New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
Job 12
1
Job replied,
2
"You people think you know everything, don't you? You are sure that wisdom will die with you!
3
But I have a brain, just like you. I'm as clever as you are. In fact, everyone knows as much as you do.
4
"My friends laugh at me all the time, even though I called out to God and he answered. My friends laugh at me, even though I'm honest and right.
Reference
5
People who have an easy life look down on those who have problems. They think trouble comes only to those whose feet are slipping.
Reference
6
Why doesn't anyone bother the tents of robbers? Why do those who make God angry remain secure? They carry the statues of their gods in their hands!
Reference
Parallel theme
Job 9:24
7
"But ask the animals what God does. They will teach you. Or ask the birds of the air. They will tell you.
Reference
8
Or speak to the earth. It will teach you. Or let the fish of the ocean educate you.
9
Are there any of those creatures that don't know what the powerful hand of the Lord has done?
Reference
Parallel theme
Romans 11:36
Acts 19:35
Daniel 5:18
Job 12:3
Job 22:18
References Lord
Isaiah 41:20
Daniel 9:17
1 Samuel 2:7
10
He holds the life of every creature in his hand. He controls the breath of every human being.
Reference
11
Our tongues tell us what tastes good and what doesn't. And our ears tell us what's true and what isn't.
Reference
Word
Job 34:3
15
If he holds back the water, everything dries up. If he lets the water loose, it floods the land.
Reference
Parallel theme
1 Kings 17:1
16
Strength and success belong to him. Those who tell lies and those who believe them also belong to him.
Reference
18
He sets people free from the chains that kings put on them. Then he dresses the kings in the clothes of slaves.
Reference
19
He removes the authority of priests and leads them away. He removes from their positions those who have been in control for a long time.
21
He looks down on proud leaders. He takes away the strength of those who are mighty.
Reference
Parallel theme
Psalm 107:40
22
He tells people the secrets of darkness. He brings evil plans out into the light.
Reference
Darkness
Job 3:5
Amos 5:8
Job 34:22
Light
Daniel 2:22
1 Corinthians 4:5
Luke 1:79
Parallel theme
1 Corinthians 2:10
Matthew 10:26
23
He makes nations great, and then he destroys them. He makes nations grow, and then he scatters them.
Reference
24
He takes away the understanding of the leaders of the earth. He makes them wander in a desert where no one lives.
Reference
Summary of Job 12
Job Chapter 12 is Job's sharp response to the confident accusations of his friends. Zophar has implied that Job lacks understanding and needs to repent. Job responds with sarcasm, saying that his friends must be the only wise people in the world and that wisdom will apparently die with them. He insists that he has understanding too and is not inferior to them.
Job is particularly frustrated because his friends have treated him as though his suffering proves that he is guilty. He says that he has become a laughingstock, even though he calls upon God and believes he is innocent. He points out that people who are comfortable often look down on those whose lives are falling apart.
He then gives an important challenge to his friends' theology: wicked people can sometimes prosper. Job observes that robbers can live securely and that people who openly reject God can sometimes appear successful. This contradicts the simple idea that good people always prosper while evil people immediately suffer.
Job tells his friends to look at creation itself. Animals, birds, the earth, and creatures of the sea all demonstrate God's power. Every living thing depends upon God, who holds the life and breath of creation in His hand.
This does not mean that Job has rejected God's sovereignty. In fact, the opposite is true. Job strongly affirms God's absolute power.
He says that wisdom and strength belong to God. God can tear down what cannot be rebuilt, close what cannot be opened, control drought and floods, humble rulers, overturn judges, weaken priests, and remove wisdom from advisers and elders.
Job's argument is therefore becoming more sophisticated.
His friends have been saying:
God is just, therefore Job's suffering proves Job is guilty.
Job responds:
God is sovereign, but that does not mean human beings can automatically determine why He allows a particular person to suffer.
