Job 12
1 And Job answers and says:
Then Job said [to his three friends],
2 “Truly—you [are] the people, and wisdom dies 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 I also have a heart like you, I am not fallen more than you, And with whom is there not like 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 a laughter to his friend: He calls to God, and He answers him, A laughter [is] the perfect righteous one.
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 A torch—despised in the thoughts of the secure Is prepared for those sliding with the feet.
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 tents of spoilers are at peace, And those provoking God have confidence, Into whose hand God has brought.
Bandits live peacefully, and no one threatens those who cause God to become angry; their own strength is the god [that they worship].
7 And yet, now ask [one of] the beasts, And it shows you, And a bird of the heavens, And it declares to you.
“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 talk to the earth, and it shows you, And fishes of the sea recount to you:
[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 has not known in all these, That the hand of YHWH has done this?
All of them certainly know [RHQ] that it is Yahweh who has made them with his hands.
10 In whose hand [is] the breath of every living thing, And the spirit of all flesh of man.
He directs the lives of all living creatures; he gives breath to all [us] humans [to enable us to remain alive].
11 Does the ear not try words? And the palate taste food for itself?
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 very aged [is] wisdom, And [with] length of days [is] understanding.
Old people are [often] very wise, and because of having lived many years, they understand much,
13 With Him [are] wisdom and might, To Him [are] counsel and understanding.
but God is wise and very powerful; he has good sense and understands [everything].
14 Behold, He breaks down, and it is not built up, He shuts against a man, And it is not opened.
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 keeps in the waters, and they are dried up, And He sends them forth, And they overturn the land.
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 [are] strength and wisdom, His the deceived and deceiver.
He is the one who is truly strong and wise; he rules over those who deceive others and those whom they deceive.
17 Causing counselors to go away [as] a spoil, Indeed, He makes fools of judges.
He [sometimes] causes [the king’s] officials to no longer be wise, and he causes judges to become foolish.
18 He has opened the bands of kings, And He binds a girdle on their loins.
He takes from kings the robes that they wear and puts loincloths around their waists, [causing them to become slaves].
19 Causing ministers to go away [as] a spoil And strong ones He overthrows.
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 Turning aside the lip of the steadfast, And the reason of the aged He takes away.
He [sometimes] causes those whom others trust to be unable to speak, and he causes old men to no longer have good sense.
21 Pouring contempt on princes, And the girdle of the mighty He made feeble.
He causes those who have authority to be despised, and he causes those who are powerful to no longer have any power/strength.
22 Removing deep things out of darkness, And He brings out to light death-shade.
He causes things that are hidden in the darkness to be revealed.
23 Magnifying the nations, and He destroys them, Spreading out the nations, and He quiets them.
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 Turning aside the heart Of the heads of the people of the land, And He causes them to wander In vacancy—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 feel darkness, and not light, He causes them to wander as a drunkard.”
They grope around in the darkness, without any light, and he causes them to stagger like [SIM] people who are drunk.”
