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12:1  Then Job spoke again:
12:2  "You people really know everything, don't you? And when you die, wisdom will die with you!
12:3  Well, I know a few things myself--and you're no better than I am. Who doesn't know these things you've been saying?
12:4  Yet 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.
12:5  People who are at ease mock those in trouble. They give a push to people who are stumbling.
12:6  But robbers are left in peace, and those who provoke God live in safety--though God keeps them in his power.
12:7  "Just ask the animals, and they will teach you. Ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you.
12:8  Speak to the earth, and it will instruct you. Let the fish in the sea speak to you.
12:9  For they all know that my disaster has come from the hand of the LORD.
12:10  For the life of every living thing is in his hand, and the breath of every human being.
12:11  The ear tests the words it hears just as the mouth distinguishes between foods.
12:12  Wisdom belongs to the aged, and understanding to the old.
12:13  "But true wisdom and power are found in God; counsel and understanding are his.
12:14  What he destroys cannot be rebuilt. When he puts someone in prison, there is no escape.
12:15  If he holds back the rain, the earth becomes a desert. If he releases the waters, they flood the earth.
12:16  Yes, strength and wisdom are his; deceivers and deceived are both in his power.
12:17  He leads counselors away, stripped of good judgment; wise judges become fools.
12:18  He removes the royal robe of kings. They are led away with ropes around their waist.
12:19  He leads priests away, stripped of status; he overthrows those with long years in power.
12:20  He silences the trusted adviser and removes the insight of the elders.
12:21  He pours disgrace upon princes and disarms the strong.
12:22  "He uncovers mysteries hidden in darkness; he brings light to the deepest gloom.
12:23  He builds up nations, and he destroys them. He expands nations, and he abandons them.
12:24  He strips kings of understanding and leaves them wandering in a pathless wasteland.
12:25  They grope in the darkness without a light. He makes them stagger like drunkards.