Job 12
New King James Version
Job Answers His Critics
12 Then Job answered and said:
2 “No doubt you are the people,
And wisdom will die with you!
3 But I have [a]understanding as well as you;
I am not (A)inferior to you.
Indeed, who does not know such things as these?
4 “I(B) am one mocked by his friends,
Who (C)called on God, and He answered him,
The just and blameless who is ridiculed.
5 A [b]lamp is despised in the thought of one who is at ease;
It is made ready for (D)those whose feet slip.
6 (E)The tents of robbers prosper,
And those who provoke God are secure—
In what God provides by His hand.
7 “But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you;
And the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
8 Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you;
And the fish of the sea will explain to you.
9 Who among all these does not know
That the hand of the Lord has done this,
10 (F)In whose hand is the [c]life of every living thing,
And the (G)breath of [d]all mankind?
11 Does not the ear test words
And the [e]mouth taste its food?
12 Wisdom is with aged men,
And with [f]length of days, understanding.
13 “With Him are (H)wisdom and strength,
He has counsel and understanding.
14 If (I)He breaks a thing down, it cannot be rebuilt;
If He imprisons a man, there can be no release.
15 If He (J)withholds the waters, they dry up;
If He (K)sends them out, they overwhelm the earth.
16 With Him are strength and prudence.
The deceived and the deceiver are His.
17 He leads counselors away plundered,
And makes fools of the judges.
18 He loosens the bonds of kings,
And binds their waist with a belt.
19 He leads [g]princes away plundered,
And overthrows the mighty.
20 (L)He deprives the trusted ones of speech,
And takes away the discernment of the elders.
21 (M)He pours contempt on princes,
And [h]disarms the mighty.
22 He (N)uncovers deep things out of darkness,
And brings the shadow of death to light.
23 (O)He makes nations great, and destroys them;
He [i]enlarges nations, and guides them.
24 He takes away the [j]understanding of the chiefs of the people of the earth,
And (P)makes them wander in a pathless wilderness.
25 (Q)They grope in the dark without light,
And He makes them (R)stagger like a drunken man.
Iyov 12
Orthodox Jewish Bible
12 And Iyov answered and said,
2 Doubtless then ye are the people, and chochmah shall die with you.
3 But I have levav (understanding) as well as you; I am not inferior to you; yea, who knoweth not such things as these?
4 I am as a laughingstock to his neighbor: The man who calleth upon Eloah [they say of me], and He answereth him! [To them I am] a laughingstock, the tzaddik, the tamim (blameless one)!
5 Those at ease have buz (contempt) for a downfall which awaits the one whose regel is slipping.
6 The ohalim of shodedim (robbers) remain in peace; they that defy El are secure, who Eloah brought forth by His yad.
7 But ask now the behemot, and they shall teach thee, and the oph haShomayim (birds of the air), and they shall tell thee;
8 Or speak to ha’aretz, and it shall teach thee; and the dagim of the yam shall declare unto thee.
9 Of all of these, who lacketh da’as that the yad Hashem hath wrought this?
10 In whose yad is the nefesh of every living thing, and the ruach of kol basar ish.
11 Doth not the ozen (ear) test words? And the mouth tastes its ochel?
12 With the ancient ones is chochmah; and in orech yamim (length of days) is binah (understanding).
13 With Him is chochmah and gevurah; He hath etzah and understanding.
14 See, what He tears down cannot be reconstructed; He shutteth up an ish, and there can be no prison release.
15 See, He withholdeth the waters, and they dry up; also He sendeth them out, and they overturn eretz.
16 With Him is oz (strength) and tushiyyah (true wisdom); the deceived and the deceiver are His.
17 He leadeth yoatzim (counsellors) away stripped, and maketh the shofetim (judges) fools.
18 He looseth the shackle of melachim (kings), and girdeth their loins with loincloth.
19 He leadeth kohanim away stripped, and overthroweth the mighty.
20 He removeth the speech of the ne’emanim (trusted ones), and taketh away the understanding of the zekenim.
21 He poureth buz (contempt) upon nobles, and loosens the belt of the mighty.
22 He uncovers the depths of choshech, and bringeth tzalmavet to light.
23 He giveth prosperity to the Goyim, and then destroyeth them; He enlargeth them, and then carrieth the Goyim away.
24 He taketh away the lev (understanding) of the Rashei Am HaAretz, and sendeth them to tohu lo derech (trackless wilderness).
25 They grope in the choshech without ohr, and He maketh them to stagger like a shikkor (drunken man).
Job 12
English Standard Version
Job Replies: The Lord Has Done This
12 Then Job answered and said:
2 “No doubt you are the people,
and wisdom will die with you.
3 But I have (A)understanding as well as you;
I am not inferior to you.
Who does not know (B)such things as these?
4 I am (C)a laughingstock to my friends;
I, who (D)called to God and he answered me,
a just and blameless man, am a laughingstock.
5 In the thought of one who is (E)at ease there is contempt for misfortune;
it is ready for those whose feet slip.
6 (F)The tents of robbers are at peace,
and those who provoke God are secure,
who bring their god in their hand.[a]
7 “But ask the beasts, and they will teach you;
the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you;
8 or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you;[b]
and the fish of the sea will declare to you.
9 Who among all these does not know
that (G)the hand of the Lord has done this?
10 In (H)his hand is the life of every living thing
and the breath of all mankind.
11 Does not (I)the ear test words
as the palate tastes food?
12 Wisdom is with (J)the aged,
and understanding in length of days.
13 (K)“With God[c] are wisdom and might;
he has counsel and understanding.
14 If he tears down, none can rebuild;
if he (L)shuts a man in, none can open.
15 If he (M)withholds the waters, they dry up;
if he (N)sends them out, they overwhelm the land.
16 With him are strength and (O)sound wisdom;
the deceived and the deceiver are his.
17 He leads (P)counselors away stripped,
and (Q)judges he makes fools.
18 He (R)looses the bonds of kings
and binds a waistcloth on their hips.
19 He leads priests away stripped
and overthrows the mighty.
20 He deprives of speech those who are trusted
(S)and takes away the discernment of the elders.
21 He (T)pours contempt on princes
and loosens the belt of the strong.
22 He (U)uncovers the deeps out of darkness
and brings (V)deep darkness to light.
23 He (W)makes nations great, and he destroys them;
he enlarges nations, and (X)leads them away.
24 He takes away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth
and (Y)makes them wander in a trackless waste.
25 They (Z)grope in the dark without light,
and he makes them (AA)stagger like a drunken man.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2008, 2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
