Job 12:13--13:2

12:13 “With God are wisdom and power;

counsel and understanding are his.

12:14 If he tears down, it cannot be rebuilt;

if he imprisons a person, there is no escape.

12:15 If he holds back the waters, then they dry up;

if he releases them, they destroy the land.

12:16 With him are strength and prudence;

both the one who goes astray

and the one who misleads are his.

12:17 He leads counselors away stripped

and makes judges into fools.

12:18 He loosens the bonds of kings

and binds a loincloth around their waist.

12:19 He leads priests away stripped

and overthrows the potentates.

12:20 He deprives the trusted advisers of speech

and takes away the discernment of elders.

12:21 He pours contempt on noblemen

and disarms the powerful.

12:22 He reveals the deep things of darkness,

and brings deep shadows into the light.

12:23 He makes nations great, and destroys them;

he extends the boundaries of nations

and disperses them.

12:24 He deprives the leaders of the earth

of their understanding;

he makes them wander

in a trackless desert waste.

12:25 They grope about in darkness without light;

he makes them stagger like drunkards.

Job Pleads His Cause to God

13:1 “Indeed, my eyes have seen all this,

my ears have heard and understood it.

13:2 What you know, I know also;

I am not inferior to you!