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12:1  Then Job answered:
12:2  “No doubt you are the people, and wisdom will die with you.
12:3  But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know such things as these?
12:4  I am a laughingstock to my friends; I, who called upon God and he answered me, a just and blameless man, I am a laughingstock.
12:5  Those at ease have contempt for misfortune, but it is ready for those whose feet are unstable.
12:6  The tents of robbers are at peace, and those who provoke God are secure, who bring their god in their hands.
12:7  “But ask the animals, and they will teach you, the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
12:8  ask the plants of the earth, and they will teach you, and the fish of the sea will declare to you.
12:9  Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this?
12:10  In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of every human being.
12:11  Does not the ear test words as the palate tastes food?
12:12  Is wisdom with the aged and understanding in length of days?
12:13  “With God are wisdom and strength; he has counsel and understanding.
12:14  If he tears down, no one can rebuild; if he shuts someone in, no one can open up.
12:15  If he withholds the waters, they dry up; if he sends them out, they overwhelm the land.
12:16  With him are strength and wisdom; the deceived and the deceiver are his.
12:17  He leads counselors away stripped and makes fools of judges.
12:18  He looses the sash of kings and binds a waistcloth on their loins.
12:19  He leads priests away stripped and overthrows the mighty.
12:20  He deprives of speech those who are trusted and takes away the discernment of the elders.
12:21  He pours contempt on princes and looses the belt of the strong.
12:22  He uncovers deep things from the darkness and brings deep darkness to light.
12:23  He makes nations great, then destroys them; he enlarges nations, then leads them away.
12:24  He strips understanding from the leaders of the earth and makes them wander in a pathless waste.
12:25  They grope in the dark without light; he makes them stagger like a drunkard.