“With God are wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his.

“Who is this who darkens counsel with words without knowledge?

Counsel and sound wisdom belong to me; I possess understanding and might.

The one who winks his eyes devises perverse things, and one who compresses his lips brings about evil.

Listen to advice and receive discipline, that you may become wise by the end of your life.

Counsel in a person’s heart is like deep water, but an understanding person draws it out.

There is no wisdom and there is no understanding, and there is no counsel against the Lord.

Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give us your advice. What should we do?”

Now let me give you some advice as to how you can save your life and your son Solomon’s life.

Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted! Issue your orders, but they will not be executed! For God is with us!

This also comes from the Lord who commands armies, who gives supernatural guidance and imparts great wisdom.

Your claim to have a strategy and military strength is just empty talk. In whom are you trusting that you would dare to rebel against me?

you asked, ‘Who is this who darkens counsel without knowledge?’ But I have declared without understanding things too wonderful for me to know.

The Lord’s spirit will rest on him – a spirit that gives extraordinary wisdom, a spirit that provides the ability to execute plans, a spirit that produces absolute loyalty to the Lord.

“Bring a plan, make a decision! Provide some shade in the middle of the day! Hide the fugitives! Do not betray the one who tries to escape!

Those who try to hide their plans from the Lord are as good as dead, who do their work in secret and boast, “Who sees us? Who knows what we’re doing?”

“The rebellious children are as good as dead,” says the Lord, “those who make plans without consulting me, who form alliances without consulting my Spirit, and thereby compound their sin.

Your claim to have a strategy and military strength is just empty talk. In whom are you trusting, that you would dare to rebel against me?

All of this is because the Lord who rules over all has said: ‘Cut down the trees around Jerusalem and build up a siege ramp against its walls. This is the city which is to be punished. Nothing but oppression happens in it.

The Lord who rules over all spoke about Edom. “Is wisdom no longer to be found in Teman? Can Edom’s counselors not give her any good advice? Has all of their wisdom turned bad?