# Job 12 đź“–: Job Answers His Friends
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> [!info] Table of Contents
> [[#đź“ś Scripture Text (NET)]]
> [[#đź“– Verse-by-Verse Commentary]]
> [[#🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]]
> [[#🧠Chapter Summary]]
> [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]]
> [[#🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application]]
> [[#đź’¬ Discussion Questions]]
> [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]]
> [[#đź”— Related Passages/Cross Reference]]
> [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]]
> [[#đź“‚ Internal Notes]]
## đź“ś Scripture Text (NET)
(The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005)
### Job’s Reply to Zophar
[[#Verse 01.]]Â Then Job answered:
[[#Verse 02.]] “Without a doubt you are the people,
and wisdom will die with you.
[[#Verse 03.]] I also have understanding as well as you;
I am not inferior to you.
Who does not know such things as these?
[[#Verse 04.]] I am a laughingstock to my friends, I, who called on God and whom he answered— a righteous and blameless man is a laughingstock!
[[#Verse 05.]] For calamity, there is derision (according to the ideas of the fortunate)— a fate for those whose feet slip.
[[#Verse 06.]] But the tents of robbers are peaceful, and those who provoke God are confident— who carry their god in their hands.
### Knowledge of God’s Wisdom
[[#Verse 07.]] “But now, ask the animals and they will teach you, or the birds of the sky and they will tell you.
[[#Verse 08.]] Or speak to the earth and it will teach you,
or let the fish of the sea declare to you.
[[#Verse 09.]] Which of all these does not know
that the hand of the Lord has done this?
[[#Verse 10.]] In his hand is the life of every creature
and the breath of all the human race.
[[#Verse 11.]]Â Does not the ear test words,
as the tongue tastes food?
[[#Verse 12.]]Â Is not wisdom found among the aged?
Does not long life bring understanding?
[[#Verse 13.]] “With God are wisdom and power;
counsel and understanding are his.
[[#Verse 14.]] If he tears down, it cannot be rebuilt;
if he imprisons a person, there is no escape.
[[#Verse 15.]]Â If he holds back the waters, then they dry up;
if he releases them, they destroy the land.
[[#Verse 16.]]Â With him are strength and prudence; both the one who goes astray and the one who misleads are his.
[[#Verse 17.]] He leads counselors away stripped and makes judges into fools.
[[#Verse 18.]] He loosens the bonds of kings and binds a loincloth around their waist.
[[#Verse 19.]] He leads priests away stripped and overthrows the potentates.
[[#Verse 20.]] He deprives the trusted advisers of speech and takes away the discernment of elders.
[[#Verse 21.]] He pours contempt on noblemen and disarms the powerful.
[[#Verse 22.]] He reveals the deep things of darkness, and brings deep shadows into the light.
[[#Verse 23.]] He makes nations great, and destroys them; he extends the boundaries of nations and disperses them.
[[#Verse 24.]]Â He deprives the leaders of the earth of their understanding; he makes them wander in a trackless desert waste.
[[#Verse 25.]] They grope about in darkness without light; he makes them stagger like drunkards.
## đź“– Verse-by-Verse Commentary
###### Overall.
###### Verse 01.
###### Verse 02.
###### Verse 03.
###### Verse 04.
###### Verse 05.
###### Verse 06.
###### Verse 07.
###### Verse 08.
###### Verse 09.
###### Verse 10.
###### Verse 11.
###### Verse 12.
###### Verse 13.
###### Verse 14.
###### Verse 15.
###### Verse 16.
###### Verse 17.
###### Verse 18.
###### Verse 19.
###### Verse 20.
###### Verse 21.
###### Verse 22.
###### Verse 23.
###### Verse 24.
###### Verse 25.
## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights
1. Job opens with sarcasm: "Wisdom will die with you!" (12:2).
2. Job 12:9 is the only place in the poetic dialogues where the personal name of God, Yahweh (the Lord), is used in most Hebrew manuscripts.
3. Job's line "the hand of the Lord has done this" (12:9) is almost identical to Isaiah 41:20.
4. Job says the one who is at ease looks down on the one who is suffering (12:5).
5. Job asks if the ear tests words as the tongue tastes food (12:11), a proverb Elihu repeats in 34:3.
6. Job lists counselors, judges, kings, priests, and elders as people God can humble (12:17-20).
7. Job 12:21 is almost identical to Psalm 107:40, which speaks of God pouring contempt on nobles.
8. Job says God makes nations great and destroys them (12:23).
9. Chapter 12 begins Job's longest speech in the first cycle (chapters 12 to 14).
10. Job's point is that he already knows the wisdom his friends are offering (12:3).
## 🧠Chapter Summary
> [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way.
## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter
Christ is the One in whose hand is the life of every creature (12:10). All things were made through Him, and in Him was life (John 1:3-4).
## 🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application
> [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way.
## đź’¬ Discussion Questions
1. Job says even the animals know the Lord's hand has done this (12:7-9). What does creation teach us about God?
2. Job says wisdom and power belong to God (12:13). How does that truth change the way you face what you cannot control?
3. Job describes God humbling kings, priests, and nations (12:17-25). What does that teach about human power?
## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember
- đź“– verses 7-9: The animals and the earth know the hand of the Lord has done this.
- đź“– verse 10: The life of every living thing is in God's hand.
- đź“– verse 13: Wisdom and power belong to God.
## đź”— Related Passages/Cross Reference
- đź”— [[John 01#Verse 03.|John 1:3-4]] - In Him was life.
- đź”— [[Acts 17#Verse 25.|Acts 17:25-28]] - God gives all people life and breath.
- đź”— [[Daniel 02#Verse 20.|Daniel 2:20-21]] - God removes kings and sets up kings.
- đź”— [[Psalm 104#Verse 27.|Psalm 104:27-30]] - All creatures look to God for their food.
- đź”— [[Colossians 02#Verse 03.|Colossians 2:3]] - All the treasures of wisdom are hidden in Christ.
## 🙏 Devotional Reflection
đź“ť SOAP: [[Job 12 - SOAP|True Wisdom Belongs to God]]
## đź“‚ Internal Notes