Job 12
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 12
Job’s Third Reply. 1 [a]Then Job answered and said:
2 No doubt you are the people
with whom wisdom shall die!
3 But I have intelligence as well as you;(A)
I do not fall short of you;
for who does not know such things as these?
4 I have become the sport of my neighbors:[b]
“The one whom God answers when he calls upon him,
The just, the perfect man,” is a laughingstock;(B)
5 The undisturbed esteem my downfall a disgrace
such as awaits unsteady feet;
6 Yet the tents of robbers are prosperous,
and those who provoke God are secure,
whom God has in his power.[c]
7 But now ask the beasts to teach you,
the birds of the air to tell you;
8 Or speak to the earth to instruct you,
and the fish of the sea to inform you.
9 Which of all these does not know
that the hand of God has done this?
10 In his hand is the soul of every living thing,(C)
and the life breath of all mortal flesh.
11 Does not the ear judge words
as the mouth tastes food?(D)
12 So with old age is wisdom,(E)
and with length of days understanding.
13 With him are wisdom and might;
his are counsel and understanding.
14 If he knocks a thing down, there is no rebuilding;(F)
if he imprisons, there is no release.
15 He holds back the waters and there is drought;(G)
he sends them forth and they overwhelm the land.
16 With him are strength and prudence;
the misled and the misleaders are his.
17 He sends counselors away barefoot,
makes fools of judges.
18 He loosens the belt of kings,
ties a waistcloth on their loins.[d]
19 He sends priests away barefoot,
leads the powerful astray.
20 He silences the trusted adviser,
takes discretion from the elders.
21 He pours shame on nobles,(H)
the waistband of the strong he loosens.
22 He uncovers deep things from the darkness,
brings the gloom into the light.
23 He makes nations great and destroys them,
spreads peoples abroad and abandons them.
24 He takes understanding from the leaders of the land,
makes them wander in a pathless desert.
25 They grope in the darkness without light;
he makes them wander like drunkards.
Footnotes
- 12:1 Job begins his third and longest speech to the friends with sarcasm, and eventually he accuses them of falsehood (13:4–11). The dialogue between them becomes increasingly sharp. With the appeal to learning from beasts and birds (12:7), Job launches into what seems to be a bitter parody of the power of God.
- 12:4–5 The Hebrew is somewhat obscure, but the general sense is that the wicked mock the pious when the latter appear to be abandoned by God; cf. Ps 22:7–9; Mt 27:39–43.
- 12:6 Whom God has in his power: the Hebrew is obscure. The line may be a scribal error; some of the phrases occur in vv. 9, 10.
- 12:18 He reduces kings to the condition of slaves, who wear only a cloth wrapped about the waist.
约伯记 12
Chinese New Version (Simplified)
约伯自信智慧并非不及三友
12 约伯回答说：
2 “你们真的是有知识的民，
你们死了，智慧也跟你们一同灭亡。
3 但我也有聪明像你们一样，
我并非不及你们，
像你们所说的这些事，有谁不晓得呢？
4 我这求告 神，又蒙他应允的，
竟成为朋友的笑柄，
公义完全的人竟成为笑柄，
5 平静的人心中藐视灾祸，
作将滑跌者的分。
6 强盗的帐幕兴旺，
惹 神发怒的安稳，
神的手赏赐他们。
7 你且问走兽，走兽必指教你，
又问空中的飞鸟，飞鸟必告诉你；
8 或向地说话，地必指教你，
海中的鱼也必向你说明。
9 从这一切看来，谁不知道，
是耶和华的手作成这事的呢？
10 活物的生命与全人类的气息，
都在耶和华的手中。
11 耳朵不是试验说话，
好象上膛尝试食物吗？
12 你们说：老年的有智慧，
长寿的有聪明。
陈述 神的智慧与能力
13 他有智慧与能力，
又有谋略与聪明。
14 他所拆毁的，就不能重建，
他所囚禁的，就不能释放。
15 他若把水阻截，水就干涸，
他再把水放出，水就使地翻倒。
16 他有大能与智谋，
受骗的与骗人的，都是属他的。
17 他把谋士剥衣掳去，
并且愚弄审判官。
18 他解开了君王绑人的绳索，
又用腰布捆绑君王的腰。
19 他把祭司剥衣掳去，
倾覆有权有势的人。
20 他除掉忠信人的言论，
又除去老年人的辨别力。
21 他把羞辱倾倒在王子上，
又松开壮士的腰带。
22 他从黑暗中彰显奥秘，
把死荫领进光中。
23 他使邦国兴盛，又毁灭他们，
扩张邦国，又把他们掳去。
24 他除掉地上人民中首领的悟性，
使他们在无路的荒野之地飘流。
25 他们在黑暗无光中摸索，
他使他们飘泊无定像醉汉一样。”
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.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
Chinese New Version (CNV). Copyright © 1976, 1992, 1999, 2001, 2005 by Worldwide Bible Society.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.