New International Version NIV
World English Bible WEB
1 Then Job replied:
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Then Job answered,
2 “Doubtless you are the only people who matter, and wisdom will die with you!
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"No doubt, but you are the people, And wisdom shall die with you.
3 But I have a mind as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know all these things?
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But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you: Yes, who doesn't know such things as these?
4 “I have become a laughingstock to my friends, though I called on God and he answered— a mere laughingstock, though righteous and blameless!
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I am like one who is a joke to his neighbor, I, who called on God, and he answered. The just, the blameless man is a joke.
5 Those who are at ease have contempt for misfortune as the fate of those whose feet are slipping.
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In the thought of him who is at ease there is contempt for misfortune, It is ready for them whose foot slips.
6 The tents of marauders are undisturbed, and those who provoke God are secure— those God has in his hand.
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The tents of robbers prosper, Those who provoke God are secure; Who carry their God in their hands.
7 “But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you;
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"But ask the animals, now, and they shall teach you; The birds of the sky, and they shall tell you.
8 or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you.
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Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach you; The fish of the sea shall declare to you.
9 Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this?
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Who doesn't know that in all these, The hand of Yahweh has done this,
10 In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.
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In whose hand is the life of every living thing, The breath of all mankind?
11 Does not the ear test words as the tongue tastes food?
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Doesn't the ear try words, Even as the palate tastes its food?
12 Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding?
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With aged men is wisdom, In length of days understanding.
13 “To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his.
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"With God is wisdom and might. He has counsel and understanding.
14 What he tears down cannot be rebuilt; those he imprisons cannot be released.
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Behold, he breaks down, and it can't be built again; He imprisons a man, and there can be no release.
15 If he holds back the waters, there is drought; if he lets them loose, they devastate the land.
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Behold, he withholds the waters, and they dry up; Again, he sends them out, and they overturn the earth.
16 To him belong strength and insight; both deceived and deceiver are his.
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With him is strength and wisdom; The deceived and the deceiver are his.
17 He leads rulers away stripped and makes fools of judges.
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He leads counselors away stripped. He makes judges fools.
18 He takes off the shackles put on by kings and ties a loincloth around their waist.
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He loosens the bond of kings, He binds their loins with a belt.
19 He leads priests away stripped and overthrows officials long established.
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He leads priests away stripped, And overthrows the mighty.
20 He silences the lips of trusted advisers and takes away the discernment of elders.
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He removes the speech of those who are trusted, And takes away the understanding of the elders.
21 He pours contempt on nobles and disarms the mighty.
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He pours contempt on princes, And loosens the belt of the strong.
22 He reveals the deep things of darkness and brings utter darkness into the light.
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He uncovers deep things out of darkness, And brings out to light the shadow of death.
23 He makes nations great, and destroys them; he enlarges nations, and disperses them.
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He increases the nations, and he destroys them. He enlarges the nations, and he leads them captive.
24 He deprives the leaders of the earth of their reason; he makes them wander in a trackless waste.
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He takes away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth, And causes them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way.
25 They grope in darkness with no light; he makes them stagger like drunkards.
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They grope in the dark without light. He makes them stagger like a drunken man.
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.
The World English Bible is in the public domain.