Job 12:9-25 - Compare All Versions

Share

Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind. Does not the ear test words as the tongue tastes food? Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding? “To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his. What he tears down cannot be rebuilt; those he imprisons cannot be released. If he holds back the waters, there is drought; if he lets them loose, they devastate the land. To him belong strength and insight; both deceived and deceiver are his. He leads rulers away stripped and makes fools of judges. He takes off the shackles put on by kings and ties a loincloth around their waist. He leads priests away stripped and overthrows officials long established. He silences the lips of trusted advisers and takes away the discernment of elders. He pours contempt on nobles and disarms the mighty. He reveals the deep things of darkness and brings utter darkness into the light. He makes nations great, and destroys them; he enlarges nations, and disperses them. He deprives the leaders of the earth of their reason; he makes them wander in a trackless waste. They grope in darkness with no light; he makes them stagger like drunkards.

Who among all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind. Does not the ear test words as the palate tastes food? Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding in length of days. “With God are wisdom and might; he has counsel and understanding. If he tears down, none can rebuild; if he shuts a man in, none can open. If he withholds the waters, they dry up; if he sends them out, they overwhelm the land. With him are strength and sound wisdom; the deceived and the deceiver are his. He leads counselors away stripped, and judges he makes fools. He looses the bonds of kings and binds a waistcloth on their hips. He leads priests away stripped and overthrows the mighty. He deprives of speech those who are trusted and takes away the discernment of the elders. He pours contempt on princes and loosens the belt of the strong. He uncovers the deeps out of darkness and brings deep darkness to light. He makes nations great, and he destroys them; he enlarges nations, and leads them away. He takes away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth and makes them wander in a trackless waste. They grope in the dark without light, and he makes them stagger like a drunken man.

For they all know that my disaster has come from the hand of the LORD. For the life of every living thing is in his hand, and the breath of every human being. The ear tests the words it hears just as the mouth distinguishes between foods. Wisdom belongs to the aged, and understanding to the old. “But true wisdom and power are found in God; counsel and understanding are his. What he destroys cannot be rebuilt. When he puts someone in prison, there is no escape. If he holds back the rain, the earth becomes a desert. If he releases the waters, they flood the earth. Yes, strength and wisdom are his; deceivers and deceived are both in his power. He leads counselors away, stripped of good judgment; wise judges become fools. He removes the royal robe of kings. They are led away with ropes around their waist. He leads priests away, stripped of status; he overthrows those with long years in power. He silences the trusted adviser and removes the insight of the elders. He pours disgrace upon princes and disarms the strong. “He uncovers mysteries hidden in darkness; he brings light to the deepest gloom. He builds up nations, and he destroys them. He expands nations, and he abandons them. He strips kings of understanding and leaves them wandering in a pathless wasteland. They grope in the darkness without a light. He makes them stagger like drunkards.

Which of all these does not know that the hand of the  LORD has done this?  The life of every living thing is in his hand, as well as the breath of all humanity.  Doesn’t the ear test words as the palate tastes food? Wisdom is found with the elderly, and understanding comes with long life.  Wisdom and strength belong to God; counsel and understanding are his.  Whatever he tears down cannot be rebuilt; whoever he imprisons cannot be released.  When he withholds water, everything dries up, and when he releases it, it destroys the land.  True wisdom and power belong to him. The deceived and the deceiver are his. He leads counselors away barefoot and makes judges go mad.  He releases the bonds  put on by kings  and fastens a belt around their waists. He leads priests away barefoot and overthrows established leaders.  He deprives trusted advisers of speech and takes away the elders’ good judgment. He pours out contempt on nobles and disarms  the strong. He reveals mysteries from the darkness and brings the deepest darkness into the light.  He makes nations great, then destroys them; he enlarges nations,  then leads them away. He deprives the world’s leaders of reason, and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland.  They grope around in darkness without light; he makes them stagger like a drunkard.

Who knoweth not in all these That the hand of the LORD hath wrought this? In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind. Doth not the ear try words? And the mouth taste his meat? With the ancient is wisdom; And in length of days understanding. With him is wisdom and strength, He hath counsel and understanding. Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot be built again: He shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening. Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up: Also he sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth. With him is strength and wisdom: The deceived and the deceiver are his. He leadeth counsellors away spoiled, And maketh the judges fools. He looseth the bond of kings, And girdeth their loins with a girdle. He leadeth princes away spoiled, And overthroweth the mighty. He removeth away the speech of the trusty, And taketh away the understanding of the aged. He poureth contempt upon princes, And weakeneth the strength of the mighty. He discovereth deep things out of darkness, And bringeth out to light the shadow of death. He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them: He enlargeth the nations, and straiteneth them again. He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth, And causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way. They grope in the dark without light, And he maketh them to stagger like a drunken man.

