Job 12

Job Chapter 12 ESV

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

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