1 Then Job answered: 2 “Truly then you are the people with whom wisdom itself will die! 3 But I also have a mind; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know such things as these? 4 I am a laughingstock to my friends, though I called on God, and He answered. The righteous and upright man is a laughingstock. 5 The one at ease scorns misfortune as the fate of those whose feet are slipping. 6 The tents of robbers are safe, and those who provoke God are secure— those who carry their god in their hands. 7 But ask the animals, and they will instruct you; ask the birds of the air, and they will tell you. 8 Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; let the fish of the sea inform you. 9 Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? 10 The life of every living thing is in His hand, as well as the breath of all mankind. 11 Does not the ear test words as the tongue tastes its food? 12 Wisdom is found with the elderly, and understanding comes with long life. 13 Wisdom and strength belong to God; counsel and understanding are His. 14 What He tears down cannot be rebuilt; the man He imprisons cannot be released. 15 If He holds back the waters, they dry up, and if He releases them, they overwhelm the land. 16 True wisdom and power belong to Him. The deceived and the deceiver are His. 17 He leads counselors away barefoot and makes fools of judges. 18 He loosens the bonds placed by kings and fastens a belt around their waists. 19 He leads priests away barefoot and overthrows the established. 20 He deprives the trusted of speech and takes away the discernment of elders. 21 He pours out contempt on nobles and disarms the mighty. 22 He reveals the deep things of darkness and brings deep shadows into light. 23 He makes nations great and destroys them; He enlarges nations, then disperses them. 24 He deprives the earth’s leaders of reason and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland. 25 They grope in the darkness without light; He makes them stagger like drunkards.
Job 12:1–25
Semantically similar passages
Job 23:12–14
12 I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my daily bread. 13 But He is unchangeable, and who can oppose Him? He does what He desires. 14 For He carries out His decree against me, and He has many such plans.
Psalms 107:39–41
39 When they are decreased and humbled by oppression, evil, and sorrow, 40 He pours out contempt on the nobles and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland. 41 But He lifts the needy from affliction and increases their families like flocks.
Isaiah 40:22–24
22 He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth; its dwellers are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. 23 He brings the princes to nothing and makes the rulers of the earth meaningless. 24 No so…
Job 34:17–19
17 Could one who hates justice govern? Will you condemn the just and mighty One, 18 who says to kings, ‘You are worthless!’ and to nobles, ‘You are wicked,’ 19 who is not partial to princes and does not favor rich over poor? For they are all the work of His hands.
Job 21:21–23
21 For what does he care about his household after him, when the number of his months has run out? 22 Can anyone teach knowledge to God, since He judges those on high? 23 One man dies full of vigor, completely secure and at ease.
Job 24:21–23
21 They prey on the barren and childless, and show no kindness to the widow. 22 Yet by His power, God drags away the mighty; though rising up, they have no assurance of life. 23 He gives them a sense of security, but His eyes are on their ways.
Job 34:23–25
23 For God need not examine a man further or have him approach for judgment. 24 He shatters the mighty without inquiry and sets up others in their place. 25 Therefore, He recognizes their deeds; He overthrows them in the night and they are crushed.
Job 5:12–14
12 He thwarts the schemes of the crafty, so that their hands find no success. 13 He catches the wise in their craftiness, and sweeps away the plans of the cunning. 14 They encounter darkness by day and grope at noon as in the night.
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