Job 12
1 respondens autem Iob dixit
Then responded Job, and said: —
2 ergo vos estis soli homines et vobiscum morietur sapientia
Of a truth, ye, are the people, and, with you, wisdom, will die.
3 et mihi est cor sicut et vobis nec inferior vestri sum quis enim haec quae nostis ignorat
I also, have a mind like you, I, fall not short, of you, But who hath not such things as these?
4 qui deridetur ab amico suo sicut ego invocabit Deum et exaudiet eum deridetur enim iusti simplicitas
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!
5 lampas contempta apud cogitationes divitum parata ad tempus statutum
For ruin, there is contempt, in the thought of the man at ease, —ready, for such as are of faltering foot!
6 abundant tabernacula praedonum et audacter provocant Deum cum ipse dederit omnia in manibus eorum
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.
7 nimirum interroga iumenta et docebunt te et volatilia caeli et indicabunt tibi
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;
8 loquere terrae et respondebit tibi et narrabunt pisces maris
Or address the earth, and it will teach thee, and the fishes of the sea, will recount it to thee:
9 quis ignorat quod omnia haec manus Domini fecerit
Who knoweth not, among all these, that, the hand of Yahweh, hath done this?
10 in cuius manu anima omnis viventis et spiritus universae carnis hominis
In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the spirit of all the flesh of men.
11 nonne auris verba diiudicat et fauces comedentis saporem
Doth not, the ear, try, words? even as, the palate, tasteth for itself, food?
12 in antiquis est sapientia et in multo tempore prudentia
In the Ancient, is wisdom, and [in] Length of Days, understanding:
13 apud ipsum est sapientia et fortitudo ipse habet consilium et intellegentiam
With Him, are wisdom and strength, to Him, pertain counsel and understanding.
14 si destruxerit nemo est qui aedificet et si incluserit hominem nullus est qui aperiat
Lo! He pulleth down, and it cannot be built, He closeth up over a man, and it cannot be opened:
15 si continuerit aquas omnia siccabuntur et si emiserit eas subvertent terram
Lo! He holdeth back the waters, and they dry up, or sendeth them out, and they transform the earth:
16 apud ipsum est fortitudo et sapientia ipse novit et decipientem et eum qui decipitur
With Him, is strength and effective wisdom, to Him, belong he that erreth, and he that causeth to err.
17 adducit consiliarios in stultum finem et iudices in stuporem
Who leadeth away counsellors [as] a spoil, and, judges, He befooleth:
18 balteum regum dissolvit et praecingit fune renes eorum
The fetters of kings, He looseth, or hath bound a slave’s waistcloth about their loins:
19 ducit sacerdotes inglorios et optimates subplantat
Who leadeth away priests [as] a spoil, and, men firmly seated, He overturneth:
20 commutans labium veracium et doctrinam senum auferens
Setting aside the speech of the trusty, and, the discernment of elders, He taketh away:
21 effundit despectionem super principes et eos qui oppressi fuerant relevans
Pouring contempt upon nobles, and, the girdle of the mighty, hath He loosed:
22 qui revelat profunda de tenebris et producit in lucem umbram mortis
Laying open deep things, out of darkness, and bringing out to light, the death-shade:
23 qui multiplicat gentes et perdet eas et subversas in integrum restituet
Who giveth greatness to nations, or destroyeth them, Who spreadeth out nations, or leadeth them into exile:
24 qui inmutat cor principum populi terrae et decipit eos ut frustra incedant per invium
Who taketh away the sense of the chiefs of the people of the earth, and hath caused them to wander in a pathless waste:
25 palpabunt quasi in tenebris et non in luce et errare eos faciet quasi ebrios
They grope about in the dark, having no light, and He hath made them to reel, like a drunken man.
