2  “Should ^ea multitude of words go unanswered,

and a man full of talk be judged right?

3  Should your babble silence men,

and when you mock, shall no one shame you?

4  For ^fyou say, ‘My ^gdoctrine is pure,

and I am clean in God’s¹ eyes.’

5  But oh, that God would speak

and open his lips to you,

6  and that he would tell you the secrets of wisdom!

For he is manifold in ^hunderstanding.²

Know then that God ⁱexacts of you less than your guilt deserves.

7  ^j“Can you find out the deep things of God?

Can you find out the limit of the Almighty?

8  It is ^khigher than heaven³—what can you do?

Deeper than Sheol—what can you know?

9  Its measure is longer than the earth

and broader than the sea.

10  If he ^lpasses through and ^mimprisons

and summons the court, who can ⁿturn him back?

11  For he knows ^oworthless men;

when he sees iniquity, will he not consider it?

12  But a stupid man will get understanding

when ^pa wild donkey’s colt is ^qborn a man!

13  “If you ^rprepare your heart,

you will ^sstretch out your hands toward him.

14  If iniquity is in your hand, put it far away,

and let not injustice dwell in your tents.

15  Surely then you will ^tlift up your face without ^ublemish;

you will be secure and will not fear.

16  You will ^vforget your misery;

you will remember it as waters that have passed away.

17  And your life will be ^wbrighter than the noonday;

its darkness will be like the morning.

18  And you will feel secure, because there is hope;

you will look around and ^xtake your rest in security.

19  You will ^xlie down, and none will make you afraid;

many will ^ycourt your favor.

20  But ^zthe eyes of the wicked will fail;

all way of escape will be lost to them,

and their hope is ^ato breathe their last.”

2  “No doubt you are the people,

and wisdom will die with you.

3  But I have ^bunderstanding as well as you;

I am not inferior to you.

Who does not know ^csuch things as these?

4  I am ^da laughingstock to my friends;

I, who ^ecalled to God and he answered me,

a just and blameless man, am a laughingstock.

5  In the thought of one who is ^fat ease there is contempt for misfortune;

it is ready for those whose feet slip.

6  ^gThe tents of robbers are at peace,

and those who provoke God are secure,

who bring their god in their hand.⁴

7  “But ask the beasts, and they will teach you;

the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you;

8  or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you;⁵

and the fish of the sea will declare to you.

9  Who among all these does not know

that ^hthe hand of the Lord has done this?

10  In ⁱhis hand is the life of every living thing

and the breath of all mankind.

11  Does not ^jthe ear test words

as the palate tastes food?

12  Wisdom is with ^kthe aged,

and understanding in length of days.

13  ^l“With God⁶ are wisdom and might;

he has counsel and understanding.

14  If he tears down, none can rebuild;

if he ^mshuts a man in, none can open.

15  If he ⁿwithholds the waters, they dry up;

if he ^osends them out, they overwhelm the land.

16  With him are strength and ^psound wisdom;

the deceived and the deceiver are his.

17  He leads ^qcounselors away stripped,

and ^rjudges he makes fools.

18  He ^slooses the bonds of kings

and binds a waistcloth on their hips.

19  He leads priests away stripped

and overthrows the mighty.

20  He deprives of speech those who are trusted

^tand takes away the discernment of the elders.

21  He ^upours contempt on princes

and loosens the belt of the strong.

22  He ^vuncovers the deeps out of darkness

and brings ^wdeep darkness to light.

23  He ^xmakes nations great, and he destroys them;

he enlarges nations, and ^yleads them away.

24  He takes away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth

and ^zmakes them wander in a trackless waste.

25  They ^agrope in the dark without light,

and he makes them ^bstagger like a drunken man.