New American Standard Bible 1995

Job 12:6-24

6The 1tents of the destroyers prosper, And those who provoke God 2are secure, 3Whom God brings 4into their power.

7“But now ask the beasts, and let them teach you; And the birds of the heavens, and let them tell you.8Or speak to the earth, and let it teach you; And let the fish of the sea declare to you.9Who among all these does not know That 5the hand of the Lord has done this,10 6In whose hand is the life of every living thing, And 7the breath of all mankind?11Does not 8the ear test words, As the palate 9tastes its food?12Wisdom is with 10aged men, With 11long life is understanding.

13“With Him are 12wisdom and 13might; To Him belong counsel and 14understanding.14Behold, He 15tears down, and it cannot be rebuilt; He 16 17imprisons a man, and 18there can be no release.15Behold, He 19restrains the waters, and they dry up; And He 20sends them out, and they 21inundate the earth.16With Him are strength and sound wisdom, The 22misled and the misleader belong to Him.17He makes 23counselors walk 24barefoot And makes fools of 25judges.18He 26loosens the 27bond of kings And binds their loins with a girdle.19He makes priests walk 28barefoot And overthrows 29the secure ones.20He deprives the trusted ones of speech And 30takes away the discernment of the elders.21He 31pours contempt on nobles And 32loosens the belt of the strong.22He 33reveals mysteries from the darkness And brings the deep darkness into light.23He 34makes the nations great, then destroys them; He 35enlarges the nations, then leads them away.24He 36deprives of intelligence the chiefs of the earth’s people And makes them wander in a pathless waste.

Read all of Job 12

Notes

1. Job 12:6 Job 9:24; 21:7-9 ↩
2. Job 12:6 Job 24:23 ↩
3. Job 12:6 Or He who brings God into his hand ↩
4. Job 12:6 Job 22:18 ↩
5. Job 12:9 Is 41:20 ↩
6. Job 12:10 Acts 17:28 ↩
7. Job 12:10 Job 27:3; 33:4 ↩
8. Job 12:11 Job 34:3 ↩
9. Job 12:11 Lit tastes food for itself ↩
10. Job 12:12 Job 15:10; 32:7 ↩
11. Job 12:12 Lit length of days ↩
12. Job 12:13 Job 9:4 ↩
13. Job 12:13 Job 9:4 ↩
14. Job 12:13 Job 11:6; 26:12; 32:8; 36:5; 38:36 ↩
15. Job 12:14 Job 19:10; Is 25:2 ↩
16. Job 12:14 Lit shuts against ↩
17. Job 12:14 Job 37:7 ↩
18. Job 12:14 Lit it is not opened ↩
19. Job 12:15 Deut 11:17; 1 Kin 8:35; 17:1 ↩
20. Job 12:15 Gen 7:11-24 ↩
21. Job 12:15 Lit overturn ↩
22. Job 12:16 Job 13:7, 9 ↩
23. Job 12:17 Job 3:14 ↩
24. Job 12:17 Or stripped ↩
25. Job 12:17 Job 9:24 ↩
26. Job 12:18 Ps 116:16 ↩
27. Job 12:18 Or discipline ↩
28. Job 12:19 Or stripped ↩
29. Job 12:19 Job 24:22; 34:24-28; 35:9 ↩
30. Job 12:20 Job 17:4; 32:9 ↩
31. Job 12:21 Job 34:19; Ps 107:40 ↩
32. Job 12:21 Job 12:18 ↩
33. Job 12:22 Dan 2:22; 1 Cor 4:5 ↩
34. Job 12:23 Is 9:3; 26:15 ↩
35. Job 12:23 Or spreads out ↩
36. Job 12:24 Job 12:20 ↩

Notes

Commentaries on Job 12