Job 12
EasyEnglish Bible
Job replies to Zophar[a]
12 Then Job replied. This is what he said:
2 ‘You people think that you know everything.
You think that there will be no wisdom after you die.
3 But I understand things as well as you.
You are no better than I am.
Everyone knows the things that you have been saying.
4 I am a person who prayed to God and he answered me.
But my friends now laugh at me.
I have always lived completely in the right way.
But still my friends laugh at me.
5 Some people never have any troubles.
They think that people who suffer are fools.
If people are in trouble,
they knock them down!
6 But robbers seem to live in peace.
They cause God to be angry
but they think that they are safe.
They trust their own strength as their god.
7 Ask the animals and they will teach you.
The birds in the sky would tell you the truth.
8 Speak to the earth and it will teach you.
The fish in the sea would tell you what is right.
9 Any of them could tell you that the Lord has done this.
10 He has authority over the life of all the animals.
He gives breath to all people so that they can live.
11 We use our mouths to taste food.
And we use our ears to test what we hear.
12 Old people are often wise.
People who have lived for a long time understand things better.
13 God is wise and he is also powerful.
He understands things and he gives good advice.
14 If God destroys something,
nobody can repair it.
If God puts someone in prison,
that person cannot escape.
15 If God stops the rain, the land becomes dry.
If he sends lots of rain, there are floods.
16 God has strength and wisdom.
He has power over people who tell lies,
and the people that they deceive.
17 He causes clever people to become ashamed.
He causes leaders to do foolish things.
18 He takes authority away from kings.
He dresses them like slaves.
19 He causes priests to become ashamed.
He removes the power of important people.
20 He stops faithful men from giving advice.
He removes the wisdom of old men.
21 He causes rulers to be ashamed.
He destroys the power of strong men.
22 He shows people things that have been secrets.
He shines light into dark places.
23 He can make nations become great.
He can also destroy them.
He can make their land become bigger.
He can also send their people away to other places.
24 He stops the world's leaders from understanding things properly.
He sends them to travel through empty deserts.
25 They try to walk in the dark, without any light.
He causes them to walk like drunk men.
Footnotes
- 12:1 In chapters 12 to 14, Job speaks, first to Zophar and then to God. The things that Zophar has said do not help Job. Job knows everything that Zophar has told him. The wrong things that he has done have not caused his troubles. He knows that. Then Job speaks to God. He asks God to stop making him afraid. He asks God to stop all the bad things that are happening.
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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