1Then Job answered and said, 2No doubt but ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you. 3But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Yes, who does not know such things as these? 4I am as a man who is a laughing-stock to his neighbor. I who called upon God, and he answered. The just, the perfect man is a laughing-stock. 5In the thought of him who is at ease there is contempt for misfortune. It is ready for those whose foot slips. 6The tents of robbers prosper, and those who provoke God are secure. Into whose hand God brings [abundantly]. 7But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee, and the birds of the heavens, and they shall tell thee. 8Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee, and the fishes of the sea shall declare to thee. 9Who does not know in all these, that the hand of LORD has wrought this, 10in whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind? 11Does not the ear try words, even as the palate tastes its food? 12With aged men is wisdom, and in length of days understanding. 13With [God] is wisdom and might. He has counsel and understanding. 14Behold, he breaks down, and it cannot be built again. He shuts up a man, and there can be no opening. 15Behold, he withholds the waters, and they dry up. Again, he sends them out, and they overturn the earth. 16With him is strength and wisdom. The deceived and the deceiver are his. 17He leads counselors away stripped, and he makes judges fools. 18He loosens the bond of kings, and he binds their loins with a belt. 19He leads priests away stripped, and overthrows the mighty. 20He removes the speech of the trustworthy, and takes away the understanding of the elders. 21He pours contempt upon rulers, and weakens the strength of the strong. 22He uncovers deep things out of darkness, and brings out to light the shadow of death. 23He increases the nations, and he destroys them. He enlarges the nations, and he leads them captive. 24He takes away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth, and causes them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way. 25They grope in the dark without light, and he makes them to stagger like a drunken man.