1. Then Job responded,
2. "Truly then you are the people, And with you wisdom will die!
3. "But I have intelligence as well as you; I am not inferior to you. And who does not know such things as these?
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.
5. "He who is at ease holds calamity in contempt, As prepared for those whose feet slip.
6. "The tents of the destroyers prosper, And those who provoke God are secure, Whom God brings into their power.
7. "But now ask the beasts, and let them teach you; And the birds of the heavens, and let them tell you.
8. "Or speak to the earth, and let it teach you; And let the fish of the sea declare to you.
9. "Who among all these does not know That the hand of the Lord has done this,
10. In whose hand is the life of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind?
11. "Does not the ear test words, As the palate tastes its food?
12. "Wisdom is with aged men, With long life is understanding.
13. "With Him are wisdom and might; To Him belong counsel and understanding.
14. "Behold, He tears down, and it cannot be rebuilt; He imprisons a man, and there can be no release.