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