Who among all these does not know 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 not the ear test words And the mouth taste its food? Wisdom is with aged men, And with length of days, understanding. “With Him are wisdom and strength, He has counsel and understanding. If He breaks a thing down, it cannot be rebuilt; If He imprisons a man, there can be no release. If He withholds the waters, they dry up; If He sends them out, they overwhelm the earth. With Him are strength and prudence. The deceived and the deceiver are His. He leads counselors away plundered, And makes fools of the judges. He loosens the bonds of kings, And binds their waist with a belt. He leads princes away plundered, And overthrows the mighty. He deprives the trusted ones of speech, And takes away the discernment of the elders. He pours contempt on princes, And disarms the mighty. He uncovers deep things out of darkness, And brings the shadow of death to light. He makes nations great, and destroys them; He enlarges nations, and guides them. He takes away the understanding of the chiefs of the people of the earth, And makes them wander in a pathless wilderness. They grope in the dark without light, And He makes them stagger like a drunken man.

“But ask the animals what they think—let them teach you; let the birds tell you what’s going on. Put your ear to the earth—learn the basics. Listen—the fish in the ocean will tell you their stories. Isn’t it clear that they all know and agree that GOD is sovereign, that he holds all things in his hand— Every living soul, yes, every breathing creature? Isn’t this all just common sense, as common as the sense of taste? Do you think the elderly have a corner on wisdom, that you have to grow old before you understand life? “True wisdom and real power belong to God; from him we learn how to live, and also what to live for. If he tears something down, it’s down for good; if he locks people up, they’re locked up for good. If he holds back the rain, there’s a drought; if he lets it loose, there’s a flood. Strength and success belong to God; both deceived and deceiver must answer to him. He strips experts of their vaunted credentials, exposes judges as witless fools. He divests kings of their royal garments, then ties a rag around their waists. He strips priests of their robes, and fires high officials from their jobs. He forces trusted sages to keep silence, deprives elders of their good sense and wisdom. He dumps contempt on famous people, disarms the strong and mighty. He shines a spotlight into caves of darkness, hauls deepest darkness into the noonday sun. He makes nations rise and then fall, builds up some and abandons others. He robs world leaders of their reason, and sends them off into no-man’s-land. They grope in the dark without a clue, lurching and staggering like drunks.”

“Who among all these does not know 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, As the palate tastes its food? “Wisdom is with the aged, And with long life comes understanding. ¶“Wisdom and might are with Him; Advice and understanding belong to Him. “Behold, He tears down, and it cannot be rebuilt; He imprisons a person, and there is no release. “Behold, He restrains the waters, and they dry up; And He sends them out, and they inundate the earth. “Strength and sound wisdom are with Him. One who goes astray and one who leads astray belong to Him. “He makes advisers walk barefoot And makes fools of judges. “He undoes the binding of kings, And ties a loincloth around their waist. “He makes priests walk barefoot, And overthrows the secure ones. “He deprives the trusted ones of speech, And takes away the discernment of the elders. “He pours contempt on nobles, And loosens the belt of the strong. “He reveals mysteries from the darkness, And brings the deep darkness into light. “He makes the nations great, then destroys them; He enlarges the nations, then leads them away. “He deprives the leaders of the earth’s people of intelligence And makes them wander in a pathless wasteland. “They grope in darkness with no light, And He makes them stagger like a drunken person.

“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.”

Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this, in whose hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all the human race. Does not the ear test words, as the tongue tastes food? Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding? “With God are wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his. If he tears down, it cannot be rebuilt; if he imprisons a person, there is no escape. If he holds back the waters, then they dry up; if he releases them, they destroy the land. With him are strength and prudence; both the one who goes astray and the one who misleads are his. He leads counselors away stripped and makes judges into fools. He loosens the bonds of kings and binds a loincloth around their waist. He leads priests away stripped and overthrows the potentates. He deprives the trusted advisers of speech and takes away the discernment of elders. He pours contempt on noblemen and disarms the powerful. He reveals the deep things of darkness, and brings deep shadows into the light. He makes nations great, and destroys them; he extends the boundaries of nations and disperses them. He deprives the leaders of the earth of their understanding; he makes them wander in a trackless desert waste. They grope about in darkness without light; he makes them stagger like drunkards.