Job 34:12–19
12 “Surely, aGod will not act wickedly,
And the Almighty will not pervert justice.
13 “Who agave Him authority over the earth?
And who bhas laid on Him the whole world?
14 “If He should 1determine to do so,
If He should agather to Himself His spirit and His breath,
15 All aflesh would perish together,
And man would breturn to dust.
16 “But if you have understanding, hear this;
Listen to the sound of my words.
17 “Shall aone who hates justice rule?
And bwill you condemn the righteous mighty One,
18 Who says to a king, ‘Worthless one,’
To nobles, ‘Wicked ones’;
19 Who shows no apartiality to princes
Nor regards the rich above the poor,
For they all are the bwork of His hands?
Job 34:12–19 — The New International Version (NIV)
12 It is unthinkable that God would do wrong,
that the Almighty would pervert justice.
13 Who appointed him over the earth?
Who put him in charge of the whole world?
14 If it were his intention
and he withdrew his spirit and breath,
15 all humanity would perish together
and mankind would return to the dust.
16 “If you have understanding, hear this;
listen to what I say.
17 Can someone who hates justice govern?
Will you condemn the just and mighty One?
18 Is he not the One who says to kings, ‘You are worthless,’
and to nobles, ‘You are wicked,’
19 who shows no partiality to princes
and does not favor the rich over the poor,
for they are all the work of his hands?
Job 34:12–19 — English Standard Version (ESV)
12 Of a truth, God will not do wickedly,
and the Almighty will not pervert justice.
13 Who gave him charge over the earth,
and who laid on him the whole world?
14 If he should set his heart to it
and gather to himself his spirit and his breath,
15 all flesh would perish together,
and man would return to dust.
16 “If you have understanding, hear this;
listen to what I say.
17 Shall one who hates justice govern?
Will you condemn him who is righteous and mighty,
18 who says to a king, ‘Worthless one,’
and to nobles, ‘Wicked man,’
19 who shows no partiality to princes,
nor regards the rich more than the poor,
for they are all the work of his hands?
Job 34:12–19 — King James Version (KJV 1900)
12 Yea, surely God will not do wickedly,
Neither will the Almighty pervert judgment.
13 Who hath given him a charge over the earth?
Or who hath disposed the whole world?
14 If he set his heart upon man,
If he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath;
15 All flesh shall perish together,
And man shall turn again unto dust.
16 If now thou hast understanding, hear this:
Hearken to the voice of my words.
17 Shall even he that hateth right govern?
And wilt thou condemn him that is most just?
18 Is it fit to say to a king, Thou art wicked?
And to princes, Ye are ungodly?
19 How much less to him that accepteth not the persons of princes,
Nor regardeth the rich more than the poor?
For they all are the work of his hands.
Job 34:12–19 — New Living Translation (NLT)
12 Truly, God will not do wrong.
The Almighty will not twist justice.
13 Did someone else put the world in his care?
Who set the whole world in place?
14 If God were to take back his spirit
and withdraw his breath,
15 all life would cease,
and humanity would turn again to dust.
16 “Now listen to me if you are wise.
Pay attention to what I say.
17 Could God govern if he hated justice?
Are you going to condemn the almighty judge?
18 For he says to kings, ‘You are wicked,’
and to nobles, ‘You are unjust.’
19 He doesn’t care how great a person may be,
and he pays no more attention to the rich than to the poor.
He made them all.
Job 34:12–19 — The New King James Version (NKJV)
12 Surely God will never do wickedly,
Nor will the Almighty pervert justice.
13 Who gave Him charge over the earth?
Or who appointed Him over the whole world?
14 If He should set His heart on it,
If He should gather to Himself His Spirit and His breath,
15 All flesh would perish together,
And man would return to dust.
16 “If you have understanding, hear this;
Listen to the sound of my words:
17 Should one who hates justice govern?
Will you condemn Him who is most just?
18 Is it fitting to say to a king, ‘You are worthless,’
And to nobles, ‘You are wicked’?
19 Yet He is not partial to princes,
Nor does He regard the rich more than the poor;
For they are all the work of His hands.
Job 34:12–19 — New Century Version (NCV)
12 Truly God will never do wrong;
the Almighty will never twist what is right.
13 No one chose God to rule over the earth
or put him in charge of the whole world.
14 If God should decide
to take away life and breath,
15 then everyone would die together
and turn back into dust.
16 “If you can understand, hear this;
listen to what I have to say.
17 Can anyone govern who hates what is right?
How can you blame God who is both fair and powerful?
18 God is the one who says to kings, ‘You are worthless,’
or to important people, ‘You are evil.’
19 He is not nicer to princes than other people,
nor kinder to rich people than poor people,
because he made them all with his own hands.
