| New American Standard Bible 1995 | New Living Translation |
| 1Then Job responded, | 1Then Job spoke again: |
| 2"Truly then you are the people, And with you wisdom will die! | 2“You people really know everything, don’t you? And when you die, wisdom will die with you! |
| 3"But I have intelligence as well as you; I am not inferior to you. And who does not know such things as these? | 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 am a joke to my friends, The one who called on God and He answered him; The just and blameless man is a joke. | 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. |
| 5"He who is at ease holds calamity in contempt, As prepared for those whose feet slip. | 5People who are at ease mock those in trouble. They give a push to people who are stumbling. |
| 6"The tents of the destroyers prosper, And those who provoke God are secure, Whom God brings into their power. | 6But robbers are left in peace, and those who provoke God live in safety— though God keeps them in his power. |
| 7"But now ask the beasts, and let them teach you; And the birds of the heavens, and let them tell you. | 7“Just ask the animals, and they will teach you. Ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you. |
| 8"Or speak to the earth, and let it teach you; And let the fish of the sea declare to you. | 8Speak to the earth, and it will instruct you. Let the fish in the sea speak to you. |
| 9"Who among 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 whose hand is the life of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind? | 10For the life of every living thing is in his hand, and the breath of every human being. |
| 11"Does not the ear test words, As the palate tastes its food? | 11The ear tests the words it hears just as the mouth distinguishes between foods. |
| 12"Wisdom is with aged men, With long life is understanding. | 12Wisdom belongs to the aged, and understanding to the old. |
| 13"With Him are wisdom and might; To Him belong counsel and understanding. | 13“But true wisdom and power are found in God; counsel and understanding are his. |
| 14"Behold, He tears down, and it cannot be rebuilt; He imprisons a man, and there can be no release. | 14What he destroys cannot be rebuilt. When he puts someone in prison, there is no escape. |
| 15"Behold, He restrains the waters, and they dry up; And He sends them out, and they inundate the earth. | 15If he holds back the rain, the earth becomes a desert. If he releases the waters, they flood the earth. |
| 16"With Him are strength and sound wisdom, The misled and the misleader belong to Him. | 16Yes, strength and wisdom are his; deceivers and deceived are both in his power. |
| 17"He makes counselors walk barefoot And makes fools of judges. | 17He leads counselors away, stripped of good judgment; wise judges become fools. |
| 18"He loosens the bond of kings And binds their loins with a girdle. | 18He removes the royal robe of kings. They are led away with ropes around their waist. |
| 19"He makes priests walk barefoot And overthrows the secure ones. | 19He leads priests away, stripped of status; he overthrows those with long years in power. |
| 20"He deprives the trusted ones of speech And takes away the discernment of the elders. | 20He silences the trusted adviser and removes the insight of the elders. |
| 21"He pours contempt on nobles And loosens the belt of the strong. | 21He pours disgrace upon princes and disarms the strong. |
| 22"He reveals mysteries from the darkness And brings the deep darkness into light. | 22“He uncovers mysteries hidden in darkness; he brings light to the deepest gloom. |
| 23"He makes the nations great, then destroys them; He enlarges the nations, then leads them away. | 23He builds up nations, and he destroys them. He expands nations, and he abandons them. |
| 24"He deprives of intelligence the chiefs of the earth's people And makes them wander in a pathless waste. | 24He strips kings of understanding and leaves them wandering in a pathless wasteland. |
| 25"They grope in darkness with no light, And He makes them stagger like a drunken man. | 25They grope in the darkness without a light. He makes them stagger like drunkards. |
| New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org | 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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