Job 12
1 Then responded Job, and said: —
Respondens autem Iob, dixit:
2 Of a truth, ye, are the people, and, with you, wisdom, will die.
Ergo vos estis soli homines, et vobiscum morietur sapientia?
3 I also, have a mind like you, I, fall not short, of you, But who hath not such things as these?
Et mihi est cor sicut et vobis, nec inferior vestri sum: quis enim hæc, quæ nostis, ignorat?
4 A laughing-stock to one’s neighbour, do I become, one who hath called upon GOD and he hath answered him! A laughing-stock—a righteous man without blame!
Qui deridetur ab amico suo sicut ego, invocabit Deum, et exaudiet eum: deridetur enim iusti simplicitas.
5 For ruin, there is contempt, in the thought of the man at ease, —ready, for such as are of faltering foot!
Lampas contempta apud cogitationes divitum, parata ad tempus statutum.
6 At peace are the tents that belong to the spoilers, and there is security to them who provoke GOD, To him who bringeth a god in his hand.
Abundant tabernacula prædonum, et audacter provocant Deum, cum ipse dederit omnia in manus eorum.
7 But, in very deed, ask, I pray thee, the beasts, and they will teach thee, and the bird of the heavens, and it will tell thee;
Nimirum interroga iumenta, et docebunt te: et volatilia cæli, et indicabunt tibi.
8 Or address the earth, and it will teach thee, and the fishes of the sea, will recount it to thee:
Loquere terræ, et respondebit tibi: et narrabunt pisces maris.
9 Who knoweth not, among all these, that, the hand of Yahweh, hath done this?
Quis ignorat quod omnia hæc manus Domini fecerit?
10 In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the spirit of all the flesh of men.
In cuius manu anima omnis viventis, et spiritus universæ carnis hominis.
11 Doth not, the ear, try, words? even as, the palate, tasteth for itself, food?
Nonne auris verba diiudicat, et fauces comedentis, saporem?
12 In the Ancient, is wisdom, and [in] Length of Days, understanding:
In antiquis est sapientia, et in multo tempore prudentia.
13 With Him, are wisdom and strength, to Him, pertain counsel and understanding.
Apud ipsum est sapientia et fortitudo, ipse habet consilium et intelligentiam.
14 Lo! He pulleth down, and it cannot be built, He closeth up over a man, and it cannot be opened:
Si destruxerit, nemo est qui ædificet: si incluserit hominem, nullus est qui aperiat.
15 Lo! He holdeth back the waters, and they dry up, or sendeth them out, and they transform the earth:
Si continuerit aquas, omnia siccabuntur: et si emiserit eas, subvertent terram.
16 With Him, is strength and effective wisdom, to Him, belong he that erreth, and he that causeth to err.
Apud ipsum est fortitudo et sapientia: ipse novit et decipientem, et eum qui decipitur.
17 Who leadeth away counsellors [as] a spoil, and, judges, He befooleth:
Adducit consiliarios in stultum finem, et iudices in stuporem.
18 The fetters of kings, He looseth, or hath bound a slave’s waistcloth about their loins:
Balteum regum dissolvit, et præcingit fune renes eorum.
19 Who leadeth away priests [as] a spoil, and, men firmly seated, He overturneth:
Ducit sacerdotes inglorios, et optimates supplantat:
20 Setting aside the speech of the trusty, and, the discernment of elders, He taketh away:
Commutans labium veracium, et doctrinam senum auferens.
21 Pouring contempt upon nobles, and, the girdle of the mighty, hath He loosed:
Effundit despectionem super principes, eos, qui oppressi fuerant, relevans.
22 Laying open deep things, out of darkness, and bringing out to light, the death-shade:
Qui revelat profunda de tenebris, et producit in lucem umbram mortis.
23 Who giveth greatness to nations, or destroyeth them, Who spreadeth out nations, or leadeth them into exile:
Qui multiplicat gentes et perdit eas, et subversas in integrum restituit.
24 Who taketh away the sense of the chiefs of the people of the earth, and hath caused them to wander in a pathless waste:
Qui immutat cor principum populi terræ, et decipit eos ut frustra incedant per invium:
25 They grope about in the dark, having no light, and He hath made them to reel, like a drunken man.
Palpabunt quasi in tenebris, et non in luce, et errare eos faciet quasi ebrios.
