Job 12
Amplified Bible
Job Chides His Accusers
12 Then Job responded,
2
“No doubt you are the [only wise] people [in the world],
And wisdom will die with you!
3
“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]?
4
“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].
5
“He who is at ease has contempt for misfortune,
But misfortune is ready [and anxiously waiting] for those whose feet slip.
6
“The tents of the destroyers prosper;
And those who provoke God are [apparently] secure,
Whom God brings into their power.
7
“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;
8
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.
9
“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,
10
In whose hand is the life of every living thing,
And the breath of all mankind?
11
“Does the ear not put words to the test,
Just as the palate tastes its food [distinguishing between the desirable and the undesirable]?
12
“With the aged [you say] is wisdom,
And with [a]long life is understanding.
Job Speaks of the Power of God
13
“But [only] with Him are [perfect] wisdom and might;
He [alone] has [true] counsel and understanding.
14
“Behold, He tears down, and it cannot be rebuilt;
He imprisons a man, and there can be no release.
15
“Behold, He restrains the waters, and they dry up;
Again, He sends the waters out, and they overwhelm and devastate the earth.
16
“With Him are might and sound wisdom,
The misled and the misleader are His [and in His power].
17
“He makes [great and scheming] counselors walk barefoot
And makes fools of judges.
18
“He loosens the bond of kings
And binds their loins with a loincloth.
19
“He makes priests walk barefoot,
And He overturns men firmly seated and secure.
20
“He deprives the trusted ones of speech
And takes away the discernment and discretion of the aged.
21
“He pours contempt on princes and nobles
And loosens the belt of the strong [disabling them].
22
“He uncovers mysteries [that are difficult to grasp and understand] out of the darkness
And brings black gloom and the shadow of death into light.
23
“He makes nations great, and He destroys them;
He enlarges nations, and leads them away [captive].
24
“He removes intelligence and understanding from the leaders of the people of the earth
And makes them wander and move blindly in a pathless waste.
25
“They grope in darkness without light,
And He makes them stagger like a drunken man.”
Footnotes
- Job 12:12 Lit length of days.
Job 12
New King James Version
Job Answers His Critics
12 Then Job answered and said:
2 “No doubt you are the people,
And wisdom will die with you!
3 But I have [a]understanding as well as you;
I am not (A)inferior to you.
Indeed, who does not know such things as these?
4 “I(B) am one mocked by his friends,
Who (C)called on God, and He answered him,
The just and blameless who is ridiculed.
5 A [b]lamp is despised in the thought of one who is at ease;
It is made ready for (D)those whose feet slip.
6 (E)The tents of robbers prosper,
And those who provoke God are secure—
In what God provides by His hand.
7 “But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you;
And the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
8 Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you;
And the fish of the sea will explain to you.
9 Who among all these does not know
That the hand of the Lord has done this,
10 (F)In whose hand is the [c]life of every living thing,
And the (G)breath of [d]all mankind?
11 Does not the ear test words
And the [e]mouth taste its food?
12 Wisdom is with aged men,
And with [f]length of days, understanding.
13 “With Him are (H)wisdom and strength,
He has counsel and understanding.
14 If (I)He breaks a thing down, it cannot be rebuilt;
If He imprisons a man, there can be no release.
15 If He (J)withholds the waters, they dry up;
If He (K)sends them out, they overwhelm the earth.
16 With Him are strength and prudence.
The deceived and the deceiver are His.
17 He leads counselors away plundered,
And makes fools of the judges.
18 He loosens the bonds of kings,
And binds their waist with a belt.
19 He leads [g]princes away plundered,
And overthrows the mighty.
20 (L)He deprives the trusted ones of speech,
And takes away the discernment of the elders.
21 (M)He pours contempt on princes,
And [h]disarms the mighty.
22 He (N)uncovers deep things out of darkness,
And brings the shadow of death to light.
23 (O)He makes nations great, and destroys them;
He [i]enlarges nations, and guides them.
24 He takes away the [j]understanding of the chiefs of the people of the earth,
And (P)makes them wander in a pathless wilderness.
25 (Q)They grope in the dark without light,
And He makes them (R)stagger like a drunken man.
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
