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. “To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his.
14. What he tears down cannot be rebuilt; those he imprisons cannot be released.
15. If he holds back the waters, there is drought; if he lets them loose, they devastate the land.
16. To him belong strength and insight; both deceived and deceiver are his.
17. He leads rulers away stripped and makes fools of judges.
18. He takes off the shackles put on by kings and ties a loincloth around their waist.
19. He leads priests away stripped and overthrows officials long established.
20. He silences the lips of trusted advisers and takes away the discernment of elders.
21. He pours contempt on nobles and disarms the mighty.
22. He reveals the deep things of darkness and brings utter darkness into the light.
23. He makes nations great, and destroys them; he enlarges nations, and disperses them.