Online Bible

Job Chides His Accusers

Then Job ¹responded,

2 “Truly then ^ayou are the people,And with you wisdom will die!3 “But ^aI have intelligence as well as you;I am not inferior to you.And ¹who does not know such things as these?4 “I am a ^ajoke to ¹my friends,The one who called on God and He answered him;The just and ^bblameless man is a joke.5 “¹He who is at ease holds calamity in contempt,As prepared for those whose feet slip.6 “The ^atents of the destroyers prosper,And those who provoke God ^bare secure,¹Whom God brings ^cinto their power.

7 “But now ask the beasts, and let them teach you;And the birds of the heavens, and let them tell you.8 “Or speak to the earth, and let it teach you;And let the fish of the sea declare to you.9 “Who among all these does not knowThat ^athe hand of the LORD has done this,10 ^aIn whose hand is the life of every living thing,And ^bthe breath of all mankind?11 “Does not ^athe ear test words,As the palate ¹tastes its food?12 “Wisdom is with ^aaged men,With ¹long life is understanding.

Job Speaks of the Power of God

13 “With Him are ^awisdom and ^bmight;To Him belong counsel and ^cunderstanding.14 “Behold, He ^atears down, and it cannot be rebuilt;He ¹^bimprisons a man, and ²there can be no release.15 “Behold, He ^arestrains the waters, and they dry up;And He ^bsends them out, and they ¹inundate the earth.16 “With Him are strength and sound wisdom,The ^amisled and the misleader belong to Him.17 “He makes ^acounselors walk ¹barefootAnd makes fools of ^bjudges.18 “He ^aloosens the ¹bond of kingsAnd binds their loins with a girdle.19 “He makes priests walk ¹barefootAnd overthrows ^athe secure ones.20 “He deprives the trusted ones of speechAnd ^atakes away the discernment of the elders.21 “He ^apours contempt on noblesAnd ^bloosens the belt of the strong.22 “He ^areveals mysteries from the darknessAnd brings the deep darkness into light.23 “He ^amakes the nations great, then destroys them;He ¹enlarges the nations, then leads them away.24 “He ^adeprives of intelligence the chiefs of the earth’s peopleAnd makes them wander in a pathless waste.25 “They ^agrope in darkness with no light,And He makes them ^bstagger like a drunken man.

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Job Chides His Accusers

Then Job responded,

2 “No doubt ^ayou are the only wise people in the world,And wisdom will die with you!3 “But ^aI have intelligence and understanding as well as you;I am not inferior to you.Who does not know such things as these of God’s wisdom and might?4 “I am a ^ajoke to my friends;I, one whom God answered when he called upon Him—A just and ^bblameless man is a joke and laughed to scorn.5 “He who is at ease has contempt for misfortune,But misfortune is ready and anxiously waiting for those whose feet slip.6 “The ^atents of the destroyers prosper;And those who provoke God ^bare apparently secure,Whom God brings ^cinto their power.

7 “Now ask the animals, and let them teach you that God does not deal with His creatures according to their character;And ask the birds of the air, and let them tell you;8 Or speak to the earth with its many forms of life, and it will teach you;And let the fish of the sea declare this truth to you.9 “Who among all these does not recognize in all these things that good and evil are randomly scattered throughout nature and human lifeThat the ^ahand of the LORD has done this,10 ^aIn whose hand is the life of every living thing,And ^bthe breath of all mankind?11 “Does ^athe ear not put words to the test,Just as the palate tastes its food distinguishing between the desirable and the undesirable?12 “With the ^aaged you say is wisdom,And with ¹long life is understanding.

Job Speaks of the Power of God

13 “But only with Him are perfect ^awisdom and ^bmight;He alone has true counsel and ^cunderstanding.14 “Behold, He ^atears down, and it cannot be rebuilt;He ^bimprisons a man, and there can be no release.15 “Behold, He ^arestrains the waters, and they dry up;Again, He ^bsends the waters out, and they overwhelm and devastate the earth.16 “With Him are might and sound wisdom,The ^amisled and the misleader are His and in His power.17 “He makes great and scheming ^acounselors walk barefootAnd makes fools of ^bjudges.18 “He ^aloosens the bond of kingsAnd binds their loins with a loincloth.19 “He makes priests walk barefoot,And ^aHe overturns men firmly seated and secure.20 “He deprives the trusted ones of speechAnd ^atakes away the discernment and discretion of the aged.21 “He ^apours contempt on princes and noblesAnd ^bloosens the belt of the strong disabling them.22 “He ^auncovers mysteries that are difficult to grasp and understand out of the darknessAnd brings black gloom and the shadow of death into light.23 “He ^amakes nations great, and He destroys them;He enlarges nations, and leads them away captive.24 “He ^aremoves intelligence and understanding from the leaders of the people of the earthAnd makes them wander and move blindly in a pathless waste.25 “They ^agrope in darkness without light,And He makes them ^bstagger like a drunken man.”

