1 Then Job answered: 2 “Without a doubt you are the people, and wisdom will die with you. 3 I also have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know such things as these? 4 I am a laughingstock to my friends, I, who called on God and whom he answered—a righteous and blameless man is a laughingstock! 5 For calamity, there is derision (according to the ideas of the fortunate)—a fate for those whose feet slip. 6 But the tents of robbers are peaceful, and those who provoke God are confident—who carry their god in their hands. 7 “But now, ask the animals and they will teach you, or the birds of the sky and they will tell you.⁠a 8 Or speak to the earth and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea declare to you. 9 Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? 10 In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all the human race. 11 Does not the ear test words, as the tongue tastes food? 12 Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding? 13 With God are wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his. 14 If he tears down, it cannot be rebuilt; if he imprisons a person, there is no escape. 15 If he holds back the waters, then they dry up; if he releases them, they destroy the land. 16 With him are strength and prudence; both the one who goes astray and the one who misleads are his. 17 He leads counselors away stripped and makes judges into fools. 18 He loosens the bonds of kings and binds a loincloth around their waist. 19 He leads priests away stripped and overthrows the potentates. 20 He deprives the trusted advisers of speech and takes away the discernment of elders. 21 He pours contempt on noblemen and disarms the powerful.⁠b 22 He reveals the deep things of darkness and brings deep shadows into the light. 23 He makes nations great and destroys them; he extends the boundaries of nations and disperses them. 24 He deprives the leaders of the earth of their understanding; he makes them wander in a trackless desert waste. 25 They grope about in darkness without light; he makes them stagger like drunkards.