Job 12

vayya'an iyyov vayyomar

Then Job said in reply:

omnam ki attem-am ve'immakhem tamut khokhmah

Indeed, you are the [voice of] the people, And wisdom will die with you.

gam-li levav kemokhem lo-nofel anokhi mikkem ve'et-mi-en kemo-elleh

But I, like you, have a mind, And am not less than you. Who does not know such things?

sekhoq lere'ehu ehyeh qore le'eloah vayya'anehu sekhoq tsaddiq tamim

I have become a laughingstock to my friend— “One who calls to God and is answered, Blamelessly innocent”—a laughingstock.

lappid buz le'ashtut sha'anan nakhon lemo'ade ragel

In the thought of the complacent there is contempt for calamity; It is ready for those whose foot slips.

yishlayu ohalim leshodedim uvattukhot lemargize el la'asher hevi eloah beyado

Robbers live untroubled in their tents, And those who provoke God are secure, Those whom God’s hands have produced.

ve'ulam she'al-na vehemot vetorekka ve'of hashamayim veyagged-lakh

But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; The birds of the sky, they will tell you,

o siakh la'arets vetorekka visapperu lekha dege hayyam

Or speak to the earth, it will teach you; The fish of the sea, they will inform you.

mi lo-yada bekhol-elleh ki yad-Adonai asetah zot

Who among all these does not know That GOD’s hand has done this?

asher beyado nefesh kol-khay veruakh kol-besar-ish

In that hand is every living soul And the breath of all humankind.

halo-ozen millin tivkhan vekhekh okhel yitam-lo

Truly, the ear tests arguments As the palate tastes foods.

bishishim khokhmah ve'orekh yamim tevunah

Is wisdom in the aged And understanding in the long-lived?

immo khokhmah ugevurah lo etsah utevunah

Wisdom and courage are God’s, As are counsel and understanding.

hen yaharos velo yibbaneh yisgor al-ish velo yippateakh

Whatever [God] tears down cannot be rebuilt; Whoever is imprisoned cannot be set free.

hen yatsor bammayim veyivashu vishallekhem veyahafkhu-arets

When the waters are held back, they dry up; When they are let loose, they tear up the land.

immo oz vetushiyyah lo shogeg umashgeh

Strength and resourcefulness are God’s, So are erring and causing to err.

molikh yo'atsim sholal veshofetim yeholel

[God] thus makes counselors go about naked And causes judges to go mad;

musar melakhim pitteakh vayyesor ezor bemotnehem

Undoes the belts of kings And fastens loincloths on them;

molikh kohanim sholal ve'etanim yesallef

Makes priests go about naked And leads temple-servants astray;

mesir safah lene'emanim veta'am zeqenim yiqqakh

Deprives trusted ones of speech And takes away the reason of elders;

shofekh buz al-nedivim umeziakh afiqim rippah

Pours disgrace upon nobles And loosens the belt of the mighty;

megalleh amuqot minni-khoshekh vayyotse la'or tsalmavet

Draws mysteries out of the darkness And brings obscurities to light;

masgi laggoyim vaye'abbedem shoteakh laggoyim vayyankhem

Exalts nations, then destroys them, And expands nations, then leads them away.

mesir lev rashe am-ha'arets vayyatem betohu lo-darekh

[God] deranges the leaders of the people And makes them wander in a trackless waste.

yemashshu-khoshekh velo-or vayyatem kashikkor

They grope without light in the darkness, Made to wander as if drunk.