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Job 12
Modern English Version

Job Replies

12 And Job answered:

2 “No doubt but you are the people,
    and wisdom will die with you!
3 But I have understanding as well as you;
    I am not inferior to you.
    Yes, who does not know such things as these?

4 “I am a laughingstock to my neighbor,
    who calls upon God, and He answers him;
    the righteous, upright man is a laughingstock.
5 He whose foot is unsteady
    is despised in the thoughts of him who is at ease.
6 The tents of robbers are at peace,
    and those who provoke God are secure,
    into whose hand they bring their own god.

7 “But now ask the beasts, and let them teach you;
    and the birds of the air, and let them tell you;
8 or speak to the earth, let it teach you;
    and let the fish of the sea declare to you.
9 Who among all these does not know
    that the hand of the Lord has done this,
10 in whose hand is the soul of every living thing
    and the breath of all mankind?
11 Does not the ear test words
    and the mouth taste its food?
12 Wisdom is with the elderly,
    and understanding comes with long life.

13 “With Him are wisdom and strength;
    He has counsel and understanding.
14 Surely, He tears down, and it cannot be built again;
    He imprisons a man, and there can be no release.
15 Surely, He withholds the waters, and they dry up;
    also He sends them out, and they overthrow the earth.
16 With Him are strength and wisdom.
    The deceived and the deceiver are His.
17 He leads counselors away stripped
    and makes fools of judges.
18 He has loosened the bonds imposed by kings
    and bound their waist with a belt.
19 He leads away priests stripped
    and overthrows the mighty.
20 He removes speech from the trusted ones
    and takes away the understanding of the aged.
21 He pours contempt upon princes
    and loosens the belt of the mighty.
22 He uncovers deep things out of darkness
    and brings the shadow of death to light.
23 He increases the nations and destroys them;
    He enlarges the nations and guides them.
24 He takes away the understanding of the chiefs of the people of the earth,
    and causes them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way.
25 They grope in the dark without light,
    and He makes them to stagger like a drunk man.

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Job 12
Lexham English Bible

Job’s Fourth Speech

12 Then[a] Job answered and said,

2 “Truly indeed you[b] are the people,
and wisdom will die with you.[c]
3 I also have insight[d] like you;[e]
I am not more inferior than you.[f]
And who does not know things like these?[g]
4 I am a laughingstock to my friends:[h]
‘He calls on God, and he answers him.’
A righteous, blameless man is a laughingstock.
5 Those at ease have contempt[i] for the thought of disaster,[j]
but it is ready for those unstable of foot.
6 The tents of the destroyers are at peace,
and there is security for those who provoke God,
for those whom God brings into his hand.[k]
7 “But[l] ask[m] the animals, and they will teach you,
and the birds of the heaven, and they will tell you;
8 or ask the earth, and it will teach you,
and the fishes of the sea will declare to you.
9 Who among all of these does not know
that Yahweh’s hand has done this?
10 In whose hand is the life of all living things
and the breath of every human being?[n]
11 Does not the ear test words
and the palate taste food for itself?
12 Wisdom is with the aged,
and understanding is in length of days.
13 “With him are wisdom and powerful deeds,
and to him belong counsel and understanding.
14 If he tears down, then[o] it will not be rebuilt;
if he shuts a man in, then[p] he cannot be freed.
15 Look, if he withholds the water,[q] then[r] they dry up;
and if he sends them out, then[s] they overwhelm the land.
16 “Strength and sound wisdom are with him;
the deceived and the deceiver are his.[t]
17 He leads counselors away stripped,
and he makes fools of judges.
18 He loosens the fetters of kings,
and he binds a loincloth on their loins.
19 He leads priests away stripped,
and he overthrows the members of ancient families.[u]
20 He deprives the trustworthy of speech,
and he takes away the discretion of elders.
21 He pours contempt on noblemen,
and he loosens the girdle of the mighty.
22 “He uncovers mysteries out of darkness,
and he brings deep shadow to the light.
23 He makes the nations great, then[v] he destroys them;
he expands the nations, then[w] he guides them.
24 He strips away the insight of the heads of the earth’s people,
and he makes them wander in a pathless wasteland.[x]
25 They grope in the dark without[y] light,
and he makes them stagger like a[z] drunkard.

Footnotes

  1. Job 12:1 Hebrew “And”
  2. Job 12:2 Plural
  3. Job 12:2 Plural
  4. Job 12:3 Literally “Also for me heart”
  5. Job 12:3 Plural
  6. Job 12:3 Plural
  7. Job 12:3 Literally “and who there is not like these”
  8. Job 12:4 Hebrew “to his friends”
  9. Job 12:5 Literally “Contempt is according to the thought of the complacent”
  10. Job 12:5 Literally “a torch”
  11. Job 12:6 Or “power”
  12. Job 12:7 Hebrew “And”
  13. Job 12:7 Or “ask now,” or “please ask”
  14. Job 12:10 Literally “the breath of all the flesh of man”
  15. Job 12:14 Hebrew “and”
  16. Job 12:14 Hebrew “and”
  17. Job 12:15 Or “waters”
  18. Job 12:15 Hebrew “and”
  19. Job 12:15 Hebrew “and”
  20. Job 12:16 Or “for him”
  21. Job 12:19 Literally “the constant”
  22. Job 12:23 Hebrew “and”
  23. Job 12:23 Hebrew “and”
  24. Job 12:24 Literally “in a wasteland not a way”
  25. Job 12:25 Literally “and not”
  26. Job 12:25 Hebrew “the”
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Modern English Version (MEV)

The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.

Lexham English Bible (LEB)

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