Job 12
1 Then Job answered,
Respondens autem Iob, dixit:
2 “No doubt, but you are the people, and wisdom will die with you.
Ergo vos estis soli homines, et vobiscum morietur sapientia?
3 But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Yes, who doesn’t know such things as these?
Et mihi est cor sicut et vobis, nec inferior vestri sum: quis enim hæc, quæ nostis, ignorat?
4 I am like one who is a joke to his neighbor, I, who called on God, and he answered. The just, the blameless man is a joke.
Qui deridetur ab amico suo sicut ego, invocabit Deum, et exaudiet eum: deridetur enim iusti simplicitas.
5 In the thought of him who is at ease there is contempt for misfortune. It is ready for them whose foot slips.
Lampas contempta apud cogitationes divitum, parata ad tempus statutum.
6 The tents of robbers prosper. Those who provoke God are secure, who carry their god in their hands.
Abundant tabernacula prædonum, et audacter provocant Deum, cum ipse dederit omnia in manus eorum.
7 “But ask the animals now, and they will teach you; the birds of the sky, and they will tell you.
Nimirum interroga iumenta, et docebunt te: et volatilia cæli, et indicabunt tibi.
8 Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you. The fish of the sea will declare to you.
Loquere terræ, et respondebit tibi: et narrabunt pisces maris.
9 Who doesn’t know that in all these, the LORD’s hand has done this,
Quis ignorat quod omnia hæc manus Domini fecerit?
10 in whose hand is the life of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind?
In cuius manu anima omnis viventis, et spiritus universæ carnis hominis.
11 Doesn’t the ear try words, even as the palate tastes its food?
Nonne auris verba diiudicat, et fauces comedentis, saporem?
12 With aged men is wisdom, in length of days understanding.
In antiquis est sapientia, et in multo tempore prudentia.
13 “With God is wisdom and might. He has counsel and understanding.
Apud ipsum est sapientia et fortitudo, ipse habet consilium et intelligentiam.
14 Behold, he breaks down, and it can’t be built again. He imprisons a man, and there can be no release.
Si destruxerit, nemo est qui ædificet: si incluserit hominem, nullus est qui aperiat.
15 Behold, he withholds the waters, and they dry up. Again, he sends them out, and they overturn the earth.
Si continuerit aquas, omnia siccabuntur: et si emiserit eas, subvertent terram.
16 With him is strength and wisdom. The deceived and the deceiver are his.
Apud ipsum est fortitudo et sapientia: ipse novit et decipientem, et eum qui decipitur.
17 He leads counselors away stripped. He makes judges fools.
Adducit consiliarios in stultum finem, et iudices in stuporem.
18 He loosens the bond of kings. He binds their waist with a belt.
Balteum regum dissolvit, et præcingit fune renes eorum.
19 He leads priests away stripped, and overthrows the mighty.
Ducit sacerdotes inglorios, et optimates supplantat:
20 He removes the speech of those who are trusted, and takes away the understanding of the elders.
Commutans labium veracium, et doctrinam senum auferens.
21 He pours contempt on princes, and loosens the belt of the strong.
Effundit despectionem super principes, eos, qui oppressi fuerant, relevans.
22 He uncovers deep things out of darkness, and brings out to light the shadow of death.
Qui revelat profunda de tenebris, et producit in lucem umbram mortis.
23 He increases the nations, and he destroys them. He enlarges the nations, and he leads them captive.
Qui multiplicat gentes et perdit eas, et subversas in integrum restituit.
24 He takes away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth, and causes them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way.
Qui immutat cor principum populi terræ, et decipit eos ut frustra incedant per invium:
25 They grope in the dark without light. He makes them stagger like a drunken man.
Palpabunt quasi in tenebris, et non in luce, et errare eos faciet quasi ebrios.
