¹⁷ ‘This decision is by the decree of the watchers,
And the sentence by the word of the holy ones,
In order ^(A)that the living may know
^(B)That the Most High rules in the kingdom of men,
^(C)Gives it to whomever He will,
And sets over it the ^(D)lowest of men.’

² “No doubt you are the people,
And wisdom will die with you!
³ But I have ^[a]understanding as well as you;
I am not ^(A)inferior to you.
Indeed, who does not know such things as these?

⁴ “I^(B) am one mocked by his friends,
Who ^(C)called on God, and He answered him,
The just and blameless who is ridiculed.
⁵ A ^[b]lamp is despised in the thought of one who is at ease;
It is made ready for ^(D)those whose feet slip.
^6 (E)The tents of robbers prosper,
And those who provoke God are secure—
In what God provides by His hand.

⁷ “But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you;
And the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
⁸ Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you;
And the fish of the sea will explain to you.
⁹ Who among all these does not know
That the hand of the Lord has done this,
^10 (F)In whose hand is the ^[c]life of every living thing,
And the ^(G)breath of ^[d]all mankind?
¹¹ Does not the ear test words
And the ^[e]mouth taste its food?
¹² Wisdom is with aged men,
And with ^[f]length of days, understanding.

¹³ “With Him are ^(H)wisdom and strength,
He has counsel and understanding.
¹⁴ If ^(I)He breaks a thing down, it cannot be rebuilt;
If He imprisons a man, there can be no release.
¹⁵ If He ^(J)withholds the waters, they dry up;
If He ^(K)sends them out, they overwhelm the earth.
¹⁶ With Him are strength and prudence.
The deceived and the deceiver are His.
¹⁷ He leads counselors away plundered,
And makes fools of the judges.
¹⁸ He loosens the bonds of kings,
And binds their waist with a belt.
¹⁹ He leads ^[g]princes away plundered,
And overthrows the mighty.
^20 (L)He deprives the trusted ones of speech,
And takes away the discernment of the elders.
^21 (M)He pours contempt on princes,
And ^[h]disarms the mighty.
²² He ^(N)uncovers deep things out of darkness,
And brings the shadow of death to light.
^23 (O)He makes nations great, and destroys them;
He ^[i]enlarges nations, and guides them.
²⁴ He takes away the ^[j]understanding of the chiefs of the people of the earth,
And ^(P)makes them wander in a pathless wilderness.
^25 (Q)They grope in the dark without light,
And He makes them ^(R)stagger like a drunken man.