Job Chides His Accusers

12 Then Job responded,

“Truly then (A)you are the people,
And with you wisdom will die!
But (B)I have intelligence as well as you;
I am not inferior to you.
And [a]who does not know such things as these?
I am a (C)joke to [b]my friends,
The one who called on God and He answered him;
The just and (D)blameless man is a joke.
[c]He who is at ease holds disaster in contempt,
As prepared for those whose feet slip.
The (E)tents of the destroyers prosper,
And those who provoke God (F)are secure,
[d]Whom God brings (G)into their power.

“But just ask the animals, and have them teach you;
And the birds of the sky, and have them tell you.
Or speak to the earth, and have it teach you;
And have the fish of the sea tell you.
Who among all these does not know
That (H)the hand of the Lord has done this,
10 (I)In whose hand is the life of every living thing,
And (J)the breath of all mankind?
11 Does (K)the ear not put words to the test,
As the palate [e]tastes its food?
12 Wisdom is with the (L)aged,
And with [f]long life comes understanding.

Job Speaks of the Power of God

13 (M)Wisdom and (N)might are with Him;
Advice and (O)understanding belong to Him.
14 Behold, He (P)tears down, and it cannot be rebuilt;
He [g](Q)imprisons a person, and [h]there is no release.
15 Behold, He (R)restrains the waters, and they dry up;
And He (S)sends them out, and they [i]inundate the earth.
16 Strength and sound wisdom are with Him.
One who (T)goes astray and one who leads astray belong to Him.
17 He makes (U)advisers walk [j]barefoot
And makes fools of (V)judges.
18 He (W)undoes the binding of kings,
And ties a loincloth around their waist.
19 He makes priests walk [k]barefoot,
And overthrows (X)the secure ones.
20 He deprives the trusted ones of speech,
And (Y)takes away the discernment of the elders.
21 He (Z)pours contempt on nobles,
And (AA)loosens the belt of the strong.
22 He (AB)reveals mysteries from the darkness,
And brings the deep darkness into light.
23 He (AC)makes the nations great, then destroys them;
He [l]enlarges the nations, then leads them away.
24 He (AD)deprives the leaders of the earth’s people of [m]intelligence
And makes them wander in a pathless wasteland.
25 They (AE)grope in darkness with no light,
And He makes them (AF)stagger like a drunken person.

Footnotes

  1. Job 12:3 Lit with whom is there not like these?
  2. Job 12:4 Lit his
  3. Job 12:5 Lit Contempt for calamity is the thought of him who is at ease
  4. Job 12:6 Or He who brings God into his hand.
  5. Job 12:11 Lit tastes food for itself
  6. Job 12:12 Lit length of days
  7. Job 12:14 Lit shuts against
  8. Job 12:14 Lit it is not opened
  9. Job 12:15 Lit overturn
  10. Job 12:17 Or stripped
  11. Job 12:19 Or stripped
  12. Job 12:23 Or spreads out
  13. Job 12:24 Lit heart

約伯的回答

12 約伯回答說:

「你們真是什麼都懂的人啊,
你們死了,智慧也會消逝!
但我也有心智,不比你們遜色。
你們說的,誰不知道?
我這求告上帝並蒙祂應允的人竟成了朋友的笑柄,
我這公義純全的人竟成了笑柄。
安逸的人心中藐視災禍,
常常藐視那些滑倒的人。
強盜的帳篷太平,
冒犯上帝、手捧神像的人安穩。

「你去問走獸,牠們會指教你;
問天上的飛禽,牠們會告訴你;
向大地討教,大地會指教你,
或讓海中的魚為你闡明。
牠們當中哪個不知這是耶和華所為?
10 所有生靈都在祂手中,
世人的氣息也不例外。
11 舌頭豈不品嚐食物,
耳朵豈不辨別話語?
12 智慧與老人相伴,
知識與長者為伍。

13 「上帝有智慧和權能,
謀略和知識屬於祂。
14 祂拆毀的,無法重建;
祂囚禁的,無法獲釋。
15 祂攔住水源,便有乾旱;
祂放開水源,大地被淹沒。
16 祂充滿力量和智慧。
騙子和受騙者都在祂權下。
17 祂使謀士赤身被擄,
使審判官愚拙不堪。
18 祂除去君王的腰帶,
在他們腰間綁上囚索。
19 祂使祭司赤身被擄,
祂推翻久握大權者。
20 祂奪去智者的口才,
祂拿走長者的洞見。
21 祂使權貴倍受羞辱,
祂除掉強者的權勢。
22 祂揭露黑暗中的奧秘,
祂把幽暗帶入光明中。
23 祂使列國興起又滅亡,
祂使列國擴張又崩潰。
24 祂奪去世人首領的心智,
使他們在無路的荒野流浪。
25 他們在無光的黑暗中摸索,
像醉漢般踉踉蹌蹌。

Job

12 Then Job replied:

“Doubtless you are the only people who matter,
    and wisdom will die with you!(A)
But I have a mind as well as you;
    I am not inferior to you.
    Who does not know all these things?(B)

“I have become a laughingstock(C) to my friends,(D)
    though I called on God and he answered(E)
    a mere laughingstock, though righteous and blameless!(F)
Those who are at ease have contempt(G) for misfortune
    as the fate of those whose feet are slipping.(H)
The tents of marauders are undisturbed,(I)
    and those who provoke God are secure(J)
    those God has in his hand.[a]

“But ask the animals, and they will teach you,(K)
    or the birds in the sky,(L) and they will tell you;(M)
or speak to the earth, and it will teach you,
    or let the fish in the sea inform you.
Which of all these does not know(N)
    that the hand of the Lord has done this?(O)
10 In his hand is the life(P) of every creature
    and the breath of all mankind.(Q)
11 Does not the ear test words
    as the tongue tastes food?(R)
12 Is not wisdom found among the aged?(S)
    Does not long life bring understanding?(T)

13 “To God belong wisdom(U) and power;(V)
    counsel and understanding are his.(W)
14 What he tears down(X) cannot be rebuilt;(Y)
    those he imprisons cannot be released.(Z)
15 If he holds back the waters,(AA) there is drought;(AB)
    if he lets them loose, they devastate the land.(AC)
16 To him belong strength and insight;(AD)
    both deceived and deceiver are his.(AE)
17 He leads rulers away stripped(AF)
    and makes fools of judges.(AG)
18 He takes off the shackles(AH) put on by kings
    and ties a loincloth[b] around their waist.(AI)
19 He leads priests away stripped(AJ)
    and overthrows officials long established.(AK)
20 He silences the lips of trusted advisers
    and takes away the discernment of elders.(AL)
21 He pours contempt on nobles(AM)
    and disarms the mighty.(AN)
22 He reveals the deep things of darkness(AO)
    and brings utter darkness(AP) into the light.(AQ)
23 He makes nations great, and destroys them;(AR)
    he enlarges nations,(AS) and disperses them.(AT)
24 He deprives the leaders of the earth of their reason;(AU)
    he makes them wander in a trackless waste.(AV)
25 They grope in darkness with no light;(AW)
    he makes them stagger like drunkards.(AX)

Footnotes

  1. Job 12:6 Or those whose god is in their own hand
  2. Job 12:18 Or shackles of kings / and ties a belt