GOD'S WORD Translation GW
New King James Version NKJV
1 Then Job replied [to his friends],
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Then Job answered and said:
2 "You certainly are [wise] people, and when you die, wisdom will die.
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"No doubt you are the people, And wisdom will die with you!
3 Like you, I have a mind. I am not inferior to you. But who doesn't know these things?
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But 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 a laughingstock to my neighbors. I am one who calls on God and expects an answer. A man of integrity, a man who is righteous, has become a laughingstock.
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"I am one mocked by his friends, Who called on God, and He answered him, The just and blameless who is ridiculed.
5 "A person who has an easy life has no appreciation for misfortune. He thinks it is the fate of those who slip up.
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A lamp is despised in the thought of one who is at ease; It is made ready for those whose feet slip.
6 [But] robbers' tents are prosperous, and there is security for those who provoke God, for those whose god is their power.
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The tents of robbers prosper, And those who provoke God are secure-- In what God provides by His hand.
7 "Instead, ask the animals, and they will teach you. Ask the birds, and they will tell you.
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"But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you; And the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
8 Or speak with the earth, and it will teach you. Even the fish will relate [the story] to you.
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Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; And the fish of the sea will explain to you.
9 What creature doesn't know that the LORD's hands made it?
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Who among all these does not know That the hand of the Lord has done this,
10 The life of every living creature and the spirit in every human body are in his hands.
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In whose hand is the life of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind?
11 Doesn't the ear distinguish sounds and the tongue taste food?
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Does not the ear test words And the mouth taste its food?
12 "Wisdom is with the ancient one. The one who has had many days has insight.
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Wisdom is with aged men, And with length of days, understanding.
13 God has wisdom and strength. Advice and insight are his.
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"With Him are wisdom and strength, He has counsel and understanding.
14 When he tears [something] down, it cannot be rebuilt. When he puts someone in prison, that person cannot be freed.
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If He breaks a thing down, it cannot be rebuilt; If He imprisons a man, there can be no release.
15 When he holds back the waters, there is a drought. When he releases them, they flood the earth.
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If He withholds the waters, they dry up; If He sends them out, they overwhelm the earth.
16 "God has power and priceless wisdom. He owns [both] the deceiver and the person who is deceived.
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With Him are strength and prudence. The deceived and the deceiver are His.
17 He leads counselors away barefoot and makes fools out of judges.
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He leads counselors away plundered, And makes fools of the judges.
18 He loosens kings' belts and strips them of their pants.
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He loosens the bonds of kings, And binds their waist with a belt.
19 He leads priests away barefoot and misleads those who serve in a temple.
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He leads princes away plundered, And overthrows the mighty.
20 He makes trusted advisers unable to speak and takes away the good judgment of respected leaders.
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He deprives the trusted ones of speech, And takes away the discernment of the elders.
21 He pours contempt on influential people and unbuckles the belt of the mighty.
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He pours contempt on princes, And disarms the mighty.
22 He uncovers mysteries [hidden] in the darkness and brings gloom into the light.
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He uncovers deep things out of darkness, And brings the shadow of death to light.
23 He makes nations important and then destroys them. He makes nations large and leads them away.
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He makes nations great, and destroys them; He enlarges nations, and guides them.
24 He takes away the common sense of a country's leaders and makes them stumble about in a pathless wilderness.
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He 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 with no light, and he makes them stumble like drunks.
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They grope in the dark without light, And He makes them stagger like a drunken man.