God’s Word Translation
Job 12:7
7“Instead, ask the animals, and they will teach you. Ask the birds, and they will tell you.
Job 12:7 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee:
- New International Version (NIV)“But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you;
- English Standard Version (ESV)"But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you;
- New King James Version (NKJV)“But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you; And the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
Context of Job 12:7
5“A person who has an easy life has no appreciation for misfortune. He thinks it is the fate of those who slip up. 6⌞But⌟ robbers’ tents are prosperous, and there is security for those who provoke God, for those whose god is their power. “Instead, ask the animals, and they will teach you. Ask the birds, and they will tell you. 8Or speak with the earth, and it will teach you. Even the fish will relate ⌞the story⌟ to you. 9What creature doesn’t know that the Lord’s hands made it?
Read all of Job 12Job 12:7 word by word
וְֽאוּלָ֗ם שְׁאַל־נָ֣א בְהֵמ֣וֹת וְתֹרֶ֑ךָּ וְע֥וֹף הַ֝שָּׁמַ֗יִם וְיַגֶּד־לָֽךְ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Job 12:7
- Job 21:29Haven’t you asked travelers? But you didn’t pay attention to their directions.
- Proverbs 6:6Consider the ant, you lazy bum. Watch its ways, and become wise.
- Isaiah 1:3Oxen know their owners, and donkeys know where their masters feed them. But Israel doesn’t know ⌞its owner⌟. My people don’t understand ⌞who feeds them⌟.
- Jeremiah 8:7Even storks know when it’s time to return. Mourning doves, swallows, and cranes know when it’s time to migrate. But my people don’t know that I, the Lord, am urging them to return.
Commentaries on Job 12:7
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 7But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee - Mr. Good's paraphrase here is very just: "Why tell ye me that the Almighty hath brought this calamity upon me? Every thing in nature, the beasts of the field, the fowls of the heaven, every inhabitant of earth and sea, and every thing that befalls them, are the work of his hands; and every thing feels and acknowledges him to be the universal Creator and Controller. It is the common doctrine of all…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 7But ask now the beasts - Rosenmuller supposes that this appeal to the inferior creation should be regarded as connected with Job 12:3, and that the intermediate verses are parenthetical. Zophar had spoken with considerable parade of the wisdom of God. He had said (Job 11:7 ff) that the knowledge of God was higher than the heavens, and had professed Job 12:6 to have himself exalted views of the Most High. In reply to this, Job says that the views which…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 12:7
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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