New Living Translation NLT
English Standard Version ESV
1 Then Job spoke again:
1
Then Job answered and said:
2 “You people really know everything, don’t you? And when you die, wisdom will die with you!
2
“No doubt you are the people, and 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?
3
But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know such things as these?
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.
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 People who are at ease mock those in trouble. They give a push to people who are stumbling.
5
In the thought of one who is at ease there is contempt for misfortune; it is ready for those whose feet slip.
6 But robbers are left in peace, and those who provoke God live in safety— though God keeps them in his power.
6
The tents of robbers are at peace, and those who provoke God are secure, who bring their god in their hand.
7 “Just ask the animals, and they will teach you. Ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you.
7
“But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you;
8 Speak to the earth, and it will instruct you. Let the fish in the sea speak to you.
8
or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you.
9 For they all know that my disaster has come from the hand of the LORD .
9
Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this?
10 For the life of every living thing is in his hand, and the breath of every human being.
10
In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind.
11 The ear tests the words it hears just as the mouth distinguishes between foods.
11
Does not the ear test words as the palate tastes food?
12 Wisdom belongs to the aged, and understanding to the old.
12
Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding in length of days.
13 “But true wisdom and power are found in God; counsel and understanding are his.
13
“With God are wisdom and might; he has counsel and understanding.
14 What he destroys cannot be rebuilt. When he puts someone in prison, there is no escape.
14
If he tears down, none can rebuild; if he shuts a man in, none can open.
15 If he holds back the rain, the earth becomes a desert. If he releases the waters, they flood the earth.
15
If he withholds the waters, they dry up; if he sends them out, they overwhelm the land.
16 Yes, strength and wisdom are his; deceivers and deceived are both in his power.
16
With him are strength and sound wisdom; the deceived and the deceiver are his.
17 He leads counselors away, stripped of good judgment; wise judges become fools.
17
He leads counselors away stripped, and judges he makes fools.
18 He removes the royal robe of kings. They are led away with ropes around their waist.
18
He looses the bonds of kings and binds a waistcloth on their hips.
19 He leads priests away, stripped of status; he overthrows those with long years in power.
19
He leads priests away stripped and overthrows the mighty.
20 He silences the trusted adviser and removes the insight of the elders.
20
He deprives of speech those who are trusted and takes away the discernment of the elders.
21 He pours disgrace upon princes and disarms the strong.
21
He pours contempt on princes and loosens the belt of the strong.
22 “He uncovers mysteries hidden in darkness; he brings light to the deepest gloom.
22
He uncovers the deeps out of darkness and brings deep darkness to light.
23 He builds up nations, and he destroys them. He expands nations, and he abandons them.
23
He makes nations great, and he destroys them; he enlarges nations, and leads them away.
24 He strips kings of understanding and leaves them wandering in a pathless wasteland.
24
He takes away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth and makes them wander in a trackless waste.
25 They grope in the darkness without a light. He makes them stagger like drunkards.
25
They grope in the dark without light, and he makes them stagger like a drunken man.
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by
Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®) © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2025