Job 12–13

Chapter 12

Job Chides His Accusers

¹Then Job ¹responded,

²“Truly then ^ayou are the people,

And with you wisdom will die!

³“But ^aI have intelligence as well as you;

I am not inferior to you.

And ¹who does not know such things as these?

⁴“I am a ^ajoke to ¹my friends,

The one who called on God and He answered him;

The just and ^bblameless man is a joke.

⁵“¹He who is at ease holds calamity in contempt,

As prepared for those whose feet slip.

⁶“The ^atents of the destroyers prosper,

And those who provoke God ^bare secure,

¹Whom God brings ^cinto their power.

⁷“But now ask the beasts, and let them teach you;

And the birds of the heavens, and let them tell you.

⁸“Or speak to the earth, and let it teach you;

And let the fish of the sea declare to you.

⁹“Who among all these does not know

That ^athe hand of the Lord has done this,

^10aIn whose hand is the life of every living thing,

And ^bthe breath of all mankind?

¹¹“Does not ^athe ear test words,

As the palate ¹tastes its food?

¹²“Wisdom is with ^aaged men,

With ¹long life is understanding.

Job Speaks of the Power of God

¹³“With Him are ^awisdom and might;

To Him belong counsel and ^bunderstanding.

¹⁴“Behold, He ^atears down, and it cannot be rebuilt;

He ^1bimprisons a man, and ²there can be no release.

¹⁵“Behold, He ^arestrains the waters, and they dry up;

And He ^bsends them out, and they ¹inundate the earth.

¹⁶“With Him are strength and sound wisdom,

The ^amisled and the misleader belong to Him.

¹⁷“He makes ^acounselors walk ¹barefoot

And makes fools of ^bjudges.

¹⁸“He ^aloosens the ¹bond of kings

And binds their loins with a girdle.

¹⁹“He makes priests walk ¹barefoot

And overthrows ^athe secure ones.

²⁰“He deprives the trusted ones of speech

And ^atakes away the discernment of the elders.

²¹“He ^apours contempt on nobles

And ^bloosens the belt of the strong.

²²“He ^areveals mysteries from the darkness

And brings the deep darkness into light.

²³“He ^amakes the nations great, then destroys them;

He ¹enlarges the nations, then leads them away.

²⁴“He ^adeprives of intelligence the chiefs of the earth’s people

And makes them wander in a pathless waste.

²⁵“They ^agrope in darkness with no light,

And He makes them ^bstagger like a drunken man.

Chapter 13

Job Says His Friends’ Proverbs Are Ashes

¹“^aBehold, my eye has seen all this,

My ear has heard and understood it.

²“^aWhat you know I also know;

I am not inferior to you.

³“But ^aI would speak to ¹the Almighty,

And I desire to ^bargue with God.

⁴“But you ^asmear with lies;

You are all ^bworthless physicians.

⁵“O that you would ^abe completely silent,

And that it would become your wisdom!

⁶“Please hear my argument

And listen to the contentions of my lips.

⁷“Will you ^aspeak what is unjust for God,

And speak what is deceitful for Him?

⁸“Will you ^ashow partiality for Him?

Will you contend for God?

⁹“Will it be well when He examines you?

Or ^awill you deceive Him as one deceives a man?

¹⁰“He will surely reprove you

If you secretly ^ashow partiality.

¹¹“Will not ^aHis ¹majesty terrify you,

And the dread of Him fall on you?

¹²“Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ashes,

Your defenses are defenses of clay.

Job Is Sure He Will Be Vindicated

¹³“^aBe silent before me so that I may speak;

Then let come on me what may.

¹⁴“Why should I take my flesh in my teeth

And ^aput my life in my ¹hands?

¹⁵“^aThough He slay me,

I will hope in Him.

Nevertheless I ^bwill argue my ways ¹before Him.

¹⁶“This also will be my ^asalvation,

For ^ba godless man may not come before His presence.

¹⁷“Listen carefully to my speech,

And let my declaration fill your ears.

¹⁸“Behold now, I have ^aprepared my case;

I know that ^bI will be vindicated.

¹⁹“^aWho will contend with me?

For then I would be silent and ^bdie.

²⁰“Only two things do not do to me,

Then I will not hide from Your face:

^21aRemove Your ¹hand from me,

And let not the dread of You terrify me.

²²“Then call, and ^aI will answer;

Or let me speak, then reply to me.

²³“^aHow many are my iniquities and sins?

Make known to me my ¹rebellion and my sin.

²⁴“Why do You ^ahide Your face

And consider me ^bYour enemy?

²⁵“Will You cause a ^adriven leaf to tremble?

Or will You pursue the dry ^bchaff?

²⁶“For You write ^abitter things against me

And ^bmake me to inherit the iniquities of my youth.

²⁷“You ^aput my feet in the stocks

And watch all my paths;

You ¹set a limit for the soles of my feet,

²⁸While ¹I am decaying like a ^arotten thing,

Like a garment that is moth-eaten.