Job 12
New Catholic Bible
Job’s Third Response[a]
Chapter 12
Wisdom Will Die with You.[b] 1 Job then answered with these words:
2 “Undoubtedly, you are the voice of the people,
and when you die, wisdom will die with you.
3 But I also have intelligence;
I am not inferior to you in this regard.
Who is ignorant of all these things?
4 [c]“I have become a laughingstock to my friends,
I whom God would answer when I called upon him;
although I am innocent and just, he afflicted me.
5 Those who live untroubled lives scorn the misfortunes of others,
the blows that strike those who are already staggering.
6 Yet the tents of robbers remain undisturbed,
and those who provoke God sleep securely
as well as those who make a god of their strength.[d]
7 “But ask the animals, and they will teach you;
ask the birds of the air, and they will inform you.
8 Ask the reptiles on earth, and they will instruct you,
or let the fish of the sea enlighten you.
9 Which of all these is unaware
that the hand of God has done this?
10 “In God’s hand is the soul of every living thing
and the breath of all mankind.
11 Does not the ear test words
as the palate tastes food?
12 Wisdom is found in the aged,
and long life nourishes understanding.
With God Are Wisdom and Power
13 “With God are wisdom and power;
wise counsel and understanding are his.
14 If he tears down, no one can rebuild;
anyone he imprisons cannot gain freedom.
15 If he holds back the waters, drought ensues;
if he releases them, the land is overwhelmed.
16 Strength and wisdom are his;
his too are the deceived and the deceivers.
17 “He deprives counselors of their wits
and makes fools of judges.
18 He looses the sashes of kings
and gives them only a waistcloth to cover their loins.[e]
19 He forces priests to walk barefoot
and overthrows those in positions of power.
20 He silences the lips of trusted counselors
and deprives the aged of their power of discernment.
21 “He pours contempt on princes
and disarms the powerful.
22 He unveils mysteries long obscured in darkness
and brings their meaning to light.
23 He makes nations great and then destroys them;
he enlarges nations and then reduces them to nothing.
24 He weakens the minds of the leaders of the earth
and leaves them to wander in a trackless waste.
25 They grope their way in the darkness without light,
staggering like drunken men.
Footnotes
- Job 12:1 Turning his back on his friends, Job addresses his God directly and boldly asks him to justify his conduct.
- Job 12:1 Job observes a disturbing contrast between the misfortune of the righteous and the tranquility of robbers. The whole of creation is a witness of this drama.
- Job 12:4 The righteous who are afflicted even have to suffer the scorn of the impious: see Ps 22:7-22; Mt 27:39-43.
- Job 12:6 As well as those who make a god of their strength: the Hebrew is obscure. Other translations given are: “As well as those who bring their god in their hands,” or “In what God provides by his hand.”
- Job 12:18 The probable meaning of the second half of the verse is that God at times reduces kings to slavery.
Job 12
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.
