Job 12:13–25

¹³Wisdom and strength belong to God;

counsel and understanding are His. ^v

¹⁴Whatever He tears down cannot be rebuilt;

whoever He imprisons cannot be released. ^w

¹⁵When He withholds the waters, everything dries up,

and when He releases them, they destroy the land. ^x

¹⁶True wisdom and power belong to Him.

The deceived and the deceiver are His.

¹⁷He leads counselors away barefoot

and makes judges go mad. ^y

¹⁸He releases the bonds ^zput on by kings ^a

and fastens a belt around their waists.

¹⁹He leads priests away barefoot

and overthrows established leaders. ^b

²⁰He deprives trusted advisers of speech

and takes away the elders’ good judgment.

²¹He pours out contempt on nobles

and disarms ^cthe strong.

²²He reveals mysteries from the darkness

and brings the deepest darkness into the light. ^d

²³He makes nations great, then destroys them;

He enlarges nations, ^ethen leads them away.

²⁴He deprives the world’s leaders of reason,

and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland. ^f

²⁵They grope around in darkness without light;

He makes them stagger like drunken men. ^g