Job 12
Legacy Standard Bible
Job Answers
12 Then Job answered and said,
2 “Truly then (A)you are the people,
And with you wisdom will die!
3 But (B)I have a heart of wisdom as well as you;
I do not fall short of you.
And [a]who does not know such things as these?
4 I am a (C)laughingstock to [b]my friends,
The one who called on God and He answered him;
The righteous and (D)blameless man is a laughingstock.
5 [c]As for upheaval, there is only contempt by the one who acts at ease,
But it is prepared for those whose feet slip.
6 The (E)tents of the destroyers are complacent,
And those who provoke God (F)are secure,
[d]Whom God brings (G)into their power.
7 “But now ask the beasts, and let them instruct you;
And the birds of the sky, and let them tell you.
8 Or muse to the earth, and let it instruct you;
And let the fish of the sea recount it to you.
9 Who among all these does not know
That (H)the hand of Yahweh has done this,
10 (I)In whose hand is the life of every living thing,
And (J)the breath of all the flesh of man?
11 Does not (K)the ear test words,
As the palate [e]tastes its food?
12 Wisdom is with (L)aged men,
With [f]long life is discernment.
Job Speaks of God’s Strength
13 “With Him are (M)wisdom and (N)might;
To Him belong counsel and (O)discernment.
14 Behold, He (P)pulls down, and it cannot be rebuilt;
He (Q)closes a man in, and it cannot be opened.
15 Behold, He (R)restrains the waters, and they dry up;
And He (S)sends them out, and they overturn the earth.
16 With Him are strength and sound wisdom;
The (T)misled and the misleader belong to Him.
17 He makes (U)counselors walk [g]barefoot
And makes fools of (V)judges.
18 He (W)opens the [h]bond of kings
And binds their loins with a belt.
19 He makes priests walk [i]barefoot
And subverts (X)the enduring ones.
20 He removes speech from the faithful
And (Y)takes away the discerning taste of the elders.
21 He (Z)pours contempt on nobles
And (AA)loosens the belt of the strong.
22 He (AB)reveals mysteries from the darkness
And brings out the shadows of death into light.
23 He (AC)makes the nations great, then makes them perish;
He [j]enlarges the nations, then leads them away.
24 He (AD)removes the heart of wisdom from the heads of the earth’s people
And makes them wander in a pathless [k]waste.
25 They (AE)grope in darkness with no light,
And He makes them (AF)wander about like a drunken man.
Footnotes
- Job 12:3 Lit with whom is there not like these?
- Job 12:4 Lit his
- Job 12:5 Lit Contempt for calamity is the thought of him who is at ease
- Job 12:6 Or He who brings God into his hand
- Job 12:11 Lit tastes food for itself
- Job 12:12 Lit length of days
- Job 12:17 Or stripped
- Job 12:18 Or discipline
- Job 12:19 Or stripped
- Job 12:23 Or spreads out
- Job 12:24 Or formlessness
Job 12
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Job’s Reply to Zophar
12 Then Job answered:
2 No doubt you are the people,
and wisdom will die with you!
3 But I also have a mind;
I am not inferior to you.
Who doesn’t know the things you are talking about?[a](A)
4 I am a laughingstock to my[b] friends,
by calling on God, who answers me.[c]
The righteous and upright man is a laughingstock.(B)
5 The one who is at ease(C) holds calamity in contempt
and thinks it is prepared for those whose feet are slipping.
6 The tents of robbers are safe,(D)
and those who provoke God are secure;
God’s power provides this.[d](E)
7 But ask the animals, and they will instruct you;
ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you.(F)
8 Or speak to the earth, and it will instruct you;
let the fish of the sea inform you.
9 Which of all these does not know
that the hand of the Lord has done this?(G)
10 The life of every living thing is in His hand,
as well as the breath of all mankind.(H)
11 Doesn’t the ear test words
as the palate tastes food?
12 Wisdom is found with the elderly,
and understanding comes with long life.(I)
13 Wisdom and strength belong to God;
counsel and understanding are His.(J)
14 Whatever He tears down cannot be rebuilt;
whoever He imprisons cannot be released.(K)
15 When He withholds the waters, everything dries up,
and when He releases them, they destroy the land.(L)
16 True wisdom and power belong to Him.
The deceived and the deceiver are His.
17 He leads counselors away barefoot
and makes judges go mad.(M)
18 He releases the bonds[e] put on by kings(N)
and fastens a belt around their waists.
19 He leads priests away barefoot
and overthrows established leaders.(O)
20 He deprives trusted advisers of speech
and takes away the elders’ good judgment.
21 He pours out contempt on nobles
and disarms[f] the strong.
22 He reveals mysteries from the darkness
and brings the deepest darkness into the light.(P)
23 He makes nations great, then destroys them;
He enlarges nations,(Q) then leads them away.
24 He deprives the world’s leaders of reason,
and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland.(R)
25 They grope around in darkness without light;
He makes them stagger like drunken men.(S)
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