Job 11-12

Holman Christian Standard Bible

² Should this stream of words^(A) go unanswered
and such a talker^[a] be acquitted?
³ Should your babbling put others to silence,
so that you can keep on ridiculing
with no one to humiliate you?
⁴ You have said, “My teaching^(B) is sound,
and I am pure in Your sight.”
⁵ But if only God would speak
and declare His case^[b] against you,
⁶ He would show you the secrets of wisdom,^(C)
for true wisdom has two sides.
Know then that God has chosen to overlook some of your sin.^(D)

⁷ Can you fathom the depths of God
or discover the limits of the Almighty?^(E)
8 They are higher than the heavens—what can you do?
They are deeper than Sheol—what can you know?^(F)
9 Their measure is longer than the earth
and wider than the sea.

¹⁰ If He passes by and throws someone in prison
or convenes a court, who can stop Him?^(G)
11 Surely He knows which people are worthless.
If He sees iniquity, will He not take note of it?^(H)
12 But a stupid man will gain understanding
as soon as a wild donkey is born a man!

¹³ As for you, if you redirect your heart
and lift up your hands to Him in prayer—
¹⁴ if there is iniquity in your hand, remove it,
and don’t allow injustice to dwell in your tents—
¹⁵ then you will hold your head high, free from fault.
You will be firmly established and unafraid.^(I)
16 For you will forget your suffering,
recalling it only as waters that have flowed by.
¹⁷ Your life will be brighter than noonday;
its darkness^[c] will be like the morning.^(J)
18 You will be confident, because there is hope.^(K)
You will look carefully about and lie down in safety.^(L)

¹⁹ You will lie down without fear,
and many will seek your favor.^(M)
20 But the sight of the wicked^(N) will fail.
Their way of escape will be cut off,
and their only hope is their last breath.^(O)

² No doubt you are the people,
and wisdom will die with you!
³ But I also have a mind;
I am not inferior to you.
Who doesn’t know the things you are talking about?^[d](P)

⁴ I am a laughingstock to my^[e] friends,
by calling on God, who answers me.^[f]
The righteous and upright man is a laughingstock.^(Q)
5 The one who is at ease^(R) holds calamity in contempt
and thinks it is prepared for those whose feet are slipping.
⁶ The tents of robbers are safe,^(S)
and those who provoke God are secure;
God’s power provides this.^[g](T)

⁷ But ask the animals, and they will instruct you;
ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you.^(U)
8 Or speak to the earth, and it will instruct you;
let the fish of the sea inform you.
⁹ Which of all these does not know
that the hand of the Lord has done this?^(V)
10 The life of every living thing is in His hand,
as well as the breath of all mankind.^(W)
11 Doesn’t the ear test words
as the palate tastes food?
¹² Wisdom is found with the elderly,
and understanding comes with long life.^(X)

¹³ Wisdom and strength belong to God;
counsel and understanding are His.^(Y)
14 Whatever He tears down cannot be rebuilt;
whoever He imprisons cannot be released.^(Z)
15 When He withholds the waters, everything dries up,
and when He releases them, they destroy the land.^(AA)
16 True wisdom and power belong to Him.
The deceived and the deceiver are His.
¹⁷ He leads counselors away barefoot
and makes judges go mad.^(AB)
18 He releases the bonds^[h] put on by kings^(AC)
and fastens a belt around their waists.
¹⁹ He leads priests away barefoot
and overthrows established leaders.^(AD)
20 He deprives trusted advisers of speech
and takes away the elders’ good judgment.
²¹ He pours out contempt on nobles
and disarms^[i] the strong.
²² He reveals mysteries from the darkness
and brings the deepest darkness into the light.^(AE)
23 He makes nations great, then destroys them;
He enlarges nations,^(AF) then leads them away.
²⁴ He deprives the world’s leaders of reason,
and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland.^(AG)
25 They grope around in darkness without light;
He makes them stagger like drunken men.^(AH)