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Job 12
New American Standard Bible
Job 12
New American Standard Bible
Job Chides His Accusers
12 Then Job responded,
2 “Truly then (A)you are the people,
And with you wisdom will die!
3 But (B)I have intelligence as well as you;
I am not inferior to you.
And [a]who does not know such things as these?
4 I am a (C)joke to [b]my friends,
The one who called on God and He answered him;
The just and (D)blameless man is a joke.
5 [c]He who is at ease holds disaster in contempt,
As prepared for those whose feet slip.
6 The (E)tents of the destroyers prosper,
And those who provoke God (F)are secure,
[d]Whom God brings (G)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.
8 Or speak to the earth, and have it teach you;
And have the fish of the sea tell you.
9 Who among all these does not know
That (H)the hand of the Lord has done this,
10 (I)In whose hand is the life of every living thing,
And (J)the breath of all mankind?
11 Does (K)the ear not put words to the test,
As the palate [e]tastes its food?
12 Wisdom is with the (L)aged,
And with [f]long life comes understanding.
Job Speaks of the Power of God
13 “(M)Wisdom and (N)might are with Him;
Advice and (O)understanding belong to Him.
14 Behold, He (P)tears down, and it cannot be rebuilt;
He [g](Q)imprisons a person, and [h]there is no release.
15 Behold, He (R)restrains the waters, and they dry up;
And He (S)sends them out, and they [i]inundate the earth.
16 Strength and sound wisdom are with Him.
One who (T)goes astray and one who leads astray belong to Him.
17 He makes (U)advisers walk [j]barefoot
And makes fools of (V)judges.
18 He (W)undoes the binding of kings,
And ties a loincloth around their waist.
19 He makes priests walk [k]barefoot,
And overthrows (X)the secure ones.
20 He deprives the trusted ones of speech,
And (Y)takes away the discernment of the elders.
21 He (Z)pours contempt on nobles,
And (AA)loosens the belt of the strong.
22 He (AB)reveals mysteries from the darkness,
And brings the deep darkness into light.
23 He (AC)makes the nations great, then destroys them;
He [l]enlarges the nations, then leads them away.
24 He (AD)deprives the leaders of the earth’s people of [m]intelligence
And makes them wander in a pathless wasteland.
25 They (AE)grope in darkness with no light,
And He makes them (AF)stagger like a drunken person.
Footnotes
- Job 12:3 Lit with whom is there not like these?
- Job 12:4 Lit his
- Job 12:5 Lit Contempt for calamity is the thought of him who is at ease
- Job 12:6 Or He who brings God into his hand.
- Job 12:11 Lit tastes food for itself
- Job 12:12 Lit length of days
- Job 12:14 Lit shuts against
- Job 12:14 Lit it is not opened
- Job 12:15 Lit overturn
- Job 12:17 Or stripped
- Job 12:19 Or stripped
- Job 12:23 Or spreads out
- Job 12:24 Lit heart
Job 12
New International Version
Job 12
New International Version
Job
12 Then Job replied:
2 “Doubtless you are the only people who matter,
and wisdom will die with you!(A)
3 But I have a mind as well as you;
I am not inferior to you.
Who does not know all these things?(B)
4 “I have become a laughingstock(C) to my friends,(D)
though I called on God and he answered(E)—
a mere laughingstock, though righteous and blameless!(F)
5 Those who are at ease have contempt(G) for misfortune
as the fate of those whose feet are slipping.(H)
6 The tents of marauders are undisturbed,(I)
and those who provoke God are secure(J)—
those God has in his hand.[a]
7 “But ask the animals, and they will teach you,(K)
or the birds in the sky,(L) and they will tell you;(M)
8 or speak to the earth, and it will teach you,
or let the fish in the sea inform you.
9 Which of all these does not know(N)
that the hand of the Lord has done this?(O)
10 In his hand is the life(P) of every creature
and the breath of all mankind.(Q)
11 Does not the ear test words
as the tongue tastes food?(R)
12 Is not wisdom found among the aged?(S)
Does not long life bring understanding?(T)
13 “To God belong wisdom(U) and power;(V)
counsel and understanding are his.(W)
14 What he tears down(X) cannot be rebuilt;(Y)
those he imprisons cannot be released.(Z)
15 If he holds back the waters,(AA) there is drought;(AB)
if he lets them loose, they devastate the land.(AC)
16 To him belong strength and insight;(AD)
both deceived and deceiver are his.(AE)
17 He leads rulers away stripped(AF)
and makes fools of judges.(AG)
18 He takes off the shackles(AH) put on by kings
and ties a loincloth[b] around their waist.(AI)
19 He leads priests away stripped(AJ)
and overthrows officials long established.(AK)
20 He silences the lips of trusted advisers
and takes away the discernment of elders.(AL)
21 He pours contempt on nobles(AM)
and disarms the mighty.(AN)
22 He reveals the deep things of darkness(AO)
and brings utter darkness(AP) into the light.(AQ)
23 He makes nations great, and destroys them;(AR)
he enlarges nations,(AS) and disperses them.(AT)
24 He deprives the leaders of the earth of their reason;(AU)
he makes them wander in a trackless waste.(AV)
25 They grope in darkness with no light;(AW)
he makes them stagger like drunkards.(AX)
New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
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New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.