12:7 “But now, ask the animals and they will teach you,
or the birds of the sky and they will tell you.
12:8 Or speak to the earth and it will teach you,
or let the fish of the sea declare to you.
12:9 Which of all these does not know
that the hand of the Lord has done this,
12:10 in whose hand is the life of every creature
and the breath of all the human race.
12:11 Does not the ear test words,
as the tongue tastes food?
12:12 Is not wisdom found among the aged?
Does not long life bring understanding?
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.