Job 12
1 Job antwoordde, en sprak:
Then Job said [to his three friends],
2 Ja zeker, gij vertegenwoordigt het volk, En met u sterft de wijsheid uit!
“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 Ik heb evenveel verstand als gij Wie zou trouwens dit alles niet weten?
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 Laat mij de spot zijn van mijn vriend; Ik roep Jahweh aan, Hij zal mij verhoren! Bespotting voor de deugd van de vromen,
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 Verachting voor de beproefden: denkt het gelukskind, En een trap voor hen, wier voeten wankelen;
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 Maar vrede voor de tenten der rovers, Onbezorgdheid voor hen, die God durven tarten, En die God naar hun hand willen zetten!
Bandits live peacefully, and no one threatens those who cause God to become angry; their own strength is the god [that they worship].
7 Ondervraag slechts het vee: het zal het u leren; De vogels uit de lucht; zij vertellen het u;
“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 Of het kruipend gedierte op aarde: zij zullen het zeggen; De vissen der zee: zij lichten u in.
[If you could] ask the creatures [that crawl] on the ground, or the fish in the sea, they would tell you [about God].
9 Wie onder die allen, die het niet weet, Dat de hand van Jahweh dit wrocht!
All of them certainly know [RHQ] that it is Yahweh who has made them with his hands.
10 Hij, die iedere levende ziel in zijn hand heeft, En de adem van alle menselijk vlees!
He directs the lives of all living creatures; he gives breath to all [us] humans [to enable us to remain alive].
11 Of kan het oor geen woorden meer toetsen, Het gehemelte geen spijzen meer proeven;
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 Is er geen wijsheid meer bij bejaarden, Op hoge leeftijd geen inzicht?
Old people are [often] very wise, and because of having lived many years, they understand much,
13 Bij Hem is wijsheid en macht, Bij Hem beleid en verstand.
but God is wise and very powerful; he has good sense and understands [everything].
14 Haalt Hij omver, men bouwt niet op, Dien Hij kerkert, doet men niet open.
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 Houdt Hij de wateren tegen, ze drogen op; Laat Hij ze los, ze woelen het land om.
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 Bij Hem is kracht en vernuft, Hem behoort de verleide met den verleider;
He is the one who is truly strong and wise; he rules over those who deceive others and those whom they deceive.
17 Raadsheren laat Hij barrevoets gaan, En rechters maakt Hij tot dwazen;
He [sometimes] causes [the king’s] officials to no longer be wise, and he causes judges to become foolish.
18 De boeien der koningen maakt Hij los, En legt een koord om hun eigen heup.
He takes from kings the robes that they wear and puts loincloths around their waists, [causing them to become slaves].
19 De priesters laat Hij barrevoets gaan, En oude geslachten brengt Hij ten val;
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 Aan vertrouwbare mannen ontneemt Hij de spraak, En ontrooft de grijsaards hun oordeel;
He [sometimes] causes those whom others trust to be unable to speak, and he causes old men to no longer have good sense.
21 Hij stort verachting over edelen uit, En rukt de gordel der machtigen los.
He causes those who have authority to be despised, and he causes those who are powerful to no longer have any power/strength.
He causes things that are hidden in the darkness to be revealed.
23 Hij maakt naties groot, en richt ze ten gronde, Breidt volken uit, en stoot ze neer;
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 Hij berooft de vorsten der aarde van hun verstand, En laat ze in de ongebaande wildernis dolen;
He causes [some] rulers to become foolish/stupid, and then he causes them to wander around, lost, in an barren desert.
25 Ze tasten in de duisternis rond, zonder licht, Ze waggelen als een dronken man.
They grope around in the darkness, without any light, and he causes them to stagger like [SIM] people who are drunk.”
