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
New American Standard Bible 1995
Job Chides His Accusers
12 Then Job [a]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 [b]who does not know such things as these?
4 “I am a (C)joke to [c]my friends,
The one who called on God and He answered him;
The just and (D)blameless man is a joke.
5 “[d]He who is at ease holds calamity 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,
[e]Whom God brings (G)into their power.
7 “But now ask the beasts, and let them teach you;
And the birds of the heavens, and let them tell you.
8 “Or speak to the earth, and let it teach you;
And let the fish of the sea declare to 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 not (K)the ear test words,
As the palate [f]tastes its food?
12 “Wisdom is with (L)aged men,
With [g]long life is understanding.
Job Speaks of the Power of God
13 “With Him are (M)wisdom and (N)might;
To Him belong counsel and (O)understanding.
14 “Behold, He (P)tears down, and it cannot be rebuilt;
He [h](Q)imprisons a man, and [i]there can be no release.
15 “Behold, He (R)restrains the waters, and they dry up;
And He (S)sends them out, and they [j]inundate 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 [k]barefoot
And makes fools of (V)judges.
18 “He (W)loosens the [l]bond of kings
And binds their loins with a girdle.
19 “He makes priests walk [m]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 [n]enlarges the nations, then leads them away.
24 “He (AD)deprives of intelligence the chiefs of the earth’s people
And makes them wander in a pathless waste.
25 “They (AE)grope in darkness with no light,
And He makes them (AF)stagger like a drunken man.
Footnotes
- Job 12:1 Lit answered and said
- 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 12:18 Or discipline
- Job 12:19 Or stripped
- Job 12:23 Or spreads out
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.