Job 12
Job responds to his friends, saying that he is not inferior to them in wisdom or understanding, and that God listens to those who are sincere and just. Job notes that the wicked often prosper, but ultimately, God is the one who has control over all things, and His hand has made everything. Job emphasizes that wisdom and strength come from God, and that He has the power to build up or tear down, to give or take away.
Then Job, answering, said:Are you, therefore, alone among men, and will wisdom die with youAnd I have a heart just as you also do, and I am not inferior to you. For who is ignorant of these things, which you knowHe who is mocked by his friends as I am, will call upon God, and he will listen to him because it is the sincerity of the just that is being mockedThe lamp that is despised in the thoughts of the rich is ready for the appointed timeThe tabernacles of robbers are numerous, and they provoke God boldly; whereas, it is he who has given all things into their handsIn truth, ask the mules, and they will teach you, and the birds of the sky, and they will reveal to youSpeak with the earth, and it will respond to you, and the fish of the sea will explainWho is ignorant that the hand of the Lord has made all these thingsIn his hand is the soul of all the living and the spirit of all the flesh of mankindDoes not the ear perceive words, and the palate, when eating, perceive flavorIn old age is wisdom, and in length of days is prudenceWith him is wisdom and strength, he has counsel and understandingIf he tears down, there is no one who can build up; if he encloses a man, there is no one who can openIf he restrains the waters, everything will dry up; and if he sends them forth, they will subdue the landWith him is strength and wisdom; he knows both the deceiver and he who is deceivedHe leads advisors to a foolish end and judges to stupidityHe removes the belt of kings and encircles their waist with a ropeHe leads away priests in dishonor and displaces noblesaltering the lips of those who speak the truth and sweeping away the teaching of the agedHe pours disdain upon the leaders, relieving those who had been oppressedHe reveals the depths of the darkness, and he brings the shadow of death into the lightHe multiplies peoples, and destroys them, and, having been overthrown, he restores them anewHe transforms the heart of the leaders of the people on earth, and misleads those who in vain advance upon the inviolableThey will grope as in the darkness, not the light, and he will make them stagger like drunkards
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