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Job Chides His Accusers

Then Job responded,

2 “Truly then ^ayou are the people,And with you wisdom will die!3 “But ^aI have intelligence as well as you;I am not inferior to you.And ¹who does not know such things as these?4 “I am a ^ajoke to ¹my friends,The one who called on God and He answered him;The just and ^bblameless man is a joke.5 “¹He who is at ease holds disaster in contempt,As prepared for those whose feet slip.6 “The ^atents of the destroyers prosper,And those who provoke God ^bare secure,¹Whom God brings ^cinto their power.

7 “But just ask the animals, and have them teach you;And the birds of the sky, and have them tell you.8 “Or speak to the earth, and have it teach you;And have the fish of the sea tell you.9 “Who among all these does not knowThat ^athe hand of the LORD has done this,10 ^aIn whose hand is the life of every living thing,And ^bthe breath of all mankind?11 “Does ^athe ear not put words to the test,As the palate ¹tastes its food?12 “Wisdom is with the ^aaged,And with ¹long life comes understanding.

Job Speaks of the Power of God

13 “^aWisdom and ^bmight are with Him;Advice and ^cunderstanding belong to Him.14 “Behold, He ^atears down, and it cannot be rebuilt;He ¹^bimprisons a person, and ²there is no release.15 “Behold, He ^arestrains the waters, and they dry up;And He ^bsends them out, and they ¹inundate the earth.16 “Strength and sound wisdom are with Him.One who ^agoes astray and one who leads astray belong to Him.17 “He makes ^aadvisers walk ¹barefootAnd makes fools of ^bjudges.18 “He ^aundoes the binding of kings,And ties a loincloth around their waist.19 “He makes priests walk ¹barefoot,And overthrows ^athe secure ones.20 “He deprives the trusted ones of speech,And ^atakes away the discernment of the elders.21 “He ^apours contempt on nobles,And ^bloosens the belt of the strong.22 “He ^areveals mysteries from the darkness,And brings the deep darkness into light.23 “He ^amakes the nations great, then destroys them;He ¹enlarges the nations, then leads them away.24 “He ^adeprives the leaders of the earth’s people of ¹intelligenceAnd makes them wander in a pathless wasteland.25 “They ^agrope in darkness with no light,And He makes them ^bstagger like a drunken person.

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Job Answers

Then Job answered and said,

2 “Truly then ^ayou are the people,And with you wisdom will die!3 “But ^aI have a heart of wisdom as well as you;I do not fall short of you.And ¹who does not know such things as these?4 “I am a ^alaughingstock to ¹my friends,The one who called on God and He answered him;The righteous and ^bblameless man is a laughingstock.5 “¹As for upheaval, there is only contempt by the one who acts at ease,But it is prepared for those whose feet slip.6 “The ^atents of the destroyers are complacent,And those who provoke God ^bare secure,¹Whom God brings ^cinto their power.

7 “But now ask the beasts, and let them instruct you;And the birds of the sky, and let them tell you.8 “Or muse to the earth, and let it instruct you;And let the fish of the sea recount it to you.9 “Who among all these does not knowThat ^athe hand of Yahweh has done this,10 ^aIn whose hand is the life of every living thing,And ^bthe breath of all the flesh of man?11 “Does not ^athe ear test words,As the palate ¹tastes its food?12 “Wisdom is with ^aaged men,With ¹long life is discernment.

Job Speaks of God’s Strength

13 “With Him are ^awisdom and ^bmight;To Him belong counsel and ^cdiscernment.14 “Behold, He ^apulls down, and it cannot be rebuilt;He ^bcloses a man in, and it cannot be opened.15 “Behold, He ^arestrains the waters, and they dry up;And He ^bsends them out, and they overturn the earth.16 “With Him are strength and sound wisdom;The ^amisled and the misleader belong to Him.17 “He makes ^acounselors walk ¹barefootAnd makes fools of ^bjudges.18 “He ^aopens the ¹bond of kingsAnd binds their loins with a belt.19 “He makes priests walk ¹barefootAnd subverts ^athe enduring ones.20 “He removes speech from the faithfulAnd ^atakes away the discerning taste of the elders.21 “He ^apours contempt on noblesAnd ^bloosens the belt of the strong.22 “He ^areveals mysteries from the darknessAnd brings out the shadows of death into light.23 “He ^amakes the nations great, then makes them perish;He ¹enlarges the nations, then leads them away.24 “He ^aremoves the heart of wisdom from the heads of the earth’s peopleAnd makes them wander in a pathless ¹waste.25 “They ^agrope in darkness with no light,And He makes them ^bwander about like a drunken man.