Job 34:12–19 — American Standard Version (ASV)
12 Yea, of a surety, God will not do wickedly,
Neither will the Almighty pervert justice.
13 Who gave him a charge over the earth?
Or who hath disposed the whole world?
14 If he set his heart upon himself,
If he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath;
15 All flesh shall perish together,
And man shall turn again unto dust.
16 If now thou hast understanding, hear this:
Hearken to the voice of my words.
17 Shall even one that hateth justice govern?
And wilt thou condemn him that is righteous and mighty?—
18 Him that saith to a king, Thou art vile,
Or to nobles, Ye are wicked;
19 That respecteth not the persons of princes,
Nor regardeth the rich more than the poor;
For they all are the work of his hands.
Job 34:12–19 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)
12 Yea, surely, •God acteth not wickedly, and the Almighty perverteth not judgment. 13 Who hath entrusted to him the earth? and who hath disposed the whole world? 14 If he only thought of himself, and gathered unto him his spirit and his breath, 15 All flesh would expire together, and man would return to the dust.
16 If now thou hast understanding, hear this: give ear to the voice of my words! 17 Should he that hateth right indeed govern? and wilt thou condemn the All-just? 18 Shall one say to a king, Belial? to nobles, Wicked? 19 How then to him that accepteth not the persons of princes, nor regardeth the rich man more than the poor? for they are all the work of his hands.
Job 34:12–19 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
12 Certainly, God will never do anything evil,
and the Almighty will never pervert justice.
13 Who put him in charge of the earth?
Who appointed him to be over the whole world?
14 If he thought only of himself
and withdrew his Spirit and his breath,
15 all living beings would die together,
and humanity would return to dust.
16 “If you understand, listen to this.
Open your ears to my words!
17 Should anyone who hates justice be allowed to govern?
Will you condemn the one who is righteous and mighty?
18 Should anyone ⸤even⸥ say to a king,
‘You good-for-nothing scoundrel!’
or to nobles, ‘You wicked people!’
19 The one who is righteous and mighty
does not grant special favors to princes
or prefer important people over poor people
because his hands made them all.
Job 34:12–19 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
12 Indeed, it is true that God does not act wickedly
and the Almighty does not pervert justice.
13 Who gave Him authority over the earth?
Who put Him in charge of the entire world?
14 If He put His mind to it
and withdrew the spirit and breath He gave,
15 every living thing would perish together
and mankind would return to the dust.
16 If you have understanding, hear this;
listen to what I have to say.
17 Could one who hates justice govern the world?
Will you condemn the mighty Righteous One,
18 who says to a king, “Worthless man!”
and to nobles, “Wicked men!”?
19 God is not partial to princes
and does not favor the rich over the poor,
for they are all the work of His hands.
Job 34:12–19 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
12 Of a truth, God will not do wickedly,
and the Almighty will not pervert justice.
13 Who gave him charge over the earth
and who laid on him the whole world?
14 If he should take back his spirit to himself,
and gather to himself his breath,
15 all flesh would perish together,
and all mortals return to dust.
16 “If you have understanding, hear this;
listen to what I say.
17 Shall one who hates justice govern?
Will you condemn one who is righteous and mighty,
18 who says to a king, ‘You scoundrel!’
and to princes, ‘You wicked men!’;
19 who shows no partiality to nobles,
nor regards the rich more than the poor,
for they are all the work of his hands?
Job 34:12–19 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)
12 What’s more, God truly does not act wickedly,
and Shaddai does not pervert justice.
13 Who gave him charge over the earth?
Or who laid on him the whole world?
14 If he should set his heart to it,
and he should gather his spirit and his breath to himself,
15 all flesh would perish together,
and humankind would return to dust.
16 “But if you have understanding, hear this;
listen to what I say.
17 Shall he who hates justice really govern?
Or will you declare the Righteous One, the Mighty, guilty?—
18 the one who says to a king,
‘You worthless man,’ to noblemen, ‘You wicked man,’
19 who shows no partiality to officials
and who does not take note of the noble more than of the insignificant,
for all of them are the work of his hands?
Job 34:12–19 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)
12 It isn’t possible for God to do wrong.
The Mighty One would never treat people unfairly.
13 Who appointed him to rule over the earth?
Who put him in charge of the whole world?
14 If he really wanted to,
he could hold back his spirit and breath.
15 Then everyone would die together.
They would return to the dust.
16 “Job, if you have understanding, listen to me.
Pay attention to what I’m saying.
17 Can someone who hates to be fair govern?
Will you bring charges against the holy and mighty One?
18 He says to kings, ‘You are worthless.’
He says to nobles, ‘You are evil.’
19 He doesn’t favor princes.
He treats rich people and poor people the same.
His hands created all of them.