² “Should not the multitude of words be answered?
And should ^[a]a man full of talk be vindicated?
³ Should your empty talk make men ^[b]hold their peace?
And when you mock, should no one rebuke you?
⁴ For you have said,
^(A)‘My doctrine is pure,
And I am clean in your eyes.’
⁵ But oh, that God would speak,
And open His lips against you,
⁶ That He would show you the secrets of wisdom!
For they would double your prudence.
Know therefore that ^(B)God ^[c]exacts from you
Less than your iniquity deserves.

⁷ “Can^(C) you search out the deep things of God?
Can you find out the limits of the Almighty?
⁸ They are higher than heaven—what can you do?
Deeper than ^[d]Sheol—what can you know?
⁹ Their measure is longer than the earth
And broader than the sea.

¹⁰ “If^(D) He passes by, imprisons, and gathers to judgment,
Then who can ^[e]hinder Him?
¹¹ For ^(E)He knows deceitful men;
He sees wickedness also.
Will He not then consider it?
¹² For an ^(F)empty-headed man will be wise,
When a wild donkey’s colt is born a man.

¹³ “If you would ^(G)prepare your heart,
And ^(H)stretch out your hands toward Him;
¹⁴ If iniquity were in your hand, and you put it far away,
And ^(I)would not let wickedness dwell in your tents;
^15 (J)Then surely you could lift up your face without spot;
Yes, you could be steadfast, and not fear;
¹⁶ Because you would ^(K)forget your misery,
And remember it as waters that have passed away,
¹⁷ And your life ^(L)would be brighter than noonday.
Though you were dark, you would be like the morning.
¹⁸ And you would be secure, because there is hope;
Yes, you would dig around you, and ^(M)take your rest in safety.
¹⁹ You would also lie down, and no one would make you afraid;
Yes, many would court your favor.
²⁰ But ^(N)the eyes of the wicked will fail,
And they shall not escape,
And ^(O)their hope—^[f]loss of life!”

² “No doubt you are the people,
And wisdom will die with you!
³ But I have ^[a]understanding as well as you;
I am not ^(A)inferior to you.
Indeed, who does not know such things as these?

⁴ “I^(B) am one mocked by his friends,
Who ^(C)called on God, and He answered him,
The just and blameless who is ridiculed.
⁵ A ^[b]lamp is despised in the thought of one who is at ease;
It is made ready for ^(D)those whose feet slip.
^6 (E)The tents of robbers prosper,
And those who provoke God are secure—
In what God provides by His hand.

⁷ “But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you;
And the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
⁸ Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you;
And the fish of the sea will explain to you.
⁹ Who among all these does not know
That the hand of the Lord has done this,
^10 (F)In whose hand is the ^[c]life of every living thing,
And the ^(G)breath of ^[d]all mankind?
¹¹ Does not the ear test words
And the ^[e]mouth taste its food?
¹² Wisdom is with aged men,
And with ^[f]length of days, understanding.

¹³ “With Him are ^(H)wisdom and strength,
He has counsel and understanding.
¹⁴ If ^(I)He breaks a thing down, it cannot be rebuilt;
If He imprisons a man, there can be no release.
¹⁵ If He ^(J)withholds the waters, they dry up;
If He ^(K)sends them out, they overwhelm the earth.
¹⁶ With Him are strength and prudence.
The deceived and the deceiver are His.
¹⁷ He leads counselors away plundered,
And makes fools of the judges.
¹⁸ He loosens the bonds of kings,
And binds their waist with a belt.
¹⁹ He leads ^[g]princes away plundered,
And overthrows the mighty.
^20 (L)He deprives the trusted ones of speech,
And takes away the discernment of the elders.
^21 (M)He pours contempt on princes,
And ^[h]disarms the mighty.
²² He ^(N)uncovers deep things out of darkness,
And brings the shadow of death to light.
^23 (O)He makes nations great, and destroys them;
He ^[i]enlarges nations, and guides them.
²⁴ He takes away the ^[j]understanding of the chiefs of the people of the earth,
And ^(P)makes them wander in a pathless wilderness.
^25 (Q)They grope in the dark without light,
And He makes them ^(R)stagger like a drunken man.