Job 12
Legacy Standard Bible
Job Answers
12 Then Job answered and said,
2 “Truly then (A)you are the people,
And with you wisdom will die!
3 But (B)I have a heart of wisdom as well as you;
I do not fall short of you.
And [a]who does not know such things as these?
4 I am a (C)laughingstock to [b]my friends,
The one who called on God and He answered him;
The righteous and (D)blameless man is a laughingstock.
5 [c]As for upheaval, there is only contempt by the one who acts at ease,
But it is prepared for those whose feet slip.
6 The (E)tents of the destroyers are complacent,
And those who provoke God (F)are secure,
[d]Whom God brings (G)into their power.
7 “But now ask the beasts, and let them instruct you;
And the birds of the sky, and let them tell you.
8 Or muse to the earth, and let it instruct you;
And let the fish of the sea recount it to you.
9 Who among all these does not know
That (H)the hand of Yahweh has done this,
10 (I)In whose hand is the life of every living thing,
And (J)the breath of all the flesh of man?
11 Does not (K)the ear test words,
As the palate [e]tastes its food?
12 Wisdom is with (L)aged men,
With [f]long life is discernment.
Job Speaks of God’s Strength
13 “With Him are (M)wisdom and (N)might;
To Him belong counsel and (O)discernment.
14 Behold, He (P)pulls down, and it cannot be rebuilt;
He (Q)closes a man in, and it cannot be opened.
15 Behold, He (R)restrains the waters, and they dry up;
And He (S)sends them out, and they overturn 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 [g]barefoot
And makes fools of (V)judges.
18 He (W)opens the [h]bond of kings
And binds their loins with a belt.
19 He makes priests walk [i]barefoot
And subverts (X)the enduring ones.
20 He removes speech from the faithful
And (Y)takes away the discerning taste 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 out the shadows of death into light.
23 He (AC)makes the nations great, then makes them perish;
He [j]enlarges the nations, then leads them away.
24 He (AD)removes the heart of wisdom from the heads of the earth’s people
And makes them wander in a pathless [k]waste.
25 They (AE)grope in darkness with no light,
And He makes them (AF)wander about like a drunken man.
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 12:17 Or stripped
- Job 12:18 Or discipline
- Job 12:19 Or stripped
- Job 12:23 Or spreads out
- Job 12:24 Or formlessness
Job 12
Expanded Bible
Job Answers Zophar
12 Then Job answered:
2 “You ·really [truly] think you are the ·only wise people [L people]
and that when you die, wisdom will die with you [C Job attacks the friends’ confidence in their wisdom]!
3 But my ·mind [L heart; C the heart was considered the location of thought] is as good as yours;
·you are not better than I am [L I am not inferior to you].
·Everyone knows all these things [L Who is not like these?; C probably a reference to the three friends and their intelligence].
4 ·My friends all laugh at me [L I am a joke to my friends],
I who called on God and he answered me [C a reference to his earlier days, which the friends now think are a joke];
they laugh at me even though I am right and innocent!
5 Those who are ·comfortable [at ease] ·don’t care that [L have contempt when] others have trouble;
they think it right that those people ·should have troubles [L have shaky/unstable feet].
6 The tents of ·robbers [marauders] ·are not bothered [L have peace and quiet],
and those who make God angry are ·safe [confident].
They have their god in their ·pocket [control; L hand].
7 “But ask the ·animals [beasts; cattle], and they will teach you [C that God is unjust],
or ask the birds of the ·air [sky], and they will ·tell [inform] you.
8 Speak to the plants of the earth, and they will teach you,
or let the fish of the sea ·tell [recount it to] you.
9 ·Every one of these knows [L Who does not know…?]
that the hand of the Lord has done this.
10 The ·life [L breath] of ·every creature [all living things]
and the ·breath [or spirit] of all people are in God’s hand.
11 ·The ear tests [Does not the ear test…?] words
as the ·tongue [palate] tastes food.
12 Older people are wise,
and long life brings understanding.
13 “But only God has wisdom and power,
·good advice [L advice] and understanding.
14 What he tears down cannot be rebuilt;
anyone he ·puts in prison [L shuts up] cannot be let out.
15 If God holds back the waters, ·there is no rain [L they dry up];
if he lets the waters go, they flood the land.
16 He is strong and ·victorious [successful; or resourceful];
both the one who ·fools others [deceives] and the one who is ·fooled [deceived] belong to him.
17 God leads ·the wise away [counselors] ·as captives [plundered]
and ·turns judges into fools [L renders judges deluded].
18 He ·takes off chains that kings put on [or loosens the sash of kings]
and ·puts a garment on their bodies [or tightens the waistcloth around their hips; C he undermines their royal prerogatives and powers and causes them pain].
19 He leads priests away ·naked [L plundered]
and destroys the ·powerful [L long-established].
20 He makes trusted people be silent
and takes away the ·wisdom [discernment] of elders.
21 He brings disgrace on ·important people [princes]
and ·takes away the weapons [L loosens the belt] of the strong.
22 He uncovers the deep things ·of [L from the] darkness
and brings dark shadows ·into [or to overshadow] the light [C can mean either that God lightens the dark or darkens the light].
23 He makes nations great and then destroys them;
he makes nations large and then scatters them.
24 He takes ·understanding [L heart] away from the leaders of the earth
and makes them wander through a ·pathless desert [chaos/wasteland without a path].
25 They ·feel around [grope] in darkness with no light;
he makes them ·stumble [L wander around] like drunks.
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