1 And Job {iyov: main respondent} answered {wayya'an: gave reply} and said,
2 Indeed {omnam: biting sarcasm}, surely you are the people {'am: exclusive claim}, and with you wisdom will die.
3 Also I have a mind{levav: inner discernment} like you; I am not inferior{nofel: lower rank} to you. And who does not know things like these?
4 I have become a mockery {sekhok: public scorn} to my friend; I call to God {eloah, Righteous Judge}, and He answers me. A righteous, blameless man is a mockery.
5 A torch{lapid: scorn image} is despised in the thoughts of the one who is at ease; it is prepared for those whose foot{ragel: slipping step} is slipping.
6 The tents of plunderers {shodedim: armed raiders} are at ease, and those who provoke God {El, Defied Judge} are secure—those who carry their god {Eloah, object of trust} in their hand.
7 But ask, please, the animals{behemot: land beasts}, and they will teach you; and the bird of the heavens{shamayim: upper skies}, and it will tell you.
8 Or speak to the earth {erets: created ground}, and it will teach you, and the fish of the sea will declare {sapar: make known} to you.
9 Who does not know in all these that the hand {yad: Powerful Agency} of the LORD {YHWH, Sovereign Worker} has done this?
10 In His {YHWH, Sovereign Sustainer} hand is the life {nefesh: animating life} of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.
11 Is it not the ear that tests{tivkhan: weigh meaning} words, and the palate{khekh: taste organ} that tastes food for it?
12 With the aged {yeshishim: respected elders} is wisdom; and with length {orekh: extended span} of days is understanding.
13 With Him{YHWH, Sovereign Holder} are wisdom and strength; to Him belong counsel{etzah: sound guidance} and understanding.
14 Behold, He {Eloah, Unstoppable Ruler} tears down, and it cannot be built; He shuts {sagar: locks tight} over a man, and it cannot be opened.
15 Behold, He {Elohim, Water Ruler} restrains the waters, and they dry up; and He sends them, and they overturn the earth {arets: the ground}.
16 With Him {YHWH, Wisdom Source} are strength and wisdom {tushiyyah: Sound Judgment}; the one who is deceived and the one who leads astray are His.
17 He {eloah, Supreme Overturner} leads counselors away stripped {sholal: like plunder}, and He makes judges foolish.
18 He {Eloah, Shackle Looser} loosens the bond{musar: royal fetters} of kings, and He binds a belt on their loins.
19 He leads priests {kohanim: sacred officials} away stripped, and He subverts the strong {etanim: long-established}.
20 He {Elohim, Judge of Counsel} removes the speech {safa: counsel speech} of the trustworthy, and He takes away the discernment of elders.
21 He pours out contempt upon nobles {nedivim: high-status leaders}, and He slackens the belt {meziakh: symbol of office} of the mighty.
22 He {eloah, Revealer Of Depths} reveals deep things {amuqot: hidden depths} from darkness, and He brings out the shadow of death into the light.
23 He {Elohim, Sovereign Ruler} makes the nations great, and He destroys them; He spreads {shoteach: stretches wide} out the nations, and He leads them away.
24 He {eloah, Ruler Who Humbles} removes the heart {lev: practical discernment} of the chiefs of the people of the earth, and He causes them to wander in a wasteland where there is no way.
25 They grope in darkness {choshekh: utter obscurity} and not in light; and He causes them to wander like a drunkard {kashikkor: staggering wanderer}.