| New International Version | New Living Translation |
| 1Then Job replied: | 1Then Job spoke again: |
| 2"Doubtless you are the only people who matter, and wisdom will die with you! | 2“You people really know everything, don’t you? And when you die, wisdom will die with you! |
| 3But I have a mind as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know all these things? | 3Well, I know a few things myself— and you’re no better than I am. Who doesn’t know these things you’ve been saying? |
| 4"I have become a laughingstock to my friends, though I called on God and he answered-- a mere laughingstock, though righteous and blameless! | 4Yet my friends laugh at me, for I call on God and expect an answer. I am a just and blameless man, yet they laugh at me. |
| 5Those who are at ease have contempt for misfortune as the fate of those whose feet are slipping. | 5People who are at ease mock those in trouble. They give a push to people who are stumbling. |
| 6The tents of marauders are undisturbed, and those who provoke God are secure-- those God has in his hand. | 6But robbers are left in peace, and those who provoke God live in safety— though God keeps them in his power. |
| 7"But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; | 7“Just ask the animals, and they will teach you. Ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you. |
| 8or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. | 8Speak to the earth, and it will instruct you. Let the fish in the sea speak to you. |
| 9Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? | 9For they all know that my disaster has come from the hand of the LORD. |
| 10In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind. | 10For the life of every living thing is in his hand, and the breath of every human being. |
| 11Does not the ear test words as the tongue tastes food? | 11The ear tests the words it hears just as the mouth distinguishes between foods. |
| 12Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding? | 12Wisdom belongs to the aged, and understanding to the old. |
| 13"To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his. | 13“But true wisdom and power are found in God; counsel and understanding are his. |
| 14What he tears down cannot be rebuilt; those he imprisons cannot be released. | 14What he destroys cannot be rebuilt. When he puts someone in prison, there is no escape. |
| 15If he holds back the waters, there is drought; if he lets them loose, they devastate the land. | 15If he holds back the rain, the earth becomes a desert. If he releases the waters, they flood the earth. |
| 16To him belong strength and insight; both deceived and deceiver are his. | 16Yes, strength and wisdom are his; deceivers and deceived are both in his power. |
| 17He leads rulers away stripped and makes fools of judges. | 17He leads counselors away, stripped of good judgment; wise judges become fools. |
| 18He takes off the shackles put on by kings and ties a loincloth around their waist. | 18He removes the royal robe of kings. They are led away with ropes around their waist. |
| 19He leads priests away stripped and overthrows officials long established. | 19He leads priests away, stripped of status; he overthrows those with long years in power. |
| 20He silences the lips of trusted advisers and takes away the discernment of elders. | 20He silences the trusted adviser and removes the insight of the elders. |
| 21He pours contempt on nobles and disarms the mighty. | 21He pours disgrace upon princes and disarms the strong. |
| 22He reveals the deep things of darkness and brings utter darkness into the light. | 22“He uncovers mysteries hidden in darkness; he brings light to the deepest gloom. |
| 23He makes nations great, and destroys them; he enlarges nations, and disperses them. | 23He builds up nations, and he destroys them. He expands nations, and he abandons them. |
| 24He deprives the leaders of the earth of their reason; he makes them wander in a trackless waste. | 24He strips kings of understanding and leaves them wandering in a pathless wasteland. |
| 25They grope in darkness with no light; he makes them stagger like drunkards. | 25They grope in the darkness without a light. He makes them stagger like drunkards. |
| New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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