Job 12:13–25

¹³“With him are wisdom and powerful deeds,

and to him belong counsel and understanding.

¹⁴If he tears down, then^o it will not be rebuilt;

if he shuts a man in, then^p he cannot be freed.

¹⁵Look, if he withholds the water,^q then^r they dry up;

and if he sends them out, then^s they overwhelm the land.

¹⁶“Strength and sound wisdom are with him;

the deceived and the deceiver are his.^t

¹⁷He leads counselors away stripped,

and he makes fools of judges.

¹⁸He loosens the fetters of kings,

and he binds a loincloth on their loins.

¹⁹He leads priests away stripped,

and he overthrows the members of ancient families.^u

²⁰He deprives the trustworthy of speech,

and he takes away the discretion of elders.

²¹He pours contempt on noblemen,

and he loosens the girdle of the mighty.

²²“He uncovers mysteries out of darkness,

and he brings deep shadow to the light.

²³He makes the nations great, then^v he destroys them;

he expands the nations, then^w he guides them.

²⁴He strips away the insight of the heads of the earth’s people,

and he makes them wander in a pathless wasteland.^x

²⁵They grope in the dark without^y light,

and he makes them stagger like a^z drunkard.