Job 12:4

Job 12:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)I am as one mocked of his neighbour, who calleth upon God, and he answereth him: the just upright man is laughed to scorn.
• English Standard Version (ESV)I am a laughingstock to my friends; I, who called to God and he answered me, a just and blameless man, am a laughingstock.
• New King James Version (NKJV)“I am one mocked by his friends, Who called on God, and He answered him, The just and blameless who is ridiculed.
• New Living Translation (NLT)Yet my friends laugh at me, for I call on God and expect an answer. I am a just and blameless man, yet they laugh at me.

Context of Job 12:4

2“Doubtless you are the only people who matter, and wisdom will die with you! 3But I have a mind as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know all these things? “I have become a laughingstock to my friends, though I called on God and he answered— a mere laughingstock, though righteous and blameless! 5Those who are at ease have contempt for misfortune as the fate of those whose feet are slipping. 6The tents of marauders are undisturbed, and those who provoke God are secure— those God has in his hand.

Job 12:4 word by word

שְׂחֹ֤ק לְרֵעֵ֨הוּ׀ אֶֽהְיֶ֗ה קֹרֵ֣א לֶ֭אֱלוֹהַּ וַֽיַּעֲנֵ֑הוּ שְׂ֝ח֗וֹק צַדִּ֥יק תָּמִֽים׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• one mockedשְׂחֹקώechôq ώechôq · laughterH7814
• of his neighbourרֵעַrêa‛ rêya‛ · neighborH7453
• who callethקָרָאqârâ' · to call: call toH7121
• upon Godאֱלֹהַּ'ĕlôahh 'ĕlôahh · godH433
• and he answerethעָנָה‛ânâh · to answerH6030
• him: the justצַדִּיקtsaddîyq · righteousH6662
• uprightתָּמִיםtâmîym · unblemished: blamelessH8549

Cross-references for Job 12:4

• Job 11:3Will your idle talk reduce others to silence? Will no one rebuke you when you mock?
• Job 16:10People open their mouths to jeer at me; they strike my cheek in scorn and unite together against me.
• Job 17:2Surely mockers surround me; my eyes must dwell on their hostility.
• Job 21:3Bear with me while I speak, and after I have spoken, mock on.
• Job 30:1“But now they mock me, men younger than I, whose fathers I would have disdained to put with my sheep dogs.
• Psalms 22:7All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
• Psalms 35:16Like the ungodly they maliciously mocked; they gnashed their teeth at me.
• Matthew 27:29and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said.
• Hebrews 11:36Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.
• Job 16:20My intercessor is my friend as my eyes pour out tears to God;
• Psalms 91:15He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.
• Jeremiah 33:3‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’
• Micah 7:7But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
• Proverbs 14:2Whoever fears the Lord walks uprightly, but those who despise him are devious in their ways.
• Mark 5:40But they laughed at him. After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was.
• Luke 16:14The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus.

Commentaries on Job 12:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4I am as one mocked of his neighbor - Though I am invoking God for help and salvation, yet my friends mock me in this most solemn and sacred work. But God answereth me. The just upright man is laughed to scorn - This is a very difficult verse, on which no two critics seem to be agreed. Mr. Good translates the fourth and fifth verses thus: - "Thus brother is become a laughing-stock to his companions, While calling upon God that he would succor him. The…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4I am as one mocked of his neighbour - There has been considerable variety in the interpretation of this verse. The general sense is, that Job felt himself to be a mere laughing-stock for his neighbors. They treated him as if he were not worth regarding. They had no sympathy for him in his sorrows, and they showed no respect for his opinions. Dr. Good understands this and the following verses as a part of the controversy in which Job proposes to show his…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. The unfounded accusations of Job's friends were a "mockery" of him. He alludes to Zophar's word, "mockest" (Job 11:3). neighbour, who calleth, &c.--rather, "I who call upon God that he may answer me favorably" [Umbreit].Read the comment

Topics related to Job 12:4

• Persecution
• Prayer

In the dictionaries

• God
• Deep
• Discover
• Laughing-Stock
• Laughter
• Mock; Mocker; Mocking
• Scorn
• Satan

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