Parallel Bible results for "job 12"

Job 12

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.

New Living Translation NLT

1 Then Job spoke again:

2 “You people really know everything, don’t you? And when you die, wisdom will die with you!

3 Well, I know a few things myself— and you’re no better than I am. Who doesn’t know these things you’ve been saying?

4 Yet my friends laugh at me, for I call on God and expect an answer. I am a just and blameless man, yet they laugh at me.

5 People who are at ease mock those in trouble. They give a push to people who are stumbling.

6 But robbers are left in peace, and those who provoke God live in safety— though God keeps them in his power.

7 “Just ask the animals, and they will teach you. Ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you.

8 Speak to the earth, and it will instruct you. Let the fish in the sea speak to you.

9 For they all know that my disaster has come from the hand of the LORD .

10 For the life of every living thing is in his hand, and the breath of every human being.

11 The ear tests the words it hears just as the mouth distinguishes between foods.

12 Wisdom belongs to the aged, and understanding to the old.

13 “But true wisdom and power are found in God; counsel and understanding are his.

14 What he destroys cannot be rebuilt. When he puts someone in prison, there is no escape.

15 If he holds back the rain, the earth becomes a desert. If he releases the waters, they flood the earth.

16 Yes, strength and wisdom are his; deceivers and deceived are both in his power.

17 He leads counselors away, stripped of good judgment; wise judges become fools.

18 He removes the royal robe of kings. They are led away with ropes around their waist.

19 He leads priests away, stripped of status; he overthrows those with long years in power.

20 He silences the trusted adviser and removes the insight of the elders.

21 He pours disgrace upon princes and disarms the strong.

22 “He uncovers mysteries hidden in darkness; he brings light to the deepest gloom.

23 He builds up nations, and he destroys them. He expands nations, and he abandons them.

24 He strips kings of understanding and leaves them wandering in a pathless wasteland.

25 They grope in the darkness without a light. He makes them stagger like drunkards.