Job12
New American Standard
1Then Job responded,
2“Truly then you are the people, And with you wisdom will die!
3But I have intelligence as well as you; I am not inferior to you. And who does not know such things as these?
4I am a joke to my friends, The one who called on God and He answered him; The just and blameless man is a joke.
5He who is at ease holds disaster in contempt, As prepared for those whose feet slip.
6The tents of the destroyers prosper, And those who provoke God are secure, Whom God brings into 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 the hand of the Lord has done this,
10In whose hand is the life of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind?
11Does the ear not put words to the test, As the palate tastes its food?
12Wisdom is with the aged, And with long life comes understanding.
13“Wisdom and might are with Him; Advice and understanding belong to Him.
14Behold, He tears down, and it cannot be rebuilt; He imprisons a person, and there is no release.
15Behold, He restrains the waters, and they dry up; And He sends them out, and they inundate the earth.
16Strength and sound wisdom are with Him. One who goes astray and one who leads astray belong to Him.
17He makes advisers walk barefoot And makes fools of judges.
18He undoes the binding of kings, And ties a loincloth around their waist.
19He makes priests walk barefoot, And overthrows the secure ones.
20He deprives the trusted ones of speech, And takes away the discernment of the elders.
21He pours contempt on nobles, And loosens the belt of the strong.
22He reveals mysteries from the darkness, And brings the deep darkness into light.
23He makes the nations great, then destroys them; He enlarges the nations, then leads them away.
24He deprives the leaders of the earth’s people of intelligence And makes them wander in a pathless wasteland.
25They grope in darkness with no light, And He makes them stagger like a drunken person.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Job 12.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: Job reproves his friends. (1–5). The wicked often prosper. (6–11). Job speaks of the wisdom and power of God. (12–25).
vv1-5
Job upbraids his friends with the good opinion they had of their own wisdom compared with his. We are apt to call reproofs reproaches, and to think ourselves mocked when advised and admonished; this is our folly; yet here was colour for this charge. He suspected the true cause of their conduct to be, that they despised him who was fallen into poverty. It is the way of the world. Even the just, upright man, if he comes under a cloud, is looked upon with contempt.
vv6-11
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. (Job 12:12-25)
vv12-25
This is a noble discourse of Job concerning the wisdom, power, and sovereignty of God, in ordering all the affairs of the children of men, according to the counsel of His own will, which none can resist. It were well if wise and good men, who differ about lesser things, would see how it is for their honour and comfort, and the good of others, to dwell most upon the great things in which they agree. Here are no complaints, or reflections. He gives many instances of God's powerful management of the children of men, overruling all their counsels, and overcoming all their oppositions. Having all strength and wisdom, God knows how to make use, even of those who are foolish and bad; otherwise there is so little wisdom and so little honesty in the world, that all had been in confusion and ruin long ago. These important truths were suited to convince the disputants that they were out of their depth in attempting to assign the Lord's reasons for afflicting Job; his ways are unsearchable, and his judgments past finding out. Let us remark what beautiful illustrations there are in the word of God, confirming his sovereignty, and wisdom in that sovereignty: but the highest and infinitely the most important is, that the Lord Jesus was crucified by the malice of the Jews; and who but the Lord could have known that this one event was the salvation of the world?
Key Words
אִיּוֹב: Ijob, the patriarch famous for his patience
עָנָה: properly, to eye or (generally) to heed, i.e. pay attention; by implication, to respond; by extension to begin to speak; specifically to sing, shout, testify, announce
אָמַר: to say (used with great latitude)
אׇמְנָם: verily
עַם: a people (as a congregated unit); specifically, a tribe (as those of Israel); hence (collectively) troops or attendants; figuratively, a flock
חׇכְמָה: wisdom (in a good sense)
מוּת: to die (literally or figuratively); causatively, to kill
גַּם: properly, assemblage; used only adverbially also, even, yea, though; often repeated as correl. both...and
לֵבָב: the heart (as the most interior organ);
נָפַל: to fall, in a great variety of applications (intransitive or causative, literal or figurative)
Cross References
Job 12Directly quoted in Psalm 107:40 regarding pouring contempt on princes and wandering in a pathless wilderness.
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Job directly counters Zophar's words about God shutting up a man so none can hinder.
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Psalm 107:27 closely mirrors the imagery of reeling and staggering like a drunken man.
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Parallel Hebrew expression and concept of one's foot slipping in times of sudden adversity.
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Proverbs 8:14 declares that counsel, sound wisdom, and strength belong inherently to God.
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Parallel imagery of absolute divine key-holding: He shuts and no one can open.
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Illustrates how the deceived and the deceiver are ultimately under God's sovereign control and purpose.
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Job repeats this claim of equal understanding and not being inferior in the next chapter.
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Job responds directly to Zophar's accusation of mocking by stating he is the one mocked.
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Contrasts the stumble of the faltering foot in darkness with those who are at ease.
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Relates to the appeal to the aged and ancient ones for wisdom and traditional understanding.
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Parallels God revealing deep and secret things and knowing what lies in darkness.
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Reflects Job's recurring argument that the earth is given into the hand of the wicked.
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Job repeats this exact proverb later, comparing the ear testing words to the mouth tasting meat.
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The curse of groping at noonday in the dark without light under divine judgment.
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