Therefore behold, I will once again deal marvelously with this people, wondrously marvelous;
And the wisdom of their wise men will perish,
And the discernment of their discerning men will be concealed.”

Choose wise and discerning and experienced men from your tribes, and I will appoint them as your heads.’

So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and experienced men, and appointed them heads over you, leaders of thousands and of hundreds, of fifties and of tens, and officers for your tribes.

Yet He also is wise and will bring disaster
And does not retract His words,
But will arise against the house of evildoers
And against the help of the workers of iniquity.

Causing the omens of boasters to fail,
Making fools out of diviners,
Causing wise men to draw back
And turning their knowledge into foolishness,

“He captures the wise by their own shrewdness,
And the advice of the cunning is quickly thwarted.

You shall not distort justice; you shall not be partial, and you shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and perverts the words of the righteous.

“Wise in heart and mighty in strength,
Who has defied Him without harm?

“Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge
And fill himself with the east wind?

What wise men have told,
And have not concealed from their fathers,

“Would that they were wise, that they understood this,
That they would discern their future!

“How can you say, ‘We are wise,
And the law of the Lord is with us’?
But behold, the lying pen of the scribes
Has made it into a lie.

“The wise men are put to shame,
They are dismayed and caught;
Behold, they have rejected the word of the Lord,
And what kind of wisdom do they have?

Who is the wise man that may understand this? And who is he to whom the mouth of the Lord has spoken, that he may declare it? Why is the land ruined, laid waste like a desert, so that no one passes through?

Thus says the Lord, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches;

“Can a vigorous man be of use to God,
Or a wise man be useful to himself?

“The abundant in years may not be wise,
Nor may elders understand justice.

“Her wise princesses would answer her,
Indeed she repeats her words to herself,

“A sword against the Chaldeans,” declares the Lord,
“And against the inhabitants of Babylon
And against her officials and her wise men!

“Hear my words, you wise men,
And listen to me, you who know.

“Men of understanding will say to me,
And a wise man who hears me,

“Therefore men fear Him;
He does not regard any who are wise of heart.”

“I will make her princes and her wise men drunk,
Her governors, her prefects and her mighty men,
That they may sleep a perpetual sleep and not wake up,”
Declares the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts.

The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.