Job 12
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Job’s Reply to Zophar
12 Then Job answered:
2 No doubt you are the people,
and wisdom will die with you!
3 But I also have a mind;
I am not inferior to you.
Who doesn’t know the things you are talking about?[a](A)
4 I am a laughingstock to my[b] friends,
by calling on God, who answers me.[c]
The righteous and upright man is a laughingstock.(B)
5 The one who is at ease(C) holds calamity in contempt
and thinks it is prepared for those whose feet are slipping.
6 The tents of robbers are safe,(D)
and those who provoke God are secure;
God’s power provides this.[d](E)
7 But ask the animals, and they will instruct you;
ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you.(F)
8 Or speak to the earth, and it will instruct you;
let the fish of the sea inform you.
9 Which of all these does not know
that the hand of the Lord has done this?(G)
10 The life of every living thing is in His hand,
as well as the breath of all mankind.(H)
11 Doesn’t the ear test words
as the palate tastes food?
12 Wisdom is found with the elderly,
and understanding comes with long life.(I)
13 Wisdom and strength belong to God;
counsel and understanding are His.(J)
14 Whatever He tears down cannot be rebuilt;
whoever He imprisons cannot be released.(K)
15 When He withholds the waters, everything dries up,
and when He releases them, they destroy the land.(L)
16 True wisdom and power belong to Him.
The deceived and the deceiver are His.
17 He leads counselors away barefoot
and makes judges go mad.(M)
18 He releases the bonds[e] put on by kings(N)
and fastens a belt around their waists.
19 He leads priests away barefoot
and overthrows established leaders.(O)
20 He deprives trusted advisers of speech
and takes away the elders’ good judgment.
21 He pours out contempt on nobles
and disarms[f] the strong.
22 He reveals mysteries from the darkness
and brings the deepest darkness into the light.(P)
23 He makes nations great, then destroys them;
He enlarges nations,(Q) then leads them away.
24 He deprives the world’s leaders of reason,
and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland.(R)
25 They grope around in darkness without light;
He makes them stagger like drunken men.(S)
Job 12
Jubilee Bible 2000
12 ¶ And Job answered and said,
2 No doubt but ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you.
3 But I have a heart as well as you; I am not inferior to you; and who shall not be able to say as much again?
4 He who invokes God and he answers him is mocked by his friend; the just and perfect man is laughed to scorn.
5 The torch is held in low esteem in the thought of him that is prosperous, which was prepared to guard against a slip of the feet.
6 ¶ The tents of robbers are at ease, and those that provoke God and those who carry gods in their hands live secure.
7 But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the heavens, and they shall show thee;
8 or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee; the fishes of the sea shall declare it unto thee also.
9 What thing of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD made them?
10 In his hand is the soul of every living thing and the spirit of all flesh of man.
11 Certainly the ear proves words and the mouth tastes foods.
12 ¶ With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days intelligence.
13 With him is wisdom and strength; he has counsel and intelligence.
14 Behold, he shall break down, and it shall not be built again; he shall shut up a man, and no one shall be able to open unto him.
15 Behold, he shall withhold the waters, and they shall dry up; also he shall send them forth, and they shall destroy the earth.
16 With him is strength and existence; he who errs and he who leads astray are his.
17 He causes the counsellors to walk away stripped of counsel and makes the judges to be fools.
18 He looses the bond of kings and girds their loins with a girdle.
19 He leads priests away spoiled and overthrows the mighty.
20 He impedes the lips of those that speak the truth and takes away the counsel of the aged.
21 He pours contempt upon princes and weakens the strength of the mighty.
22 He uncovers the depths of the darkness and brings out to light the shadow of death.
23 He multiplies the Gentiles and destroys them; he scatters the Gentiles and gathers them again.
24 He takes away the heart of the heads of the people of the earth and causes them to become lost, wandering without a way.
25 They grope in the darkness and not the light, and he causes them to err like drunken men.
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