1. 约伯回答说， Then Job answered and said,
2. 你们真是有智慧的子民哪，你们死亡，智慧也就灭没了。 Surely then you are the people, And wisdom will die with you.
3. 但我也有聪明，与你们一样；我并非不及你们。你们所说这样的事，谁不知道呢？ I also have understanding as you do; I am not inferior to you. And who does not know things like these?
4. 我这呼求神、蒙祂应允的人，竟成了朋友所讥笑的；公义完全的人，竟成了人所讥笑的。 I have become a laughingstock to my friends, I, who have called out to God and He answers me. The righteous man, the perfect man, is a laughingstock.
5. 安逸的人心里藐视灾祸；这灾祸常常等待滑脚的人。 There is contempt for calamity in the thought of him who is at ease: It is prepared for those whose foot slips.
6. 强盗的帐棚兴旺，惹神发怒的人稳固，这些人将自己的能力当作神。 The tents of robbers prosper, And those who provoke God have security, Those who carry their god in their own might.
7. 你且问走兽，走兽必指教你；又问空中的飞鸟，飞鸟必告诉你； But ask now of the beasts, and they will teach you; And of the birds of heaven, and they will tell you.
8. 或与地说话，地必指教你；海中的鱼，也必向你说明。 Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; And the fish of the sea will declare to you.
9. 在这一切之中，谁不知道这是耶和华的手作成的呢？ Who among all these does not know That the hand of Jehovah has done this,
10. 凡活物的生命，和一切血肉之人的气息，都在祂手中。 In whose hand is the life of every living thing And the breath of all flesh of man?
11. 耳朵岂不试验言语，正如上膛品尝食物么？ Does not the ear try words Even as the palate tastes food for itself?
12. 你们说，年老的有智慧，寿高的有辨识。 In aged men, you say, there is wisdom, And in length of days there is understanding.
13. 其实智慧和能力乃在于神；谋略和辨识都属于祂。 But with Him are wisdom and might; Counsel and understanding are His.
14. 看哪，祂拆毁的，就不能再建造；祂将人禁闭，便不得开释。 Indeed, He breaks down, and it cannot be rebuilt; He shuts a man up, and the door cannot be opened.
15. 祂把水留住，水便枯干；祂发出水来，水就翻地。 Indeed, He withholds the waters, and they dry up; And He sends them forth, and they overturn the earth.
16. 在祂有能力和智慧；被欺骗的与欺骗人的，都属于祂。 With Him are strength and effectual wisdom; The deceived and the deceiver are His.
17. 祂把谋士剥衣掳去，又使审判官变成愚人。 He leads counselors away stripped, And He makes fools of judges.
18. 祂放松君王的绑，又用带子捆他们的腰。 He loosens the fetters of kings And binds their loins with a belt.
19. 祂把祭司剥衣掳去，又使有权势的人倾败。 He leads priests away stripped, And He overturns dignitaries.
20. 祂废去忠信人的讲论，又夺去老年人的谋略。 He removes the utterance of the trusty And takes away the counsel of the elders.
21. 祂使贵胄蒙羞被辱，又放松壮士的腰带。 He pours contempt upon the princes And loosens the belt of the strong.
22. 祂将深奥的事从黑暗中显露出来，使死荫显为光明。 He uncovers the depths out of darkness And brings to light the shadow of death.
23. 祂使邦国兴旺，又将其毁灭；祂使邦国开广，又将其掳去。 He makes nations great and destroys them; He expands nations and leads them off.
24. 祂将地上民中首领的聪明夺去，使他们在荒废无路之地飘流。 He removes the understanding of the heads of the people of the earth And causes them to wander in a pathless waste.
25. 他们无光，在黑暗中摸索；祂使他们东倒西歪，像醉酒的人一样。 They grope in darkness, and there is no light; And He causes them to stagger like a drunken man.