such things as these? 4I am a laughingstock to my friends; I, who called to God and he answered me, a just and blameless man, am a laughingstock. 5In the thought of one who is at ease there is contempt for misfortune; it is ready for those whose feet slip. 6 The tents of robbers are at peace, and those who provoke God are secure, who bring their god in their hand. 7"But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you; 8or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. 9Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord 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 as the palate tastes food? 12Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding in length of days. 13 "With God are wisdom and might; he has counsel and understanding. 14If he tears down, none can rebuild; if he shuts a man in, none can open. 15If he withholds the waters, they dry up; if he sends them out, they overwhelm the land. 16With him are strength and sound wisdom; the deceived and the deceiver are his. 17He leads counselors away stripped, and judges he makes fools. 18He looses the bonds of kings and binds a waistcloth on their hips. 19He leads priests away stripped and overthrows the mighty. 20He deprives of speech those who are trusted and takes away the discernment of the elders. 21He pours contempt on princes and loosens the belt of the strong. 22He uncovers the deeps out of darkness and brings deep darkness to light. 23He makes nations great, and he destroys them; he enlarges nations, and leads them away. 24He takes away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth and makes them wander in a trackless waste. 25They grope in the dark without light, and he makes them stagger like a drunken man.
New International Version

1Then Job replied:
2"Doubtless you are the only people who matter, and wisdom will die with you!
3But I have a mind as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know all these things? 4"I have become a laughingstock to my friends, though I called on God and he answered— a mere laughingstock, though righteous and blameless! 5Those who are at ease have contempt for misfortune as the fate of those whose feet are slipping.
6The tents of marauders are undisturbed, and those who provoke God are secure— those God has in his hand. 7"But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; 8or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. 9Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? 10In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind. 11Does not the ear test words as the tongue tastes food?
12Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding? 13"To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his. 14What he tears down cannot be rebuilt; those he imprisons cannot be released. 15If he holds back the waters, there is drought; if he lets them loose, they devastate the land. 16To him belong strength and insight; both deceived and deceiver are his. 17He leads rulers away stripped and makes fools of judges. 18He takes off the shackles put on by kings and ties a loincloth around their waist. 19He leads priests away stripped and overthrows officials long established. 20He silences the lips of trusted advisers and takes away the discernment of elders. 21He pours contempt on nobles and disarms the mighty. 22He reveals the deep things of darkness and brings utter darkness into the light. 23He makes nations great, and destroys them; he enlarges nations, and disperses them. 24He deprives the leaders of the earth of their reason; he makes them wander in a trackless waste. 25They grope in darkness with no light; he makes them stagger like drunkards.
New American Standard Bible

1Then Job responded,
2'Truly then you are the people, And with you wisdom will die! 3But I have intelligence as well as you; I am not inferior to you. And who does not know such things as these? 4I am a joke to my friends, The one who called on God and He answered him; The just and blameless man is a joke. 5 He who is at ease holds disaster in contempt, As prepared for those whose feet slip. 6The tents of the destroyers prosper, And those who provoke God are secure, Whom God brings into their power. 7'But just ask the animals, and have them teach you; And the birds of the sky, and have them tell you. 8Or speak to the earth, and have it teach you; And have the fish of the sea tell you. 9Who among all these does not know That the hand of the Lord has done this, 10In whose hand is the life of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind? 11Does the ear not put words to the test, As the palate tastes its food? 12Wisdom is with the aged, And with long life comes understanding. 13'Wisdom and might are with Him; Advice and understanding belong to Him. 14Behold, He tears down, and it cannot be rebuilt; He imprisons a person, and there is no release. 15Behold, He restrains the waters, and they dry up; And He sends them out, and they inundate the earth. 16Strength and sound wisdom are with Him. One who goes astray and one who leads astray belong to Him. 17He makes advisers walk barefoot And makes fools of judges. 18He undoes the binding of kings, And ties a loincloth around their waist. 19He makes priests walk barefoot, And overthrows the secure ones. 20He deprives the trusted ones of speech, And takes away the discernment of the elders. 21He pours contempt on nobles, And loosens the belt of the strong. 22He reveals mysteries from the darkness, And brings the deep darkness into light. 23He makes the nations great, then destroys them; He enlarges the nations, then leads them away. 24He deprives the leaders of the earth’s people of intelligence And makes them wander in a pathless wasteland. 25They grope in darkness with no light, And He makes them stagger like a drunken person.
Christian Standard Bible

1Then Job answered:
2No doubt you are the people, and wisdom will die with you!
3But I also have a mind like you; I am not inferior to you. Who doesn’t know the things you are talking about? 4I am a laughingstock to my friends, by calling on God, who answers me. The righteous and upright man is a laughingstock. 5The one who is at ease holds calamity in contempt and thinks it is prepared for those whose feet are slipping.
6The tents of robbers are safe, and those who trouble God are secure; God holds them in his hands. 7But ask the animals, and they will instruct you; ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you. 8Or speak to the earth, and it will instruct you; let the fish of the sea inform you. 9Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? 10The life of every living thing is in his hand, as well as the breath of all mankind. 11Doesn’t the ear test words as the palate tastes food?
12Wisdom is found with the elderly, and understanding comes with long life. 13Wisdom and strength belong to God; counsel and understanding are his. 14Whatever he tears down cannot be rebuilt; whoever he imprisons cannot be released. 15When he withholds water, everything dries up, and when he releases it, it destroys the land. 16True wisdom and power belong to him. The deceived and the deceiver are his. 17He leads counselors away barefoot and makes judges go mad. 18He releases the bonds put on by kings and fastens a belt around their waists. 19He leads priests away barefoot and overthrows established leaders. 20He deprives trusted advisers of speech and takes away the elders’ good judgment. 21He pours out contempt on nobles and disarms the strong. 22He reveals mysteries from the darkness and brings the deepest darkness into the light. 23He makes nations great, then destroys them; he enlarges nations, then leads them away. 24He deprives the world’s leaders of reason, and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland. 25They grope around in darkness without light; he makes them stagger like a drunkard.
New Living Translation

