Job 12:13–25

¹³“But only God has wisdom and power,

good advice and understanding.

¹⁴What he tears down cannot be rebuilt;

anyone he puts in prison cannot be let out.

¹⁵If God holds back the waters, there is no rain;

if he lets the waters go, they flood the land.

¹⁶He is strong and victorious;

both the one who fools others and the one who is fooled belong to him.

¹⁷God leads the wise away as captives

and turns judges into fools.

¹⁸He takes off chains that kings put on

and puts a garment on their bodies.

¹⁹He leads priests away naked

and destroys the powerful.

²⁰He makes trusted people be silent

and takes away the wisdom of elders.

²¹He brings disgrace on important people

and takes away the weapons of the strong.

²²He uncovers the deep things of darkness

and brings dark shadows into the light.

²³He makes nations great and then destroys them;

he makes nations large and then scatters them.

²⁴He takes understanding away from the leaders of the earth

and makes them wander through a pathless desert.

²⁵They feel around in darkness with no light;

he makes them stumble like drunks.