| New Living Translation | NET Bible |
| 1Then Job spoke again: | 1Then Job answered: |
| 2“You people really know everything, don’t you? And when you die, wisdom will die with you! | 2"Without a doubt you are the people, and wisdom will die with you. |
| 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? | 3I also have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know such things as these? |
| 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. | 4I am a laughingstock to my friends, I, who called on God and whom he answered--a righteous and blameless man is a laughingstock! |
| 5People who are at ease mock those in trouble. They give a push to people who are stumbling. | 5For calamity, there is derision (according to the ideas of the fortunate)--a fate for those whose feet slip! |
| 6But robbers are left in peace, and those who provoke God live in safety— though God keeps them in his power. | 6But the tents of robbers are peaceful, and those who provoke God are confident--who carry their god in their hands. |
| 7“Just ask the animals, and they will teach you. Ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you. | 7"But now, ask the animals and they will teach you, or the birds of the sky and they will tell you. |
| 8Speak to the earth, and it will instruct you. Let the fish in the sea speak to you. | 8Or speak to the earth and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea declare to you. |
| 9For they all know that my disaster has come from the hand of the LORD. | 9Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this, |
| 10For the life of every living thing is in his hand, and the breath of every human being. | 10in whose hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all the human race. |
| 11The ear tests the words it hears just as the mouth distinguishes between foods. | 11Does not the ear test words, as the tongue tastes food? |
| 12Wisdom belongs to the aged, and understanding to the old. | 12Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding? |
| 13“But true wisdom and power are found in God; counsel and understanding are his. | 13"With God are wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his. |
| 14What he destroys cannot be rebuilt. When he puts someone in prison, there is no escape. | 14If he tears down, it cannot be rebuilt; if he imprisons a person, there is no escape. |
| 15If he holds back the rain, the earth becomes a desert. If he releases the waters, they flood the earth. | 15If he holds back the waters, then they dry up; if he releases them, they destroy the land. |
| 16Yes, strength and wisdom are his; deceivers and deceived are both in his power. | 16With him are strength and prudence; both the one who goes astray and the one who misleads are his. |
| 17He leads counselors away, stripped of good judgment; wise judges become fools. | 17He leads counselors away stripped and makes judges into fools. |
| 18He removes the royal robe of kings. They are led away with ropes around their waist. | 18He loosens the bonds of kings and binds a loincloth around their waist. |
| 19He leads priests away, stripped of status; he overthrows those with long years in power. | 19He leads priests away stripped and overthrows the potentates. |
| 20He silences the trusted adviser and removes the insight of the elders. | 20He deprives the trusted advisers of speech and takes away the discernment of elders. |
| 21He pours disgrace upon princes and disarms the strong. | 21He pours contempt on noblemen and disarms the powerful. |
| 22“He uncovers mysteries hidden in darkness; he brings light to the deepest gloom. | 22He reveals the deep things of darkness, and brings deep shadows into the light. |
| 23He builds up nations, and he destroys them. He expands nations, and he abandons them. | 23He makes nations great, and destroys them; he extends the boundaries of nations and disperses them. |
| 24He strips kings of understanding and leaves them wandering in a pathless wasteland. | 24He deprives the leaders of the earth of their understanding; he makes them wander in a trackless desert waste. |
| 25They grope in the darkness without a light. He makes them stagger like drunkards. | 25They grope about in darkness without light; he makes them stagger like drunkards. |
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