Parallel Bible results for "job 12"

Job 12

English Standard Version ESV

1 Then Job answered and said:

2 "No doubt you are the people, and wisdom will die with you.

3 But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know such things as these?

4 I am a laughingstock to my friends; I, who called to God and he answered me, a just and blameless man, am a laughingstock.

5 In 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;

8 or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you.

9 Who among all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this?

10 In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind.

11 Does not the ear test words as the palate tastes food?

12 Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding in length of days.

13 "With God are wisdom and might; he has counsel and understanding.

14 If he tears down, none can rebuild; if he shuts a man in, none can open.

15 If he withholds the waters, they dry up; if he sends them out, they overwhelm the land.

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

17 He leads counselors away stripped, and judges he makes fools.

18 He looses 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 and takes away the discernment of the elders.

21 He pours contempt on princes and loosens the belt of the strong.

22 He uncovers the deeps out of darkness and brings deep darkness to light.

23 He makes nations great, and he destroys them; he enlarges nations, and leads them away.

24 He takes away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth and makes them wander in a pathless waste.

25 They grope in the dark without light, and he makes them stagger like a drunken man.

The Message Bible MSG

1 Job answered:

2 "I'm sure you speak for all the experts, and when you die there'll be no one left to tell us how to live.

3 But don't forget that I also have a brain - I don't intend to play second fiddle to you. It doesn't take an expert to know these things.

4 "I'm ridiculed by my friends: 'So that's the man who had conversations with God!' Ridiculed without mercy: 'Look at the man who never did wrong!'

5 It's easy for the well-to-do to point their fingers in blame, for the well-fixed to pour scorn on the strugglers.

6 Crooks reside safely in high-security houses, insolent blasphemers live in luxury; they've bought and paid for a god who'll protect them.

7 "But ask the animals what they think - let them teach you; let the birds tell you what's going on.

8 Put your ear to the earth - learn the basics. Listen - the fish in the ocean will tell you their stories.

9 Isn't it clear that they all know and agree that God is sovereign, that he holds all things in his hand -

10 Every living soul, yes, every breathing creature?

11 Isn't this all just common sense, as common as the sense of taste?

12 Do you think the elderly have a corner on wisdom, that you have to grow old before you understand life?

13 "True wisdom and real power belong to God; from him we learn how to live, and also what to live for.

14 If he tears something down, it's down for good; if he locks people up, they're locked up for good.

15 If he holds back the rain, there's a drought; if he lets it loose, there's a flood.

16 Strength and success belong to God; both deceived and deceiver must answer to him.

17 He strips experts of their vaunted credentials, exposes judges as witless fools.

18 He divests kings of their royal garments, then ties a rag around their waists.

19 He strips priests of their robes, and fires high officials from their jobs.

20 He forces trusted sages to keep silence, deprives elders of their good sense and wisdom.

21 He dumps contempt on famous people, disarms the strong and mighty.

22 He shines a spotlight into caves of darkness, hauls deepest darkness into the noonday sun.

23 He makes nations rise and then fall, builds up some and abandons others.

24 He robs world leaders of their reason, and sends them off into no man's land.

25 They grope in the dark without a clue, lurching and staggering like drunks.