Job 12
1 Then Job said [to his three friends],
Job replied,
2 “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.
“You really think you're special people, don't you? Obviously when you die, wisdom will die with you!
3 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.
But I too have insights, and you're no better than me. Doesn't everyone know the things you've said?
4 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.
But my friends laugh at me because I called on God and he answered me: the innocent man who does right has become an object of derision.
5 Those [like you] who have no troubles make fun of me; they cause those [like me] who are already suffering to have more troubles.
People who are comfortable have contempt for those who are in trouble, ready to push over those who are already slipping.
6 Bandits live peacefully, and no one threatens those who cause God to become angry; their own strength is the god [that they worship].
Robbers live in peace, and those who make God angry live in safety, trusting their own strength as their ‘god.’
7 “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.
But if you ask the animals they will teach you, the birds in the sky will tell you;
8 [If you could] ask the creatures [that crawl] on the ground, or the fish in the sea, they would tell you [about God].
ask the earth and it will teach you, and the fishes in the sea will tell you.
9 All of them certainly know [RHQ] that it is Yahweh who has made them with his hands.
Which of all these doesn't know that the Lord has done this?
10 He directs the lives of all living creatures; he gives breath to all [us] humans [to enable us to remain alive].
He gives life to every living thing, life to all humankind.
11 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].
The ear distinguishes words just like the palate distinguishes foods.
12 Old people are [often] very wise, and because of having lived many years, they understand much,
Wisdom to distinguish belongs to the old, and the ability to rightly discriminate belongs to those with long experience.
13 but God is wise and very powerful; he has good sense and understands [everything].
God has wisdom and power, counsel and understanding belong to him.
14 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].
If he tears something down, nobody can rebuild it. If he imprisons someone, nobody can free them.
15 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.
If God holds back the waters, everything dries up; if he releases the waters, the earth floods.
16 He is the one who is truly strong and wise; he rules over those who deceive others and those whom they deceive.
He is mighty and victorious; both deceivers and those deceived are subject to him.
17 He [sometimes] causes [the king’s] officials to no longer be wise, and he causes judges to become foolish.
He leads counselors away stripped of their wisdom, he makes judges into fools.
18 He takes from kings the robes that they wear and puts loincloths around their waists, [causing them to become slaves].
He removes the chains of office from kings and makes them wear loincloths.
19 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.
He leads priests away stripped of their religious garments, he overthrows the powerful.
20 He [sometimes] causes those whom others trust to be unable to speak, and he causes old men to no longer have good sense.
He takes away the advice of trusted advisors, he removes the discernment of the elders.
21 He causes those who have authority to be despised, and he causes those who are powerful to no longer have any power/strength.
He pours scorn upon princes and takes away power from the strong.
22 He causes things that are hidden in the darkness to be revealed.
He reveals what is hidden in darkness, and brings into the light the shadow of death.
23 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.
He makes nations great and he destroys them; he expands nations and ruins them.
24 He causes [some] rulers to become foolish/stupid, and then he causes them to wander around, lost, in an barren desert.
He removes the understanding of rulers and makes them wander in the wilderness.
25 They grope around in the darkness, without any light, and he causes them to stagger like [SIM] people who are drunk.”
They grope around in the dark without a light. He makes them stagger like drunk people.
