Job 12–14

12 And Job answered and said,

2  aNo doubt but ye are bthe people,

And wisdom shall die with you.

3  But I have †understanding as well as you;

†I am not inferior to you:

Yea, †who knoweth not such things as these?

4  I am as one cmocked of his neighbour,

Who dcalleth upon God, and he answereth him:

The just upright man is laughed to scorn.

5  He that is eready to slip with his feet

Is as a lamp despised in the thought of eehim that is at ease.

6  fThe tabernacles of robbers prosper,

And they that provoke God are secure;

Into whose hand God bringeth abundantly.

7  But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee;

And the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee:

8  Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee:

And the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee.

9  Who knoweth not in all these

That the hand of the gLord hath wrought hthis?

10  iIn whose hand is the ||soul jof every living thing,

And kthe breath of †all mankind.

11  Doth not lthe ear try words?

And the †mouth taste his meat?

12  With the mancient is wisdom;

And in length of days understanding.

13  ||nWith him is wisdom and strength,

He hath counsel and ounderstanding.

14  Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot be built again:

He pshutteth †up a man, and there can be no opening.

15  Behold, he qwithholdeth the waters, and they dry up:

Also rhe sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth.

16  With him is strength and swisdom:

The deceived and the deceiver are his.

17  He leadeth counsellers away tspoiled,

And umaketh the judges fools.

18  He xlooseth the bond of kings,

And girdeth their loins with a girdle.

19  He leadeth yprinces away tspoiled,

And overthroweth the mighty.

20  zHe removeth away †the speech of the trusty,

And ataketh away the understanding of the aged.

21  bHe poureth contempt upon princes,

And ||weakeneth the strength of the mighty.

22  cHe discovereth deep things out of darkness,

And bringeth out to light dthe shadow of death.

23  eHe increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them:

He enlargeth the nations, and †straiteneth them again.

24  zHe taketh away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth,

And fcauseth them to wander in ga wilderness where there is no way.

25  hThey grope in the dark without light,

And he maketh them to †stagger ilike a drunken man.

13 Lo, mine eye hath seen all this,

Mine ear hath heard and understood it.

2  What ye know, the same do I know also:

aI am not inferior unto you.

3  bSurely I would speak to the Almighty,

And I desire to creason with God.

4  But ye are dforgers of lies,

eYe are all physicians fof no value.

5  O that ye would altogether ghold your peace!

And it should be your wisdom.

6  Hear now my hreasoning,

And hearken to the pleadings of my lips.

7  Will ye speak iwickedly for God?

And talk ideceitfully for him?

8  Will ye kaccept his person?

Will ye lcontend for God?

9  mIs it good that he should nsearch you out?

Or as one man omocketh another, do ye so mock him?

10  He will surely creprove you,

If ye do secretly kaccept persons.

11  Shall not his pexcellency make you afraid?

And his dread fall upon you?

12  Your qremembrances are rlike unto sashes,

Your bodies to bodies of clay.

13  †Hold your peace, let me alone, that I may speak,

And let tcome on me uwhat will.

14  Wherefore do I take my flesh in my teeth,

And xput my life in mine hand?

15  yThough he slay me, yet will I ztrust in him:

But I will †maintain mine own ways abefore him.

16  He also shall be my salvation:

For an hypocrite shall not come before him.

17  aaHear diligently my speech,

And my bdeclaration with your ears.

18  Behold now, I have cordered my cause;

I know that I shall be justified.

19  dWho is he that will plead with me?

For now, if I hold my tongue, I shall give up the ghost.

20  Only do not two things unto me:

Then ewill I not hide myself from thee.

21  fWithdraw thine hand far from me:

And flet not thy dread make me afraid.

22  gThen call thou, and I will answer:

Or let me speak, and hanswer thou me.

23  How many are mine iniquities and sins?

Make ime to know my transgression and my sin.

24  jWherefore hidest thou thy face,

And kholdest me for thine enemy?

25  Wilt thou break la leaf driven to and fro?

And wilt thou pursue the dry stubble?

26  For thou mwritest bitter things against me,

And makest me to possess nthe iniquities of my youth.

27  oThou puttest my feet also in the stocks,

And †lookest narrowly unto all my paths;

Thou psettest a print upon the †heels of my feet.

28  And he, as a qrotten thing, consumeth,

As a garment that is rmoth eaten.

14 Man that is aborn of a woman

Is †of few days, and bfull of trouble.

2  He cometh forth like ca flower, and dis cut down:

He fleeth also as ea shadow, and continueth not.

3  And dost thou open thine eyes upon such an one,

And fbringest me into judgment with thee?

4  †Who can gbring a clean thing out of an unclean?

hNot one.

5  Seeing his days are determined,

The number of his months are with thee,

Thou hast appointed his ubounds that he cannot pass;

6  iTurn from him, that he may †rest,

Till he shall jaccomplish, kas an hireling, his day.

7  For there is hope of a tree,

If it be cut down, kkthat it will lsprout again,

And that the mtender branch thereof will not cease.

8  Though the root thereof wax old in the earth,

And the nstock thereof die in the ground;

9  Yet through the scent of water it will bud,

And bring forth oboughs like a plant.

10  pBut man dieth, and †wasteth away:

Yea, man giveth up the ghost, and qwhere is he?

11  As qqthe waters fail from the sea,

qqAnd the flood decayeth and drieth up:

12  So man lieth down, and riseth not:

rTill the heavens be no more, they shall not awake,

Nor be raised out of their sleep.

13  O that thou wouldest shide me in the grave,

That thou wouldest skeep me secret, tuntil thy wrath be past,

That thou wouldest appoint me ua set time, and remember me!

14  wIf a man die, shall he live again?

All the days of my xappointed time ywill I wait,

Till my zchange come.

15  aThou shalt call, and I will answer thee:

Thou wilt have a desire to bthe work of thine hands.

16  For now thou cnumberest my steps:

Dost thou not dwatch over my sin?

17  My transgression is esealed up in a bag,

And thou fsewest up mine iniquity.

18  And surely the mountain falling †cometh to nought,

And gthe rock is removed out of his place.

19  The waters hwear the stones:

Thou †washest away ithe things which grow out of the dust of the earth;

And thou destroyest the hope of man.

20  Thou kprevailest lfor ever against him, and mhe passeth:

Thou changest his countenance, and nsendest him away.

21  His sons ocome to honour, and phe knoweth it not;

And they oare brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them.

22  But his flesh upon him shall have pain,

And his soul within him shall mourn.