English Standard Version
Job 12:8
8or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you.
Job 12:8 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee.
- New International Version (NIV)or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; And the fish of the sea will explain to you.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Speak to the earth, and it will instruct you. Let the fish in the sea speak to you.
Context of Job 12:8
6The tents of robbers are at peace, and those who provoke God are secure, who bring their god in their hand. 7"But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you; or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. 9Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? 10In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind.
Read all of Job 12Job 12:8 word by word
א֤וֹ שִׂ֣יחַ לָאָ֣רֶץ וְתֹרֶ֑ךָּ וִֽיסַפְּר֥וּ לְ֝ךָ֗ דְּגֵ֣י הַיָּֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Commentaries on Job 12:8
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee - Perhaps this appeal to the earth may mean, as Stuhlman supposes, that the same thing is shown in the productions of the earth, as in the case of fierce animals. Noxious weeds and useless plants are more thrifty than the plants which are useful and the growth of poisonous or annoying things on the earth illustrates the same thing as the dealings of God with people - that his dealings are not in accordance…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 6-11Verses 6-11 Job appeals to facts. The most audacious robbers, oppressors, and impious wretches, often prosper. Yet this is not by fortune or chance; the Lord orders these things. Worldly prosperity is of small value in his sight: he has better things for his children. Job resolves all into the absolute proprietorship which God has in all the creatures. He demands from his friends liberty to judge of what they had said; he appeals to any fair judgment…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7-8ask the animals … the birds … the earth … the fish: Job believed the reason for his grief was obvious and that even creation would understand it (Proverbs 6:6). Later, God directed Job to the animal kingdom to show him that he did not understand (Job 38–40).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 7-87-8. Beasts, birds, fishes, and plants, reasons Job, teach that the violent live the most securely (Job 12:6). The vulture lives more securely than the dove, the lion than the ox, the shark than the dolphin, the rose than the thorn which tears it.Read the comment
Topics related to Job 12:8
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