Job 12
Authorized (King James) Version
12 And Job answered and said,
2 No doubt but ye are the people,
and wisdom shall die with you.
3 But I have understanding as well as you;
I am not inferior to you:
yea, who knoweth not such things as these?
4 I am as one mocked of his neighbour,
who calleth upon God, and he answereth him:
the just upright man is laughed to scorn.
5 He that is ready to slip with his feet
is as a lamp despised in the thought of him that is at ease.
6 The tabernacles of robbers prosper,
and they that provoke God are secure;
into whose hand God bringeth abundantly.
7 But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee;
and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee:
8 or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee:
and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee.
9 Who knoweth not in all these
that the hand of the Lord hath wrought this?
10 In whose hand is the soul of every living thing,
and the breath of all mankind.
11 Doth not the ear try words?
and the mouth taste his meat?
12 With the ancient is wisdom;
and in length of days understanding.
13 With him is wisdom and strength,
he hath counsel and understanding.
14 Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot be built again:
he shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening.
15 Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up:
also he sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth.
16 With him is strength and wisdom:
the deceived and the deceiver are his.
17 He leadeth counsellors away spoiled,
and maketh the judges fools.
18 He looseth the bond of kings,
and girdeth their loins with a girdle.
19 He leadeth princes away spoiled,
and overthroweth the mighty.
20 He removeth away the speech of the trusty,
and taketh away the understanding of the aged.
21 He poureth contempt upon princes,
and weakeneth the strength of the mighty.
22 He discovereth deep things out of darkness,
and bringeth out to light the shadow of death.
23 He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them:
he enlargeth the nations, and straiteneth them again.
24 He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth,
and causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way.
25 They grope in the dark without light,
and he maketh them to stagger like a drunken man.
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.
KJV reproduced by permission of Cambridge University Press, the Crown’s patentee in the UK.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
