19“He makes priests walk barefoot
         And overthrows the secure ones.

20“He deprives the trusted ones of speech
         And takes away the discernment of the elders.

21“He pours contempt on nobles
         And loosens the belt of the strong.

22“He reveals mysteries from the darkness
         And brings the deep darkness into light.

23“He makes the nations great, then destroys them;
         He enlarges the nations, then leads them away.

24“He deprives of intelligence the chiefs of the earth’s people
         And makes them wander in a pathless waste.

25“They grope in darkness with no light,
         And He makes them stagger like a drunken man.

NASB ©1995