| New American Standard Bible 1995 | New International Version |
| 1Then Job responded, | 1Then Job replied: |
| 2"Truly then you are the people, And with you wisdom will die! | 2"Doubtless you are the only people who matter, and 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? | 3But I have a mind as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know all these things? |
| 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. | 4"I have become a laughingstock to my friends, though I called on God and he answered-- a mere laughingstock, though righteous and blameless! |
| 5"He who is at ease holds calamity in contempt, As prepared for those whose feet slip. | 5Those who are at ease have contempt for misfortune as the fate of those whose feet are slipping. |
| 6"The tents of the destroyers prosper, And those who provoke God are secure, Whom God brings into their power. | 6The tents of marauders are undisturbed, and those who provoke God are secure-- those God has in his hand. |
| 7"But now ask the beasts, and let them teach you; And the birds of the heavens, and let them tell you. | 7"But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in 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. | 8or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. |
| 9"Who among all these does not know That the hand of the LORD has done this, | 9Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? |
| 10In whose hand is the life of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind? | 10In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind. |
| 11"Does not the ear test words, As the palate tastes its food? | 11Does not the ear test words as the tongue tastes food? |
| 12"Wisdom is with aged men, With long life is understanding. | 12Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding? |
| 13"With Him are wisdom and might; To Him belong counsel and understanding. | 13"To God belong wisdom and power; 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 tears down cannot be rebuilt; those he imprisons cannot be released. |
| 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 waters, there is drought; if he lets them loose, they devastate the land. |
| 16"With Him are strength and sound wisdom, The misled and the misleader belong to Him. | 16To him belong strength and insight; both deceived and deceiver are his. |
| 17"He makes counselors walk barefoot And makes fools of judges. | 17He leads rulers away stripped and makes fools of judges. |
| 18"He loosens the bond of kings And binds their loins with a girdle. | 18He takes off the shackles put on by kings and ties a loincloth around their waist. |
| 19"He makes priests walk barefoot And overthrows the secure ones. | 19He leads priests away stripped and overthrows officials long established. |
| 20"He deprives the trusted ones of speech And takes away the discernment of the elders. | 20He silences the lips of trusted advisers and takes away the discernment of elders. |
| 21"He pours contempt on nobles And loosens the belt of the strong. | 21He pours contempt on nobles and disarms the mighty. |
| 22"He reveals mysteries from the darkness And brings the deep darkness into light. | 22He reveals the deep things of darkness and brings utter darkness into the light. |
| 23"He makes the nations great, then destroys them; He enlarges the nations, then leads them away. | 23He makes nations great, and destroys them; he enlarges nations, and disperses them. |
| 24"He deprives of intelligence the chiefs of the earth's people And makes them wander in a pathless waste. | 24He deprives the leaders of the earth of their reason; he makes them wander in a trackless waste. |
| 25"They grope in darkness with no light, And He makes them stagger like a drunken man. | 25They grope in darkness with no 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 | New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. |
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