Job Answers Zophar
12 Then Job answered:
2 “You really think you are the only wise people.
You think when you die wisdom will die with you.
3 But my mind is as good as yours.
You are not better than I am.
Everyone knows all these things.
4 My friends all laugh at me
when I call on God and expect him to answer me.
They laugh at me even though I am right and innocent!
5 People who are comfortable don’t care that others have trouble.
They think that people who are in trouble should have more troubles.
6 The tents of robbers are not bothered.
Those who make God angry are safe.
They have their god in their pocket.
7 “But ask the animals, and they will teach you.
Or ask the birds of the air, and they will tell you.
8 Speak to the earth, and it will teach you.
Or let the fish of the sea tell you.
9 Every one of these knows
that the hand of the Lord has done this.
10 The life of every creature
and the breath of all people are in God’s hand.
11 The ear tests words
as the tongue tastes food.
12 Older people are supposed to be wise.
Long life is supposed to bring understanding.
13 “But God has wisdom and power.
He has good advice and understanding.
14 What God tears down cannot be rebuilt.
The man God puts in prison cannot be let out.
15 If God holds back the waters, there is a time without rain.
But if he lets the waters go, they flood the land.
16 God is strong and victorious.
Both the person who fools others and the one who is fooled belong to him.
17 God leads wise men away as captives.
He turns wise judges into fools.
18 God takes the royal belt off of kings.
And he dresses them like prisoners with only a cloth around their waist.
19 He leads priests away as captives.
He destroys the power of those who have been powerful.
20 God makes trusted people be silent.
And he takes away the wisdom of elders.
21 God brings disgrace on important people.
And he takes away the weapons of the strong.
22 God uncovers the deep things of darkness.
He brings dark shadows into the light.
23 He makes nations great, and he destroys them.
He makes nations large, and he scatters them.
24 He takes understanding away from the leaders of the earth.
He makes them wander through a desert with no paths.
25 They feel around in darkness with no light.
God makes them stumble around like drunken people.