1
Then Job replied:
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"Doubtless you are the people, and wisdom will die with you!13
But I have a mind as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know all these things?24
"I have become a laughingstock3 to my friends,4 though I called upon God and he answered5-- a mere laughingstock, though righteous and blameless!65
Men at ease have contempt7 for misfortune as the fate of those whose feet are slipping.86
The tents of marauders are undisturbed,9 and those who provoke God are secure10-- those who carry their god in their hands.a7
"But ask the animals, and they will teach you,11 or the birds of the air,12 and they will tell you;138
or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you.
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Which of all these does not know14 that the hand of the LORD has done this?1510
In his hand is the life16 of every creature and the breath of all mankind.1711
Does not the ear test words as the tongue tastes food?1812
Is not wisdom found among the aged?19 Does not long life bring understanding?2013
"To God belong wisdom21 and power;22 counsel and understanding are his.2314
What he tears down24 cannot be rebuilt;25 the man he imprisons cannot be released.2615
If he holds back the waters,27 there is drought;28 if he lets them loose, they devastate the land.2916
To him belong strength and victory;30 both deceived and deceiver are his.3117
He leads counselors away stripped32 and makes fools of judges.3318
He takes off the shackles34 put on by kings and ties a loinclothb around their waist.3519
He leads priests away stripped36 and overthrows men long established.3720
He silences the lips of trusted advisers and takes away the discernment of elders.3821
He pours contempt on nobles39 and disarms the mighty.4022
He reveals the deep things of darkness41 and brings deep shadows42 into the light.4323
He makes nations great, and destroys them;44 he enlarges nations,45 and disperses them.4624
He deprives the leaders of the earth of their reason;47 he sends them wandering through a trackless waste.4825
They grope in darkness with no light;49 he makes them stagger like drunkards.50
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