Job 12

1 And Job answered and said,

Then Job said [to his three friends],

2 No doubt but ye [are] the people, and wisdom shall die with you.

“You (talk as though/You think) [SAR] that you are the people [whom everyone should listen to], and that when you die, there will be no more wise people.

3 But I have understanding as well as you; I [am] not inferior to you: yea, who knoweth not such things as these?

But I have as much good sense as you do; I am (not less wise than/certainly as wise as [LIT]) you. Certainly everyone knows [RHQ] all that you have said.

4 I am [as] one mocked of his neighbour, who calleth upon God, and he answereth him: the just upright [man is] laughed to scorn.

My friends all laugh at me now. Previously I habitually requested God to help me, and he answered/helped me. I am righteous, a very godly man [DOU], but everyone laughs at me.

5 He that is ready to slip with [his] feet [is as] a lamp despised in the thought of him that is at ease.

Those [like you] who have no troubles make fun of me; they cause those [like me] who are already suffering to have more troubles.

6 The tabernacles of robbers prosper, and they that provoke God are secure; into whose hand God bringeth [abundantly].

Bandits live peacefully, and no one threatens those who cause God to become angry; their own strength is the god [that they worship].

7 But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee:

“But ask the wild animals [what they know about God], and [if they could speak] they would teach you. [If you could] ask the birds, they would tell you.

8 Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee.

[If you could] ask the creatures [that crawl] on the ground, or the fish in the sea, they would tell you [about God].

9 Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the LORD hath wrought this?

All of them certainly know [RHQ] that it is Yahweh who has made them with his hands.

10 In whose hand [is] the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.

He directs the lives of all living creatures; he gives breath to all [us] humans [to enable us to remain alive].

11 Doth not the ear try words? and the mouth taste his meat?

And when we [SYN] hear what other people [like you] say, we [RHQ] think carefully about what they say [to determine what is good and what is bad], like we [SYN] taste food [to determine what is good and what is bad].

12 With the ancient [is] wisdom; and in length of days understanding.

Old people are [often] very wise, and because of having lived many years, they understand much,

13 With him [is] wisdom and strength, he hath counsel and understanding.

but God is wise and very powerful; he has good sense and understands [everything].

14 Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot be built again: he shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening.

If he tears [something] down, no one can rebuild it; if he puts someone in prison, no one can open [the prison doors to allow that person to escape].

15 Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up: also he sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth.

When he prevents rain from falling, everything dries up. When he causes a lot of rain to fall, [the result is that] there are floods.

16 With him [is] strength and wisdom: the deceived and the deceiver [are] his.

He is the one who is truly strong and wise; he rules over those who deceive others and those whom they deceive.

17 He leadeth counsellors away spoiled, and maketh the judges fools.

He [sometimes] causes [the king’s] officials to no longer be wise, and he causes judges to become foolish.

18 He looseth the bond of kings, and girdeth their loins with a girdle.

He takes from kings the robes that they wear and puts loincloths around their waists, [causing them to become slaves].

19 He leadeth princes away spoiled, and overthroweth the mighty.

He takes from priests the sacred clothes that they wear, [with the result that they no longer can do their work], and takes power from those who rule others.

20 He removeth away the speech of the trusty, and taketh away the understanding of the aged.

He [sometimes] causes those whom others trust to be unable to speak, and he causes old men to no longer have good sense.

21 He poureth contempt upon princes, and weakeneth the strength of the mighty.

He causes those who have authority to be despised, and he causes those who are powerful to no longer have any power/strength.

22 He discovereth deep things out of darkness, and bringeth out to light the shadow of death.

He causes things that are hidden in the darkness to be revealed.

23 He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them: he enlargeth the nations, and straiteneth them [again].

He causes some nations to become very great, and [later] he destroys them; he causes the territory of some nations to become much larger, and [later] he causes them to be defeated and their people to be scattered.

24 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.

He causes [some] rulers to become foolish/stupid, and then he causes them to wander around, lost, in an barren desert.

25 They grope in the dark without light, and he maketh them to stagger like [a] drunken [man].

They grope around in the darkness, without any light, and he causes them to stagger like [SIM] people who are drunk.”