Job 12

² “You people think you are the only ones who matter!
    You are sure that wisdom will die with you!
³ But I have a brain, just like you.
    I’m as clever as you are.
    In fact, everyone knows as much as you do.

⁴ “My friends laugh at me all the time,
    even though I called out to God and he answered.
My friends laugh at me,
    even though I’m honest and right.
⁵ People who have an easy life look down on those who have problems.
    They think trouble comes only to those whose feet are slipping.
⁶ Why doesn’t anyone bother the tents of robbers?
    Why do those who make God angry remain secure?
    They are in God’s hands!

⁷ “But ask the animals what God does.
    They will teach you.
Or ask the birds in the sky.
    They will tell you.
⁸ Or speak to the earth. It will teach you.
    Or let the fish in the ocean educate you.
⁹ Are there any of these creatures that don’t know
    what the powerful hand of the Lord has done?
¹⁰ He holds the life of every creature in his hand.
    He controls the breath of every human being.
¹¹ Our tongues tell us what tastes good and what doesn’t.
    And our ears tell us what’s true and what isn’t.
¹² Old people are wise.
    Those who live a long time have understanding.

¹³ “Wisdom and power belong to God.
    Advice and understanding also belong to him.
¹⁴ What he tears down can’t be rebuilt.
    The people he puts in prison can’t be set free.
¹⁵ If he holds back the water, everything dries up.
    If he lets the water loose, it floods the land.
¹⁶ Strength and understanding belong to him.
    Those who tell lies and those who believe them also belong to him.
¹⁷ He removes the wisdom of rulers and leads them away.
    He makes judges look foolish.
¹⁸ He sets people free from the chains that kings put on them.
    Then he dresses the kings in the clothes of slaves.
¹⁹ He removes the authority of priests and leads them away.
    He removes from their positions
    officials who have been in control for a long time.
²⁰ He shuts the mouths of trusted advisers.
    He takes away the understanding of elders.
²¹ He looks down on proud leaders.
    He takes away the strength of those who are mighty.
²² He tells people the secrets of darkness.
    He brings total darkness out into the light.
²³ He makes nations great, and then he destroys them.
    He makes nations grow, and then he scatters them.
²⁴ He takes away the understanding of the leaders of the earth.
    He makes them wander in a desert where no one lives.
²⁵ Without any light, they feel their way along in darkness.
    God makes them unsteady like those who get drunk.