Job 12:13–25

¹³God has wisdom and strength. 

Advice and insight are his. 

¹⁴When he tears ⸤something⸥ down, it cannot be rebuilt. 

When he puts someone in prison, that person cannot be freed. 

¹⁵When he holds back the waters, there is a drought. 

When he releases them, they flood the earth. 

¹⁶“God has power and priceless wisdom. 

He owns ⸤both⸥ the deceiver and the person who is deceived. 

¹⁷He leads counselors away barefoot 

and makes fools out of judges. 

¹⁸He loosens kings’ belts 

and strips them of their pants. 

¹⁹He leads priests away barefoot 

and misleads those who serve in a temple. 

²⁰He makes trusted advisers unable to speak 

and takes away the good judgment of respected leaders. 

²¹He pours contempt on influential people 

and unbuckles the belt of the mighty. 

²²He uncovers mysteries ⸤hidden⸥ in the darkness 

and brings gloom into the light. 

²³He makes nations important and then destroys them. 

He makes nations large and leads them away. 

²⁴He takes away the common sense of a country’s leaders 

and makes them stumble about in a pathless wilderness. 

²⁵They grope in the dark with no light, 

and he makes them stumble like drunks.