Job 12

¹ And Job answered and said,

¹ Then Job ^(a)responded,

¹ Then Job answered:

¹ In response Job replied:

¹ Then Job responded,

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

³ “But ^(B)I have intelligence as well as you;I am not inferior to you.And ^(b)who does not know such things as these?

³ But I also have a mind;I am not inferior to you.Who doesn’t know the things you are talking about?^(a)(A)

³ Like you, I also have understanding. I'm not inferior to you; who doesn't know things like this?"

³ “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]?

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

⁵ “^(d)He who is at ease holds calamity in contempt,As prepared for those whose feet slip.

⁵ The one who is at ease^(C) holds calamity in contemptand thinks it is prepared for those whose feet are slipping.

⁵ The carefree are thinking, "I have contempt for misfortune,' Those who are about to stumble deserve it.

⁵ “He who is at ease has contempt for misfortune,But misfortune is ready [and anxiously waiting] for those whose feet slip.

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

⁷ “But now ask the beasts, and let them teach you;And the birds of the heavens, and let them tell you.

⁷ But ask the animals, and they will instruct you;ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you.^(F)

⁷ "Ask the wild animals, and they'll teach you; the birds of the sky will tell you.

⁷ “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;

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

⁹ “Who among all these does not knowThat ^(H)the hand of the Lord has done this,

⁹ Which of all these does not knowthat the hand of the Lord has done this?^(G)

⁹ Who among all of these doesn't know that the LORD's hand made them,

⁹ “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,

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

¹¹ “Does not ^(K)the ear test words,As the palate ^(f)tastes its food?

¹¹ Doesn’t the ear test wordsas the palate tastes food?

¹¹ The ear scrutinizes speech just as the palate tastes food."

¹¹ “Does the ear not put words to the test,Just as the palate tastes its food [distinguishing between the desirable and the undesirable]?

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

¹³ “With Him are ^(M)wisdom and ^(N)might;To Him belong counsel and ^(O)understanding.

¹³ Wisdom and strength belong to God;counsel and understanding are His.^(J)

¹³ With God is wisdom and strength; counsel and understanding belongs to him.

¹³ “But [only] with Him are [perfect] wisdom and might;He [alone] has [true] counsel and understanding.

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

¹⁵ “Behold, He ^(R)restrains the waters, and they dry up;And He ^(S)sends them out, and they ^(j)inundate the earth.

¹⁵ When He withholds the waters, everything dries up,and when He releases them, they destroy the land.^(L)

¹⁵ When he withholds water, rivers dry up; when he lets them loose, they'll flood the land.

¹⁵ “Behold, He restrains the waters, and they dry up;Again, He sends the waters out, and they overwhelm and devastate the earth.

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

¹⁷ “He makes ^(U)counselors walk ^(k)barefootAnd makes fools of ^(V)judges.

¹⁷ He leads counselors away barefootand makes judges go mad.^(M)

¹⁷ He leads counselors away naked; he turns judges into fools.

¹⁷ “He makes [great and scheming] counselors walk barefootAnd makes fools of judges.

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

¹⁹ “He makes priests walk ^(m)barefootAnd overthrows ^(X)the secure ones.

¹⁹ He leads priests away barefootand overthrows established leaders.^(O)

¹⁹ He leads away the priests naked and overthrows the ruling class.

¹⁹ “He makes priests walk barefoot,And He overturns men firmly seated and secure.

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

²¹ “He ^(Z)pours contempt on noblesAnd ^(AA)loosens the belt of the strong.

²¹ He pours out contempt on noblesand disarms^(f) the strong.

²¹ He pours contempt on nobles and embarrasses the mighty.

²¹ “He pours contempt on princes and noblesAnd loosens the belt of the strong [disabling them].

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

²³ “He ^(AC)makes the nations great, then destroys them;He ⁽ⁿ⁾enlarges the nations, then leads them away.

²³ He makes nations great, then destroys them;He enlarges nations,^(Q) then leads them away.

²³ He makes nations great, and then destroys them; he enlarges nations, but then sends them away to captivity.

²³ “He makes nations great, and He destroys them;He enlarges nations, and leads them away [captive].

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

²⁵ “They ^(AE)grope in darkness with no light,And He makes them ^(AF)stagger like a drunken man.

²⁵ They grope around in darkness without light;He makes them stagger like drunken men.^(S) >

²⁵ They grope in the dark without light; he causes them to stagger around like a drunkard."

²⁵ “They grope in darkness without light,And He makes them stagger like a drunken man.”