1Then Job spoke again:
2'You people really know everything, don’t you? And when you die, wisdom will die with you! 3Well, I know a few things myself — and you’re no better than I am. Who doesn’t know these things you’ve been saying? 4Yet my friends laugh at me, for I call on God and expect an answer. I am a just and blameless man, yet they laugh at me. 5People who are at ease mock those in trouble. They give a push to people who are stumbling. 6But robbers are left in peace, and those who provoke God live in safety — though God keeps them in his power.
7'Just ask the animals, and they will teach you. Ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you. 8Speak to the earth, and it will instruct you. Let the fish in the sea speak to you. 9For they all know that my disaster has come from the hand of the Lord. 10For the life of every living thing is in his hand, and the breath of every human being. 11The ear tests the words it hears just as the mouth distinguishes between foods. 12Wisdom belongs to the aged, and understanding to the old.
13'But true wisdom and power are found in God; counsel and understanding are his. 14What he destroys cannot be rebuilt. When he puts someone in prison, there is no escape. 15If he holds back the rain, the earth becomes a desert. If he releases the waters, they flood the earth. 16Yes, strength and wisdom are his; deceivers and deceived are both in his power. 17He leads counselors away, stripped of good judgment; wise judges become fools. 18He removes the royal robe of kings. They are led away with ropes around their waist. 19He leads priests away, stripped of status; he overthrows those with long years in power. 20He silences the trusted adviser and removes the insight of the elders. 21He pours disgrace upon princes and disarms the strong.
22'He uncovers mysteries hidden in darkness; he brings light to the deepest gloom. 23He builds up nations, and he destroys them. He expands nations, and he abandons them. 24He strips kings of understanding and leaves them wandering in a pathless wasteland. 25They grope in the darkness without a light. He makes them stagger like drunkards.
King James Version

1And Job answered and said, 2No doubt but ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you.
3But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you: yea, who knoweth not such things as these?
4I am as one mocked of his neighbour, who calleth upon God, and he answereth him: the just upright man is laughed to scorn.
5He that is ready to slip with his feet is as a lamp despised in the thought of him that is at ease.
6The tabernacles of robbers prosper, and they that provoke God are secure; into whose hand God bringeth abundantly. 7But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee:
8Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee.
9Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the Lord hath wrought this?
10In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.
11Doth not the ear try words? and the mouth taste his meat?
12With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding.
13With him is wisdom and strength, he hath counsel and understanding.
14Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot be built again: he shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening.
15Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up: also he sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth.
16With him is strength and wisdom: the deceived and the deceiver are his.
17He leadeth counsellors away spoiled, and maketh the judges fools.
18He looseth the bond of kings, and girdeth their loins with a girdle.
19He leadeth princes away spoiled, and overthroweth the mighty.
20He removeth away the speech of the trusty, and taketh away the understanding of the aged.
21He poureth contempt upon princes, and weakeneth the strength of the mighty.
22He discovereth deep things out of darkness, and bringeth out to light the shadow of death.
23He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them: he enlargeth the nations, and straiteneth them again.
24He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth, and causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way.
25They grope in the dark without light, and he maketh them to stagger like a drunken man.
New King James Version

1Then Job answered and said:
2“No doubt you are the people, And 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? 4“I am one mocked by his friends, Who called on God, and He answered him, The just and blameless who is ridiculed. 5A lamp is despised in the thought of one who is at ease; It is made ready for those whose feet slip. 6 The tents of robbers prosper, And those who provoke God are secure— In what God provides by His hand. 7“But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you; And the birds of the air, and they will tell you; 8Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; And the fish of the sea will explain to you. 9Who among all these does not know That the hand of the Lord has done this, 10 In whose hand is the life of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind? 11Does not the ear test words And the mouth taste its food? 12Wisdom is with aged men, And with length of days, understanding. 13“With Him are wisdom and strength, He has counsel and understanding. 14If He breaks a thing down, it cannot be rebuilt; If He imprisons a man, there can be no release. 15If He withholds the waters, they dry up; If He sends them out, they overwhelm the earth. 16With Him are strength and prudence. The deceived and the deceiver are His. 17He leads counselors away plundered, And makes fools of the judges. 18He loosens the bonds of kings, And binds their waist with a belt. 19He leads princes away plundered, And overthrows the mighty. 20 He deprives the trusted ones of speech, And takes away the discernment of the elders. 21 He pours contempt on princes, And disarms the mighty. 22He uncovers deep things out of darkness, And brings the shadow of death to light. 23 He makes nations great, and destroys them; He enlarges nations, and guides them. 24He takes away the understanding of the chiefs of the people of the earth, And makes them wander in a pathless wilderness. 25 They grope in the dark without light, And He makes them stagger like a drunken man.

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