Job's examples from politics and society reinforce this point. God can raise nations and destroy them. He can give rulers wisdom or take it away. Kings, priests, judges, counselors, elders, and princes may all appear powerful and secure, but none of them can control their ultimate fate.
The chapter ends with a picture of leaders stumbling in darkness like drunk people. Human power and wisdom can disappear suddenly.
The central idea is that God's sovereignty is much greater than human understanding. Job agrees with his friends that God controls the world, but he rejects their claim that they can easily interpret God's reasons from a person's circumstances.
The chapter also contains an important lesson about wisdom. Job acknowledges that age and experience can provide understanding, but he ultimately places true wisdom in God alone. Human beings must carefully examine what they hear rather than simply accepting traditional explanations.
Historically, the chapter reflects an ancient world of kings, priests, judges, counselors, agriculture, warfare, animals, and changing kingdoms. Its examples would have been familiar to people living in the ancient Near East, where political power could change rapidly and survival depended heavily on water and agricultural conditions.
Job Chapter 12 therefore marks an important shift in the dialogue. Job is no longer simply defending himself against accusations. He is challenging the entire framework his friends are using to explain his suffering. He agrees that God is powerful, wise, and sovereign, but insists that God's sovereignty does not give human beings the right to assume they know His reasons.
Job's friends think they have explained his suffering.
Job believes they have explained too much.
And his central point is that God's ways are greater and more mysterious than the simple formulas his friends are using.
Job is particularly frustrated because his friends have treated him as though his suffering proves that he is guilty. He says that he has become a laughingstock, even though he calls upon God and believes he is innocent. He points out that people who are comfortable often look down on those whose lives are falling apart.
He then gives an important challenge to his friends' theology: wicked people can sometimes prosper. Job observes that robbers can live securely and that people who openly reject God can sometimes appear successful. This contradicts the simple idea that good people always prosper while evil people immediately suffer.
Job tells his friends to look at creation itself. Animals, birds, the earth, and creatures of the sea all demonstrate God's power. Every living thing depends upon God, who holds the life and breath of creation in His hand.
This does not mean that Job has rejected God's sovereignty. In fact, the opposite is true. Job strongly affirms God's absolute power.
He says that wisdom and strength belong to God. God can tear down what cannot be rebuilt, close what cannot be opened, control drought and floods, humble rulers, overturn judges, weaken priests, and remove wisdom from advisers and elders.
Job's argument is therefore becoming more sophisticated.
His friends have been saying:
God is just, therefore Job's suffering proves Job is guilty.
Job responds:
God is sovereign, but that does not mean human beings can automatically determine why He allows a particular person to suffer.
Job's examples from politics and society reinforce this point. God can raise nations and destroy them. He can give rulers wisdom or take it away. Kings, priests, judges, counselors, elders, and princes may all appear powerful and secure, but none of them can control their ultimate fate.
The chapter ends with a picture of leaders stumbling in darkness like drunk people. Human power and wisdom can disappear suddenly.
The central idea is that God's sovereignty is much greater than human understanding. Job agrees with his friends that God controls the world, but he rejects their claim that they can easily interpret God's reasons from a person's circumstances.
The chapter also contains an important lesson about wisdom. Job acknowledges that age and experience can provide understanding, but he ultimately places true wisdom in God alone. Human beings must carefully examine what they hear rather than simply accepting traditional explanations.
Historically, the chapter reflects an ancient world of kings, priests, judges, counselors, agriculture, warfare, animals, and changing kingdoms. Its examples would have been familiar to people living in the ancient Near East, where political power could change rapidly and survival depended heavily on water and agricultural conditions.
Job Chapter 12 therefore marks an important shift in the dialogue. Job is no longer simply defending himself against accusations. He is challenging the entire framework his friends are using to explain his suffering. He agrees that God is powerful, wise, and sovereign, but insists that God's sovereignty does not give human beings the right to assume they know His reasons.
Job's friends think they have explained his suffering.
Job believes they have explained too much.
And his central point is that God's ways are greater and more mysterious than the simple formulas his friends are using.