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.
• New International Version (NIV)“I have become a laughingstock to my friends, though I called on God and he answered— a mere laughingstock, though righteous and blameless!
• 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.

Context of Job 12:4

2“You people really know everything, don’t you? And when you die, wisdom will die with you! 3Well, I know a few things myself— and you’re no better than I am. Who doesn’t know these things you’ve been saying? 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. 5People who are at ease mock those in trouble. They give a push to people who are stumbling. 6But robbers are left in peace, and those who provoke God live in safety— though God keeps them in his power.

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 11:3Should I remain silent while you babble on? When you mock God, shouldn’t someone make you ashamed?
• Job 16:10People jeer and laugh at me. They slap my cheek in contempt. A mob gathers against me.
• Job 17:2I am surrounded by mockers. I watch how bitterly they taunt me.
• Job 21:3Bear with me, and let me speak. After I have spoken, you may resume mocking me.
• Job 30:1“But now I am mocked by people younger than I, by young men whose fathers are not worthy to run with my sheepdogs.
• Psalms 22:7Everyone who sees me mocks me. They sneer and shake their heads, saying,
• Psalms 35:16They mock me and call me names; they snarl at me.
• Matthew 27:29They wove thorn branches into a crown and put it on his head, and they placed a reed stick in his right hand as a scepter. Then they knelt before him in mockery and taunted, “Hail! King of the Jews!”
• Hebrews 11:36Some were jeered at, and their backs were cut open with whips. Others were chained in prisons.
• Job 16:20My friends scorn me, but I pour out my tears to God.
• Psalms 91:15When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them.
• Jeremiah 33:3Ask me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come.
• Micah 7:7As for me, I look to the Lord for help. I wait confidently for God to save me, and my God will certainly hear me.
• Proverbs 14:2Those who follow the right path fear the Lord; those who take the wrong path despise him.
• Mark 5:40The crowd laughed at him. But he made them all leave, and he took the girl’s father and mother and his three disciples into the room where the girl was lying.
• Luke 16:14The Pharisees, who dearly loved their money, heard all this and scoffed at him.

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