Job 12:9-25

“Who among all these does not recognize [in all these things that good and evil are randomly scattered throughout nature and human life] That the hand of the LORD has done this, In whose hand is the life of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind? “Does the ear not put words to the test, Just as the palate tastes its food [distinguishing between the desirable and the undesirable]? “With the aged [you say] is wisdom, And with long life is understanding. ¶“But [only] with Him are [perfect] wisdom and might; He [alone] has [true] counsel and understanding. “Behold, He tears down, and it cannot be rebuilt; He imprisons a man, and there can be no release. “Behold, He restrains the waters, and they dry up; Again, He sends the waters out, and they overwhelm and devastate the earth. “With Him are might and sound wisdom, The misled and the misleader are His [and in His power]. “He makes [great and scheming] counselors walk barefoot And makes fools of judges. “He loosens the bond of kings And binds their loins with a loincloth. “He makes priests walk barefoot, And He overturns men firmly seated and secure. “He deprives the trusted ones of speech And takes away the discernment and discretion of the aged. “He pours contempt on princes and nobles And loosens the belt of the strong [disabling them]. “He uncovers mysteries [that are difficult to grasp and understand] out of the darkness And brings black gloom and the shadow of death into light. “He makes nations great, and He destroys them; He enlarges nations, and leads them away [captive]. “He removes intelligence and understanding from the leaders of the people of the earth And makes them wander and move blindly in a pathless waste. “They grope in darkness without light, And He makes them stagger like a drunken man.”