Job 12:4

Job 12:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)I am as one mocked of his neighbour, who calleth upon God, and he answereth him: the just upright man is laughed to scorn.
• New International Version (NIV)“I have become a laughingstock to my friends, though I called on God and he answered— a mere laughingstock, though righteous and blameless!
• English Standard Version (ESV)I am a laughingstock to my friends; I, who called to God and he answered me, a just and blameless man, am a laughingstock.
• New King James Version (NKJV)“I am one mocked by his friends, Who called on God, and He answered him, The just and blameless who is ridiculed.

Context of Job 12:4

2‘You people think that you know everything. You think that there will be no wisdom after you die. 3But I understand things as well as you. You are no better than I am. Everyone knows the things that you have been saying. 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. 5Some people never have any troubles. They think that people who suffer are fools. If people are in trouble, they knock them down! 6But 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.

Job 12:4 word by word

שְׂחֹ֤ק לְרֵעֵ֨הוּ׀ אֶֽהְיֶ֗ה קֹרֵ֣א לֶ֭אֱלוֹהַּ וַֽיַּעֲנֵ֑הוּ שְׂ֝ח֗וֹק צַדִּ֥יק תָּמִֽים׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• one mockedשְׂחֹקώechôq ώechôq · laughterH7814
• of his neighbourרֵעַrêa‛ rêya‛ · neighborH7453
• who callethקָרָאqârâ' · to call: call toH7121
• upon Godאֱלֹהַּ'ĕlôahh 'ĕlôahh · godH433
• and he answerethעָנָה‛ânâh · to answerH6030
• him: the justצַדִּיקtsaddîyq · righteousH6662
• uprightתָּמִיםtâmîym · unblemished: blamelessH8549

Cross-references for Job 12:4

• Job 11:3Your proud words will not cause other people to say nothing. We must make you ashamed when you laugh at us.
• Job 16:10People insult me and they laugh at me. They hit me on my face. They all join together to attack me.
• Job 17:2All around me, people are laughing at me. I have to watch them as they insult me.
• Job 21:3Be patient with me so that I can speak. After you have heard what I say, you may choose to laugh at me.
• Job 30:1‘But now it is different. Men who are younger than I am laugh at me. I would not even trust their fathers to take care of my sheep.
• Psalms 22:7Everyone that sees me laughs at me. They laugh and they shake their heads.
• Psalms 35:16Useless people like that insulted me, and they showed their teeth to frighten me.
• Matthew 27:29They used some branches with thorns to make a crown for him. Then they put it on his head. They put a long stick in his right hand. They went down on their knees in front of him. They laughed at him and they said, ‘Hello, King of the Jews, you are great!’
• Hebrews 11:36Other people who trusted God received insults. Some of them were hit with whips. Enemies of God tied these people up and they put them in prison.
• Job 16:20My friends have turned against me. I cry with many tears as I pray to God.
• Psalms 91:15When he calls to me for help, I will answer him. When he has trouble, I will be with him. I will rescue him, and people will respect him.
• Jeremiah 33:3“Call out to me and I will answer you. I will tell you about great things. They are secret things that you do not yet know.”
• Micah 7:7But as for me, I will watch for what the Lord will do. I will wait for God, who saves me. I know that he hears me.
• Proverbs 14:2An honest person respects and obeys the Lord. But anyone who deceives other people shows that he does not respect the Lord.
• Mark 5:40The people laughed at Jesus when he said that. Then Jesus sent them all out of the house. He went into the place where the child was lying. The child's father and mother went with him. He also took Peter, James and John with him.
• Luke 16:14The Pharisees heard all this. They loved money very much, so they laughed at Jesus. They said to him, ‘You are wrong.’

Commentaries on Job 12:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4I am as one mocked of his neighbor - Though I am invoking God for help and salvation, yet my friends mock me in this most solemn and sacred work. But God answereth me. The just upright man is laughed to scorn - This is a very difficult verse, on which no two critics seem to be agreed. Mr. Good translates the fourth and fifth verses thus: - "Thus brother is become a laughing-stock to his companions, While calling upon God that he would succor him. The…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4I am as one mocked of his neighbour - There has been considerable variety in the interpretation of this verse. The general sense is, that Job felt himself to be a mere laughing-stock for his neighbors. They treated him as if he were not worth regarding. They had no sympathy for him in his sorrows, and they showed no respect for his opinions. Dr. Good understands this and the following verses as a part of the controversy in which Job proposes to show his…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. The unfounded accusations of Job's friends were a "mockery" of him. He alludes to Zophar's word, "mockest" (Job 11:3). neighbour, who calleth, &c.--rather, "I who call upon God that he may answer me favorably" [Umbreit].Read the comment

Topics related to Job 12:4

• Persecution
• Prayer

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Deep
• Discover
• Laughing-Stock
• Laughter
• Mock; Mocker; Mocking
• Scorn
• Satan

Commentaries on Job 12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings