Job 12
Revised Geneva Translation
12 Then Job answered, and said,
2 “Truly, you are the people. Wisdom must die with you.
3 “But I have understanding as well as you and am not inferior to you. Yea, who does not know such things?
4 “I am as one mocked by his friends, who calls upon God and He hears him. The just and the upright are laughed to scorn.
5 “He who feels ready to fall is like a lamp, ridiculed in the thoughts of the careless.
6 “The tents of robbers prosper. And those who provoke God are in safety. God has enriched them with His Hand.
7 “Ask, now, the beasts and they shall teach you, and the birds of the heaven and they shall tell you.
8 “Or speak to the Earth and it shall show you, or the fish of the sea and they shall declare to you.
9 “Who among all these is ignorant 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 “Do not the ears discern the words and the mouth taste food for themselves?
12 “Wisdom is among the ancient, and understanding is in the length of days.
13 “With Him is wisdom and strength. He has counsel and understanding.
14 “Behold, He will break it down, and it cannot be built. He shuts a man up, and he cannot be loosed.
15 “Behold, He withholds the waters, and they dry up. But when He sends them out, they destroy the Earth.
16 “With Him is strength and wisdom. Both he who is deceived and who deceives are His.
17 “He leads the counselors away barefoot and makes the judges fools.
18 “He loosens the bonds of kings and girds their loins with a girdle.
19 “He leads away the princes as prey and overthrows the mighty.
20 “He takes away the speech from the faithful and takes away the judgment of the ancient.
21 “He pours contempt upon princes and makes the strength of the mighty weak.
22 “He discovers the deep places from darkness and brings forth the shadow of death to light.
23 “He increases the people and destroys them. He enlarges the nations and brings them in again.
24 “He takes away the hearts of the leaders of the people of the Earth and makes them wander in the wilderness, out of the way.
25 “They grope in the dark without light. And He makes them stagger like a drunken man.
Job 12
Complete Jewish Bible
12 Iyov responded:
2 “No doubt you are [the only] people [that matter];
and when you die, so will wisdom.
3 But I too have a brain, as much as you,
In no way am I inferior to you.
Besides, who doesn’t know things like these?
4 “Anyone who calls on God,
and he answers him,
becomes a laughingstock to his friends —
they make fun of an innocent, blameless man.
5 Those at ease have contempt for misfortune,
for the blow that strikes somebody already staggering.
6 The tents of robbers prosper,
[the homes of] those who anger God are secure,
those who carry their gods in their hands.
7 “But ask the animals — they will teach you —
and the birds in the air — they will tell you;
8 or speak to the earth — it will teach you —
and the fish in the sea will inform you:
9 every one of them knows
that the hand of Adonai has done this!
10 In his hand is the life of every living thing
and the spirit of every human being.
11 Shouldn’t the ear test words,
just as the palate tastes food?
12 Is wisdom [only] with aged men?
discernment [only] with long life?
13 “With God are wisdom and power;
he has [good] counsel and understanding.
14 When he breaks something down, it can’t be rebuilt;
when he imprisons someone, he can’t be released.
15 When he holds back water, there is drought;
when he sends it out, it overruns the land.
16 With him are strength and common sense;
both the misled and those who mislead are his.
17 He leads counselors away captive,
he makes fools of judges.
18 He removes authority from kings,
then binds them up [as prisoners].
19 He leads cohanim away captive
and overthrows those long in power.
20 Those who are trusted he deprives of speech,
and he removes the discernment of the aged.
21 He pours contempt on princes
and loosens the belt of the strong.
22 He discloses the deepest recesses of darkness
and brings light into shadows dark as death.
23 He makes nations great and destroys them;
he enlarges nations, then leads them away.
24 He removes understanding from a country’s leaders
and makes them wander in trackless deserts.
25 They grope in unlit darkness;
he makes them stagger like drunks.
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