Job 12:13-25
New American Standard Bible
Job Speaks of the Power of God
13 “(A)Wisdom and (B)might are with Him;
Advice and (C)understanding belong to Him.
14 Behold, He (D)tears down, and it cannot be rebuilt;
He [a](E)imprisons a person, and [b]there is no release.
15 Behold, He (F)restrains the waters, and they dry up;
And He (G)sends them out, and they [c]inundate the earth.
16 Strength and sound wisdom are with Him.
One who (H)goes astray and one who leads astray belong to Him.
17 He makes (I)advisers walk [d]barefoot
And makes fools of (J)judges.
18 He (K)undoes the binding of kings,
And ties a loincloth around their waist.
19 He makes priests walk [e]barefoot,
And overthrows (L)the secure ones.
20 He deprives the trusted ones of speech,
And (M)takes away the discernment of the elders.
21 He (N)pours contempt on nobles,
And (O)loosens the belt of the strong.
22 He (P)reveals mysteries from the darkness,
And brings the deep darkness into light.
23 He (Q)makes the nations great, then destroys them;
He [f]enlarges the nations, then leads them away.
24 He (R)deprives the leaders of the earth’s people of [g]intelligence
And makes them wander in a pathless wasteland.
25 They (S)grope in darkness with no light,
And He makes them (T)stagger like a drunken person.
Job 12:13-25
International Standard Version
13 With God[a] is wisdom and strength;
counsel and understanding belongs to him.
14 When he tears down, nobody rebuilds;
when[b] he incarcerates, nobody escapes.
15 When he withholds water, rivers[c] dry up;
when he lets them loose, they’ll flood[d] the land.
16 “With God[e] are strength and sound wisdom;
both the deceived and those who deceive are responsible to him.[f]
17 He leads counselors away naked;
he turns judges into fools.
18 He strips away the authority of kings to punish
and puts them in prison clothes instead.
19 He leads away the priests naked
and overthrows the ruling class.[g]
20 He keeps reliable advisors from speaking,[h]
and removes discernment from elders.
21 He pours contempt on nobles
and embarrasses[i] the mighty.
22 He uncovers the hidden dimensions from darkness,
bringing what is in deep shadow to light.
23 He makes nations great, and then destroys them;
he enlarges nations, but then sends them away to captivity.[j]
24 He withdraws understanding[k] from national leaders of the world,[l]
causing them to wander through uncharted[m] wilderness.
25 They grope in the dark without light;
he causes them to stagger around like a drunkard.”
Footnotes
- Job 12:13 Lit. him
- Job 12:14 Lit. man
- Job 12:15 Lit. they
- Job 12:15 Lit. overthrow
- Job 12:16 Lit. him
- Job 12:16 Or are his
- Job 12:19 Lit. strong ones
- Job 12:20 Lit. deprives the lips of advisors
- Job 12:21 Lit. and loosens the belt of
- Job 12:23 The Heb. lacks to captivity
- Job 12:24 Lit. heart
- Job 12:24 Or land
- Job 12:24 Or trackless
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
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