Job’s Reply to Zophar

1Then Job answered:

2No doubt you are the people,

and wisdom will die with you!

3But I also have a mind;

I am not inferior to you.

Who doesn’t know the things you are talking about? a  b

4I am a laughingstock to my c friends,

by calling on God, who answers me. d

The righteous and upright man is a laughingstock. e

5The one who is at ease f holds calamity in contempt

and thinks it is prepared for those whose feet are slipping.

6The tents of robbers are safe, g

and those who provoke God are secure;

God’s power provides this. h  i

7But ask the animals, and they will instruct you;

ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you. j

8Or speak to the earth, and it will instruct you;

let the fish of the sea inform you.

9Which of all these does not know

that the hand of the LORD has done this? k

10The life of every living thing is in His hand,

as well as the breath of all mankind. l

11Doesn’t the ear test words

as the palate tastes food?

12Wisdom is found with the elderly,

and understanding comes with long life. m

13Wisdom and strength belong to God;

counsel and understanding are His. n

14Whatever He tears down cannot be rebuilt;

whoever He imprisons cannot be released. o

15When He withholds the waters, everything dries up,

and when He releases them, they destroy the land. p

16True wisdom and power belong to Him.

The deceived and the deceiver are His.

17He leads counselors away barefoot

and makes judges go mad. q

18He releases the bonds r put on by kings s

and fastens a belt around their waists.

19He leads priests away barefoot

and overthrows established leaders. t

20He deprives trusted advisers of speech

and takes away the elders’ good judgment.

21He pours out contempt on nobles

and disarms u the strong.

22He reveals mysteries from the darkness

and brings the deepest darkness into the light. v

23He makes nations great, then destroys them;

He enlarges nations, w then leads them away.

24He deprives the world’s leaders of reason,

and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland. x

25They grope around in darkness without light;

He makes them stagger like drunken men. y