1Then Job answered,
2“No doubt, you people think you are the only wise ones, and wisdom will die with you.
3But I am just as intelligent as you are; I am not beneath you. Really, who doesn’t know these kinds of things?
4I have become a joke to my neighbor, to me, the one who called on God, and he answered. An innocent and blameless person is now a joke.
5Those who live comfortably look down on misfortune. They believe it’s for those who falter.
6The tents of robbers are prosperous. Those who anger God live securely, those who treat their god as something they control.
7“But ask the animals, and they will teach you; ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you.
8Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you. The fish of the sea will explain it to you.
9Who doesn’t know that Yahweh’s hand has done all of these things?
10He holds the life of every living thing, and the breath of all humanity, in his hand.
11Doesn’t the ear test words, just as the tongue tastes food?
12Wisdom is found among the elderly, and understanding comes with age.
13“With God are wisdom and power. He has counsel and understanding.
14Look, if he tears something down, it can’t be rebuilt. If he puts someone in prison, there can be no release.
15Look, if he holds back the water, it dries up. If he sends it out again, it floods the earth.
16He possesses strength and wisdom. Both the one who is deceived and the one who deceives are under his power.
17He strips counselors of their authority. He makes judges look foolish.
18He takes away the power of kings. He puts a belt of servitude around them.
19He strips priests of their dignity and overthrows the powerful.
20He silences trusted speakers and takes away the understanding of elders.
21He humiliates rulers and disarms the strong.
22He reveals hidden things from the darkness and brings the deepest shadows into the light.
23He makes nations grow, then destroys them. He expands nations, then leads them away as prisoners.
24He takes away the wisdom of the earth's leaders and makes them wander in a trackless desert.
25They grope in the dark without light; he makes them stumble like a drunkard.