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Ezra 5

Amplified Bible, 2015 (AMP)

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¹ "But I have intelligence and understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know such things as these [of God's wisdom and might]?

² "I am a joke to my friends; I, one whom God answered when he called upon Him— A just and blameless man is a joke [and laughed to scorn].

³ "He who is at ease has contempt for misfortune, But misfortune is ready [and anxiously waiting] for those whose feet slip.

⁴ "The tents of the destroyers prosper; And those who provoke God are [apparently] secure, Whom God brings into their power.

⁵ "Now ask the animals, and let them teach you [that God does not deal with His creatures according to their character]; And ask the birds of the air, and let them tell you;

⁶ Or speak to the earth [with its many forms of life], and it will teach you; And let the fish of the sea declare [this truth] to you.

⁷ "Who among all these does not recognize [in all these things that good and evil are randomly scattered throughout nature and human life] That the hand of the LORD has done this,

⁸ In whose hand is the life of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind?

⁹ "Does the ear not put words to the test, Just as the palate tastes its food [distinguishing between the desirable and the undesirable]?

¹⁰ "With the aged [you say] is wisdom, And with[1] long life is understanding.

¹¹ "But [only] with Him are [perfect] wisdom and might; He [alone] has [true] counsel and understanding.

¹² "Behold, He tears down, and it cannot be rebuilt; He imprisons a man, and there can be no release.

¹³ "Behold, He restrains the waters, and they dry up; Again, He sends the waters out, and they overwhelm and devastate the earth.

¹⁴ "With Him are might and sound wisdom, The misled and the misleader are His [and in His power].

¹⁵ "He makes [great and scheming] counselors walk barefoot And makes fools of judges.

¹⁶ "He loosens the bond of kings And binds their loins with a loincloth.

¹⁷ "He makes priests walk barefoot, And He overturns men firmly seated and secure.

#	AMP
1	"But I have intelligence and understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know such things as these [of God's wisdom and might]?
2	"I am a joke to my friends; I, one whom God answered when he called upon Him— A just and blameless man is a joke [and laughed to scorn].
3	"He who is at ease has contempt for misfortune, But misfortune is ready [and anxiously waiting] for those whose feet slip.
4	"The tents of the destroyers prosper; And those who provoke God are [apparently] secure, Whom God brings into their power.
5	"Now ask the animals, and let them teach you [that God does not deal with His creatures according to their character]; And ask the birds of the air, and let them tell you;
6	Or speak to the earth [with its many forms of life], and it will teach you; And let the fish of the sea declare [this truth] to you.
7	"Who among all these does not recognize [in all these things that good and evil are randomly scattered throughout nature and human life] That the hand of the LORD has done this,
8	In whose hand is the life of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind?
9	"Does the ear not put words to the test, Just as the palate tastes its food [distinguishing between the desirable and the undesirable]?
10	"With the aged [you say] is wisdom, And with[1] long life is understanding.
11	"But [only] with Him are [perfect] wisdom and might; He [alone] has [true] counsel and understanding.
12	"Behold, He tears down, and it cannot be rebuilt; He imprisons a man, and there can be no release.
13	"Behold, He restrains the waters, and they dry up; Again, He sends the waters out, and they overwhelm and devastate the earth.
14	"With Him are might and sound wisdom, The misled and the misleader are His [and in His power].
15	"He makes [great and scheming] counselors walk barefoot And makes fools of judges.
16	"He loosens the bond of kings And binds their loins with a loincloth.
17	"He makes priests walk barefoot, And He overturns men firmly seated and secure.

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Ezra 5

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