Job 12

New American Standard Bible 2020

Job Chides His Accusers

1Then Job responded,2“Truly then 1you are the people, And with you wisdom will die!3But 2I have intelligence as well as you; I am not inferior to you. And 3who does not know such things as these?4I am a 4joke to 5my friends, The one who called on God and He answered him; The just and 6blameless man is a joke.5 7He who is at ease holds disaster in contempt, As prepared for those whose feet slip.6The 8tents of the destroyers prosper, And those who provoke God 9are secure, 10Whom God brings 11into their power.

7“But just ask the animals, and have them teach you; And the birds of the sky, and have them tell you.8Or speak to the earth, and have it teach you; And have the fish of the sea tell you.9Who among all these does not know That 12the hand of the Lord has done this,10 13In whose hand is the life of every living thing, And 14the breath of all mankind?11Does 15the ear not put words to the test, As the palate 16tastes its food?12Wisdom is with the 17aged, And with 18long life comes understanding.

Job Speaks of the Power of God

13“19Wisdom and 20might are with Him; Advice and 21understanding belong to Him.14Behold, He 22tears down, and it cannot be rebuilt; He 23 24imprisons a person, and 25there is no release.15Behold, He 26restrains the waters, and they dry up; And He 27sends them out, and they 28inundate the earth.16Strength and sound wisdom are with Him. One who 29goes astray and one who leads astray belong to Him.17He makes 30advisers walk 31barefoot And makes fools of 32judges.18He 33undoes the binding of kings, And ties a loincloth around their waist.19He makes priests walk 34barefoot, And overthrows 35the secure ones.20He deprives the trusted ones of speech, And 36takes away the discernment of the elders.21He 37pours contempt on nobles, And 38loosens the belt of the strong.22He 39reveals mysteries from the darkness, And brings the deep darkness into light.23He 40makes the nations great, then destroys them; He 41enlarges the nations, then leads them away.24He 42deprives the leaders of the earth’s people of 43intelligence And makes them wander in a pathless wasteland.25They 44grope in darkness with no light, And He makes them 45stagger like a drunken person.

Notes

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

Job Chides His Accusers

Job Speaks of the Power of God

Notes

Commentaries on Job 12