Job 12

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 Then Job replied and said:	1 Then Job, answering, said:
2 No doubt you are the intelligent folk, and with you wisdom shall die!	2 Are you, therefore, alone among men, and will wisdom die with you?
3 But I have intelligence as well as you; for who does not know such things as these?	3 And I have a heart just as you also do, and I am not inferior to you. For who is ignorant of these things, which you know?
4 I have become the sport of my neighbors: "The one whom God answers when he calls upon him, The just, the perfect man," is a laughing-stock;	4 He who is mocked by his friends as I am, will call upon God, and he will listen to him because it is the sincerity of the just that is being mocked.
5 The undisturbed esteem my downfall a disgrace such as awaits unsteady feet;	5 The lamp that is despised in the thoughts of the rich is ready for the appointed time.
6 Yet the tents of robbers are prosperous, and those who provoke God are secure.	6 The tabernacles of robbers are numerous, and they provoke God boldly; whereas, it is he who has given all things into their hands.
7 But now ask the beasts to teach you, and the birds of the air to tell you;	7 In truth, ask the mules, and they will teach you, and the birds of the sky, and they will reveal to you.
8 Or the reptiles on earth to instruct you, and the fish of the sea to inform you.	8 Speak with the earth, and it will respond to you, and the fish of the sea will explain.
9 Which of all these does not know that the hand of God has done this?	9 Who is ignorant that the hand of the Lord has made all these things?
10 In his hand is the soul of every living thing, and the life breath of all mankind.	10 In his hand is the soul of all the living and the spirit of all the flesh of mankind.
11 Does not the ear judge words as the mouth tastes food?	11 Does not the ear perceive words, and the palate, when eating, perceive flavor?
12 So with old age is wisdom, and with length of days understanding.	12 In old age is wisdom, and in length of days is prudence.
13 With him are wisdom and might; his are counsel and understanding.	13 With him is wisdom and strength, he has counsel and understanding.
14 If he breaks a thing down, there is no rebuilding; if he imprisons a man, there is no release.	14 If he tears down, there is no one who can build up; if he encloses a man, there is no one who can open.
15 He holds back the waters and there is drought; he sends them forth and they overwhelm the land.	15 If he restrains the waters, everything will dry up; and if he sends them forth, they will subdue the land.
16 With him are strength and prudence; the misled and the misleaders are his.	16 With him is strength and wisdom; he knows both the deceiver and he who is deceived.
17 He sends counselors away barefoot, and of judges he makes fools.	17 He leads advisors to a foolish end and judges to stupidity.
18 He loosens the bonds imposed by kings and leaves but a waistcloth to bind the king's own loins.	18 He removes the belt of kings and encircles their waist with a rope.
19 and lets their never-failing waters flow away.	19 He leads away priests in dishonor and displaces nobles,
20 He silences the trusted adviser, and takes discretion from the aged.	20 altering the lips of those who speak the truth and sweeping away the teaching of the aged.
21 He breaks down the barriers of the streams	21 He pours distain upon the leaders, relieving those who had been oppressed.
22 The recesses of the darkness he discloses, and brings the gloom forth to the light.	22 He reveals the depths of the darkness, and he brings the shadow of death into the light.
23 He makes nations great and he destroys them; he spreads peoples abroad and he abandons them.	23 He multiplies peoples, and destroys them, and, having been overthrown, he restores them anew.
24 He takes understanding from the leaders of the land,	24 He transforms the heart of the leaders of the people on earth, and misleads those who in vain advance upon the inviolable.
25 till they grope in the darkness without light; he makes them stagger like drunken men.	25 They will grope as in the darkness, not the light, and he will make them stagger like drunkards.