English Standard Version
Job 12:23
23He makes nations great, and he destroys them; he enlarges nations, and leads them away.
Job 12:23 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them: he enlargeth the nations, and straiteneth them again.
- New International Version (NIV)He makes nations great, and destroys them; he enlarges nations, and disperses them.
- New King James Version (NKJV)He makes nations great, and destroys them; He enlarges nations, and guides them.
- New Living Translation (NLT)He builds up nations, and he destroys them. He expands nations, and he abandons them.
Context of Job 12:23
21He pours contempt on princes and loosens the belt of the strong. 22He uncovers the deeps out of darkness and brings deep darkness to light. He makes nations great, and he destroys them; he enlarges nations, and leads them away. 24He takes away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth and makes them wander in a trackless waste. 25They grope in the dark without light, and he makes them stagger like a drunken man.
Read all of Job 12Job 12:23 word by word
מַשְׂגִּ֣יא לַ֭גּוֹיִם וַֽיְאַבְּדֵ֑ם שֹׁטֵ֥חַ לַ֝גּוֹיִ֗ם וַיַּנְחֵֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Job 12:23
- Exodus 1:7But the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them.
- Psalms 107:38By his blessing they multiply greatly, and he does not let their livestock diminish.
- Isaiah 9:3You have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil.
- Isaiah 26:15But you have increased the nation, O Lord, you have increased the nation; you are glorified; you have enlarged all the borders of the land.
- Isaiah 27:6In days to come Jacob shall take root, Israel shall blossom and put forth shoots and fill the whole world with fruit.
- Isaiah 51:2Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you; for he was but one when I called him, that I might bless him and multiply him.
- Isaiah 60:22The least one shall become a clan, and the smallest one a mighty nation; I am the Lord; in its time I will hasten it.
- Jeremiah 30:19Out of them shall come songs of thanksgiving, and the voices of those who celebrate. I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will make them honored, and they shall not be small.
- Jeremiah 33:22As the host of heaven cannot be numbered and the sands of the sea cannot be measured, so I will multiply the offspring of David my servant, and the Levitical priests who minister to me."
- Zechariah 10:8"I will whistle for them and gather them in, for I have redeemed them, and they shall be as many as they were before.
Commentaries on Job 12:23
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23He increaseth the nations - Mr. Good translates, He letteth the nations grow licentious. Pride, fullness of bread, with extensive trade and commerce, produce luxury; and this is ever accompanied with profligacy of manners. When, then, the cup of this iniquity is full, God destroys the nation, by bringing or permitting to come against it a nation less pampered, more necessitous, and inured to toil. He enlargeth the nations - Often permits a nation to…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 23He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them - He has entire control over them. The sources of prosperity are in his hand, and at his pleasure he can visit them with famine, pestilence, or war, and diminish their numbers and arrest their prosperity. Dr. Good renders this very improperly, “He letteth the nations grow licentious;” but the word שׂגא śâgâ' never has this sense. It means, to make great; to multiply; to increase. And straiteneth them again…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 12-25Verses 12-25 This is a noble discourse of Job concerning the wisdom, power, and sovereignty of God, in ordering all the affairs of the children of men, according to the counsel of His own will, which none can resist. It were well if wise and good men, who differ about lesser things, would see how it is for their honour and comfort, and the good of others, to dwell most upon the great things in which they agree. Here are no complaints, or reflections. He…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 23-24Compare Daniel 2:21. He deprives the earth’s leaders of reason: See Job 12:18; compare Daniel 4:23, 32–33. He… makes them wander in a trackless wasteland: This is like the "nobles" in Psalm 107:40 (see Job 12:21).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2323. Is 9:3; Psa 107:38, 39, which Psalm quotes this chapter elsewhere. (See on Job 12:21). straiteneth--literally, "leadeth in," that is, "reduces."Read the comment
Topics related to Job 12:23
In the dictionaries
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries