Job 12:1-25

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Job 12:1-25 The Message (MSG)

Job answered: “I’m sure you speak for all the experts, and when you die there’ll be no one left to tell us how to live. But don’t forget that I also have a brain— I don’t intend to play second fiddle to you. It doesn’t take an expert to know these things. “I’m ridiculed by my friends: ‘So that’s the man who had conversations with God!’ Ridiculed without mercy: ‘Look at the man who never did wrong!’ It’s easy for the well-to-do to point their fingers in blame, for the well-fixed to pour scorn on the strugglers. Crooks reside safely in high-security houses, insolent blasphemers live in luxury; they’ve bought and paid for a god who’ll protect them. “But ask the animals what they think—let them teach you; let the birds tell you what’s going on. Put your ear to the earth—learn the basics. Listen—the fish in the ocean will tell you their stories. Isn’t it clear that they all know and agree that GOD is sovereign, that he holds all things in his hand— Every living soul, yes, every breathing creature? Isn’t this all just common sense, as common as the sense of taste? Do you think the elderly have a corner on wisdom, that you have to grow old before you understand life? “True wisdom and real power belong to God; from him we learn how to live, and also what to live for. If he tears something down, it’s down for good; if he locks people up, they’re locked up for good. If he holds back the rain, there’s a drought; if he lets it loose, there’s a flood. Strength and success belong to God; both deceived and deceiver must answer to him. He strips experts of their vaunted credentials, exposes judges as witless fools. He divests kings of their royal garments, then ties a rag around their waists. He strips priests of their robes, and fires high officials from their jobs. He forces trusted sages to keep silence, deprives elders of their good sense and wisdom. He dumps contempt on famous people, disarms the strong and mighty. He shines a spotlight into caves of darkness, hauls deepest darkness into the noonday sun. He makes nations rise and then fall, builds up some and abandons others. He robs world leaders of their reason, and sends them off into no-man’s-land. They grope in the dark without a clue, lurching and staggering like drunks.”

Job 12:1-25 King James Version (KJV)

And Job answered and said, No doubt but ye are the people, And wisdom shall die with you. But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you: Yea, who knoweth not such things as these? I am as one mocked of his neighbour, Who calleth upon God, and he answereth him: The just upright man is laughed to scorn. He that is ready to slip with his feet Is as a lamp despised in the thought of him that is at ease. The tabernacles of robbers prosper, And they that provoke God are secure; Into whose hand God bringeth abundantly. But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; And the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee: Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: And the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee. Who knoweth not in all these That the hand of the LORD hath wrought this? In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind. Doth not the ear try words? And the mouth taste his meat? With the ancient is wisdom; And in length of days understanding. With him is wisdom and strength, He hath counsel and understanding. Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot be built again: He shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening. Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up: Also he sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth. With him is strength and wisdom: The deceived and the deceiver are his. He leadeth counsellors away spoiled, And maketh the judges fools. He looseth the bond of kings, And girdeth their loins with a girdle. He leadeth princes away spoiled, And overthroweth the mighty. He removeth away the speech of the trusty, And taketh away the understanding of the aged. He poureth contempt upon princes, And weakeneth the strength of the mighty. He discovereth deep things out of darkness, And bringeth out to light the shadow of death. He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them: He enlargeth the nations, and straiteneth them again. He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth, And causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way. They grope in the dark without light, And he maketh them to stagger like a drunken man.

Job 12:1-25 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)

Then Job responded, “Truly then you are the people, And with you wisdom will die! But I have intelligence as well as you; I am not inferior to you. And who does not know such things as these? I am a joke to my friends, The one who called on God and He answered him; The just and blameless man is a joke. He who is at ease holds calamity in contempt, As prepared for those whose feet slip. The tents of the destroyers prosper, And those who provoke God are secure, Whom God brings into their power. “But now ask the beasts, and let them teach you; And the birds of the heavens, and let them tell you. Or speak to the earth, and let it teach you; And let the fish of the sea declare to you. Who among all these does not know That the hand of the LORD has done this, In whose hand is the life of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind? Does not the ear test words, As the palate tastes its food? Wisdom is with aged men, With long life is understanding. “With Him are wisdom and might; To Him belong counsel and understanding. Behold, He tears down, and it cannot be rebuilt; He imprisons a man, and there can be no release. Behold, He restrains the waters, and they dry up; And He sends them out, and they inundate the earth. With Him are strength and sound wisdom, The misled and the misleader belong to Him. He makes counselors walk barefoot And makes fools of judges. He loosens the bond of kings And binds their loins with a girdle. He makes priests walk barefoot And overthrows the secure ones. He deprives the trusted ones of speech And takes away the discernment of the elders. He pours contempt on nobles And loosens the belt of the strong. He reveals mysteries from the darkness And brings the deep darkness into light. He makes the nations great, then destroys them; He enlarges the nations, then leads them away. He deprives of intelligence the chiefs of the earth’s people And makes them wander in a pathless waste. They grope in darkness with no light, And He makes them stagger like a drunken man.

Job 12:1-25 New Century Version (NCV)

Then Job answered: “You really think you are the only wise people and that when you die, wisdom will die with you! But my mind is as good as yours; you are not better than I am. Everyone knows all these things. My friends all laugh at me when I call on God and expect him to answer me; they laugh at me even though I am right and innocent! Those who are comfortable don’t care that others have trouble; they think it right that those people should have troubles. The tents of robbers are not bothered, and those who make God angry are safe. They have their god in their pocket. “But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or ask the birds of the air, and they will tell you. Speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea tell you. Every one of these knows that the hand of the LORD has done this. The life of every creature and the breath of all people are in God’s hand. The ear tests words as the tongue tastes food. Older people are wise, and long life brings understanding. “But only God has wisdom and power, good advice and understanding. What he tears down cannot be rebuilt; anyone he puts in prison cannot be let out. If God holds back the waters, there is no rain; if he lets the waters go, they flood the land. He is strong and victorious; both the one who fools others and the one who is fooled belong to him. God leads the wise away as captives and turns judges into fools. He takes off chains that kings put on and puts a garment on their bodies. He leads priests away naked and destroys the powerful. He makes trusted people be silent and takes away the wisdom of elders. He brings disgrace on important people and takes away the weapons of the strong. He uncovers the deep things of darkness and brings dark shadows into the light. He makes nations great and then destroys them; he makes nations large and then scatters them. He takes understanding away from the leaders of the earth and makes them wander through a pathless desert. They feel around in darkness with no light; he makes them stumble like drunks.

Job 12:1-25 American Standard Version (ASV)

Then Job answered and said, No doubt but ye are the people, And wisdom shall die with you. But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you: Yea, who knoweth not such things as these? I am as one that is a laughing-stock to his neighbor, I who called upon God, and he answered: The just, the perfect man is a laughing-stock. In the thought of him that is at ease there is contempt for misfortune; It is ready for them whose foot slippeth. The tents of robbers prosper, And they that provoke God are secure; Into whose hand God bringeth abundantly. But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; And the birds of the heavens, and they shall tell thee: Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee; And the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee. Who knoweth not in all these, That the hand of Jehovah hath wrought this, In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind? Doth not the ear try words, Even as the palate tasteth its food? With aged men is wisdom, And in length of days understanding. With God is wisdom and might; He hath counsel and understanding. Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot be built again; He shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening. Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up; Again, he sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth. With him is strength and wisdom; The deceived and the deceiver are his. He leadeth counsellors away stripped, And judges maketh he fools. He looseth the bond of kings, And he bindeth their loins with a girdle. He leadeth priests away stripped, And overthroweth the mighty. He removeth the speech of the trusty, And taketh away the understanding of the elders. He poureth contempt upon princes, And looseth the belt of the strong. He uncovereth deep things out of darkness, And bringeth out to light the shadow of death. He increaseth the nations, and he destroyeth them: He enlargeth the nations, and he leadeth them captive. He taketh away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth, And causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way. They grope in the dark without light; And he maketh them to stagger like a drunken man.

Job 12:1-25 New International Version (NIV)

Then Job replied: “Doubtless you are the only people who matter, and wisdom will die with you! But 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! Those who are at ease have contempt for misfortune as the fate of those whose feet are slipping. The tents of marauders are undisturbed, and those who provoke God are secure— those God has in his hand. “But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind. Does not the ear test words as the tongue tastes food? Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding? “To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his. What he tears down cannot be rebuilt; those he imprisons cannot be released. If he holds back the waters, there is drought; if he lets them loose, they devastate the land. To him belong strength and insight; both deceived and deceiver are his. He leads rulers away stripped and makes fools of judges. He takes off the shackles put on by kings and ties a loincloth around their waist. He leads priests away stripped and overthrows officials long established. He silences the lips of trusted advisers and takes away the discernment of elders. He pours contempt on nobles and disarms the mighty. He reveals the deep things of darkness and brings utter darkness into the light. He makes nations great, and destroys them; he enlarges nations, and disperses them. He deprives the leaders of the earth of their reason; he makes them wander in a trackless waste. They grope in darkness with no light; he makes them stagger like drunkards.

Job 12:1-25 New King James Version (NKJV)

Then Job answered and said: “No doubt you are the people, And wisdom will die with you! But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Indeed, who does not know such things as these? “I am one mocked by his friends, Who called on God, and He answered him, The just and blameless who is ridiculed. A lamp is despised in the thought of one who is at ease; It is made ready for those whose feet slip. The tents of robbers prosper, And those who provoke God are secure— In what God provides by His hand. “But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you; And the birds of the air, and they will tell you; Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; And the fish of the sea will explain to you. Who among all these does not know That the hand of the LORD has done this, In whose hand is the life of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind? Does not the ear test words And the mouth taste its food? Wisdom is with aged men, And with length of days, understanding. “With Him are wisdom and strength, He has counsel and understanding. If He breaks a thing down, it cannot be rebuilt; If He imprisons a man, there can be no release. If He withholds the waters, they dry up; If He sends them out, they overwhelm the earth. With Him are strength and prudence. The deceived and the deceiver are His. He leads counselors away plundered, And makes fools of the judges. He loosens the bonds of kings, And binds their waist with a belt. He leads princes away plundered, And overthrows the mighty. He deprives the trusted ones of speech, And takes away the discernment of the elders. He pours contempt on princes, And disarms the mighty. He uncovers deep things out of darkness, And brings the shadow of death to light. He makes nations great, and destroys them; He enlarges nations, and guides them. He takes away the understanding of the chiefs of the people of the earth, And makes them wander in a pathless wilderness. They grope in the dark without light, And He makes them stagger like a drunken man.

Job 12:1-25 Amplified Bible (AMP)

Then Job responded, “No doubt you are the [only wise] people [in the world], And wisdom will die with you! “But I have intelligence and understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know such things as these [of God’s wisdom and might]? “I am a joke to my friends; I, one whom God answered when he called upon Him— A just and blameless man is a joke [and laughed to scorn]. “He who is at ease has contempt for misfortune, But misfortune is ready [and anxiously waiting] for those whose feet slip. “The tents of the destroyers prosper; And those who provoke God are [apparently] secure, Whom God brings into their power. ¶“Now ask the animals, and let them teach you [that God does not deal with His creatures according to their character]; And ask the birds of the air, and let them tell you; Or speak to the earth [with its many forms of life], and it will teach you; And let the fish of the sea declare [this truth] to you. “Who among all these does not recognize [in all these things that good and evil are randomly scattered throughout nature and human life] That the hand of the LORD has done this, In whose hand is the life of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind? “Does the ear not put words to the test, Just as the palate tastes its food [distinguishing between the desirable and the undesirable]? “With the aged [you say] is wisdom, And with long life is understanding. ¶“But [only] with Him are [perfect] wisdom and might; He [alone] has [true] counsel and understanding. “Behold, He tears down, and it cannot be rebuilt; He imprisons a man, and there can be no release. “Behold, He restrains the waters, and they dry up; Again, He sends the waters out, and they overwhelm and devastate the earth. “With Him are might and sound wisdom, The misled and the misleader are His [and in His power]. “He makes [great and scheming] counselors walk barefoot And makes fools of judges. “He loosens the bond of kings And binds their loins with a loincloth. “He makes priests walk barefoot, And He overturns men firmly seated and secure. “He deprives the trusted ones of speech And takes away the discernment and discretion of the aged. “He pours contempt on princes and nobles And loosens the belt of the strong [disabling them]. “He uncovers mysteries [that are difficult to grasp and understand] out of the darkness And brings black gloom and the shadow of death into light. “He makes nations great, and He destroys them; He enlarges nations, and leads them away [captive]. “He removes intelligence and understanding from the leaders of the people of the earth And makes them wander and move blindly in a pathless waste. “They grope in darkness without light, And He makes them stagger like a drunken man.”

Job 12:1-25 New Living Translation (NLT)

Then Job spoke again: “You people really know everything, don’t you? And when you die, wisdom will die with you! Well, 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. People who are at ease mock those in trouble. They give a push to people who are stumbling. But robbers are left in peace, and those who provoke God live in safety— though God keeps them in his power. “Just ask the animals, and they will teach you. Ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you. Speak to the earth, and it will instruct you. Let the fish in the sea speak to you. For they all know that my disaster has come from the hand of the LORD. For the life of every living thing is in his hand, and the breath of every human being. The ear tests the words it hears just as the mouth distinguishes between foods. Wisdom belongs to the aged, and understanding to the old. “But true wisdom and power are found in God; counsel and understanding are his. What he destroys cannot be rebuilt. When he puts someone in prison, there is no escape. If he holds back the rain, the earth becomes a desert. If he releases the waters, they flood the earth. Yes, strength and wisdom are his; deceivers and deceived are both in his power. He leads counselors away, stripped of good judgment; wise judges become fools. He removes the royal robe of kings. They are led away with ropes around their waist. He leads priests away, stripped of status; he overthrows those with long years in power. He silences the trusted adviser and removes the insight of the elders. He pours disgrace upon princes and disarms the strong. “He uncovers mysteries hidden in darkness; he brings light to the deepest gloom. He builds up nations, and he destroys them. He expands nations, and he abandons them. He strips kings of understanding and leaves them wandering in a pathless wasteland. They grope in the darkness without a light. He makes them stagger like drunkards.

Job 12:1-25 English Standard Version 2016 (ESV)

Then Job answered and said: “No doubt you are the people, and wisdom will die with you. But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know such things as these? I am a laughingstock to my friends; I, who called to God and he answered me, a just and blameless man, am a laughingstock. In the thought of one who is at ease there is contempt for misfortune; it is ready for those whose feet slip. The tents of robbers are at peace, and those who provoke God are secure, who bring their god in their hand. “But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you; or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind. Does not the ear test words as the palate tastes food? Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding in length of days. “With God are wisdom and might; he has counsel and understanding. If he tears down, none can rebuild; if he shuts a man in, none can open. If he withholds the waters, they dry up; if he sends them out, they overwhelm the land. With him are strength and sound wisdom; the deceived and the deceiver are his. He leads counselors away stripped, and judges he makes fools. He looses the bonds of kings and binds a waistcloth on their hips. He leads priests away stripped and overthrows the mighty. He deprives of speech those who are trusted and takes away the discernment of the elders. He pours contempt on princes and loosens the belt of the strong. He uncovers the deeps out of darkness and brings deep darkness to light. He makes nations great, and he destroys them; he enlarges nations, and leads them away. He takes away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth and makes them wander in a trackless waste. They grope in the dark without light, and he makes them stagger like a drunken man.