Job 12
New American Standard Bible
Job Chides His Accusers
12 Then Job responded,
2 “Truly then (A)you are the people,
And with you wisdom will die!
3 But (B)I have intelligence as well as you;
I am not inferior to you.
And [a]who does not know such things as these?
4 I am a (C)joke to [b]my friends,
The one who called on God and He answered him;
The just and (D)blameless man is a joke.
5 [c]He who is at ease holds disaster in contempt,
As prepared for those whose feet slip.
6 The (E)tents of the destroyers prosper,
And those who provoke God (F)are secure,
[d]Whom God brings (G)into their power.
7 “But just ask the animals, and have them teach you;
And the birds of the sky, and have them tell you.
8 Or speak to the earth, and have it teach you;
And have the fish of the sea tell you.
9 Who among all these does not know
That (H)the hand of the Lord has done this,
10 (I)In whose hand is the life of every living thing,
And (J)the breath of all mankind?
11 Does (K)the ear not put words to the test,
As the palate [e]tastes its food?
12 Wisdom is with the (L)aged,
And with [f]long life comes understanding.
Job Speaks of the Power of God
13 “(M)Wisdom and (N)might are with Him;
Advice and (O)understanding belong to Him.
14 Behold, He (P)tears down, and it cannot be rebuilt;
He [g](Q)imprisons a person, and [h]there is no release.
15 Behold, He (R)restrains the waters, and they dry up;
And He (S)sends them out, and they [i]inundate the earth.
16 Strength and sound wisdom are with Him.
One who (T)goes astray and one who leads astray belong to Him.
17 He makes (U)advisers walk [j]barefoot
And makes fools of (V)judges.
18 He (W)undoes the binding of kings,
And ties a loincloth around their waist.
19 He makes priests walk [k]barefoot,
And overthrows (X)the secure ones.
20 He deprives the trusted ones of speech,
And (Y)takes away the discernment 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 the deep darkness into light.
23 He (AC)makes the nations great, then destroys them;
He [l]enlarges the nations, then leads them away.
24 He (AD)deprives the leaders of the earth’s people of [m]intelligence
And makes them wander in a pathless wasteland.
25 They (AE)grope in darkness with no light,
And He makes them (AF)stagger like a drunken person.
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 12:14 Lit shuts against
- Job 12:14 Lit it is not opened
- Job 12:15 Lit overturn
- Job 12:17 Or stripped
- Job 12:19 Or stripped
- Job 12:23 Or spreads out
- Job 12:24 Lit heart
Job 12
Common English Bible
A living joke
12 Job responded:
2 Surely you are the people,
and wisdom will die with you.
3 I am also intelligent;
I’m not inferior to you.
Who isn’t like these people?[a]
4 I’m a joke to friends
who called to God and he answered;
the innocent and blameless one is a joke,
5 a torch[b] of contempt to one who is idle,
a fixed point for slipping feet.
Proverbial wisdom
6 Raiders’ tents are prosperous
and God’s provokers secure,
who carry God in their hands.[c]
7 But ask Behemoth, and he will teach you,
the birds in the sky, and they will tell you;
8 or talk to earth, and it will teach you;
the fish of the sea will recount it for you.
9 Among all these, who hasn’t known
that the Lord’s hand did this?
10 In whose grasp is the life of every thing,
the breath of every person?
11 Doesn’t the ear test words
and the palate taste food?
12 “In old age is wisdom;
understanding in a long life.”
God’s majesty
13 With him are wisdom and power;
counsel and understanding are his.
14 If he tears down, it can’t be rebuilt;
if he ties a person up, he can’t be set free.
15 If he restricts water, they have drought;
if he lets it loose, it overturns the land.
16 With him are might and success;
the deceiver and the deceived are his.
17 He leads advisors away barefoot;
makes madmen of judges;
18 unties the belt of kings,
binds a garment around their loins;
19 leads priests away barefoot;
overthrows the well-established;
20 silences the talk of trusted people;
takes away elders’ discernment;
21 pours contempt on royalty;
loosens the belt of the strong;
22 discloses deep secrets of darkness,
makes utter darkness enter the light;
23 makes nations prominent and destroys them,
expands nations and leads them astray;
24 takes away the power to think from earth’s leaders,
making them wander in untraveled wastelands.
25 They feel their way in the dark without light;
he makes them stumble like drunks.
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Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible