Job 12: Ask the Animals
Job answers all three friends with biting irony, insisting he knows what they know and that true wisdom and might belong to God alone.
Job 12 (WEB)
1 Then Job answered,
2 “No doubt, but you are the people, and wisdom shall die with you.
3 But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Yes, who doesn’t know such things as these?
4 I am like one who is a joke to his neighbor, I, who called on God, and he answered. The just, the blameless man is a joke.
5 In the thought of him who is at ease there is contempt for misfortune. It is ready for them whose foot slips.
6 The tents of robbers prosper. Those who provoke God are secure, who carry their God in their hands.
7 “But ask the animals, now, and they shall teach you; the birds of the sky, and they shall tell you.
8 Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach you. The fish of the sea shall declare to you.
9 Who doesn’t know that in all these, the hand of Yahweh has done this,
10 in whose hand is the life of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind?
11 Doesn’t the ear try words, even as the palate tastes its food?
12 With aged men is wisdom, in length of days understanding.
13 “With God is wisdom and might. He has counsel and understanding.
14 Behold, he breaks down, and it can’t be built again. He imprisons a man, and there can be no release.
15 Behold, he withholds the waters, and they dry up. Again, he sends them out, and they overturn the earth.
16 With him is strength and wisdom. The deceived and the deceiver are his.
17 He leads counselors away stripped. He makes judges fools.
18 He loosens the bond of kings. He binds their waist with a belt.
19 He leads priests away stripped, and overthrows the mighty.
20 He removes the speech of those who are trusted, and takes away the understanding of the elders.
21 He pours contempt on princes, and loosens the belt of the strong.
22 He uncovers deep things out of darkness, and brings out to light the shadow of death.
23 He increases the nations, and he destroys them. He enlarges the nations, and he leads them captive.
24 He takes away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth, and causes them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way.
25 They grope in the dark without light. He makes them stagger like a drunken man.
Job 12 (KJV)
1 And Job answered and said,
2 No doubt but ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you.
3 But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you: yea, who knoweth not such things as these?
4 I am as one mocked of his neighbour, who calleth upon God, and he answereth him: the just upright man is laughed to scorn.
5 He that is ready to slip with his feet is as a lamp despised in the thought of him that is at ease.
6 The tabernacles of robbers prosper, and they that provoke God are secure; into whose hand God bringeth abundantly.
7 But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee:
8 Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee.
9 Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the Lord hath wrought this?
10 In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.
11 Doth not the ear try words? and the mouth taste his meat?
12 With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding.
13 With him is wisdom and strength, he hath counsel and understanding.
14 Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot be built again: he shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening.
15 Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up: also he sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth.
16 With him is strength and wisdom: the deceived and the deceiver are his.
17 He leadeth counsellors away spoiled, and maketh the judges fools.
18 He looseth the bond of kings, and girdeth their loins with a girdle.
19 He leadeth princes away spoiled, and overthroweth the mighty.
20 He removeth away the speech of the trusty, and taketh away the understanding of the aged.
21 He poureth contempt upon princes, and weakeneth the strength of the mighty.
22 He discovereth deep things out of darkness, and bringeth out to light the shadow of death.
23 He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them: he enlargeth the nations, and straiteneth them again.
24 He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth, and causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way.
25 They grope in the dark without light, and he maketh them to stagger like a drunken man.
Job 12 (ASV)
1 Then Job answered and said,
2 No doubt but ye are the people, And wisdom shall die with you.
3 But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you: Yea, who knoweth not such things as these?
4 I am as one that is a laughing-stock to his neighbor, I who called upon God, and he answered: The just, the perfect man is a laughing-stock.
5 In the thought of him that is at ease there is contempt for misfortune; It is ready for them whose foot slippeth.
6 The tents of robbers prosper, And they that provoke God are secure; Into whose hand God bringeth abundantly.
7 But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; And the birds of the heavens, and they shall tell thee:
8 Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee; And the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee.
9 Who knoweth not in all these, That the hand of Jehovah hath wrought this,
10 In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind?
11 Doth not the ear try words, Even as the palate tasteth its food?
12 With aged men is wisdom, And in length of days understanding.
13 WithGodis wisdom and might; He hath counsel and understanding.
14 Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot be built again; He shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening.
15 Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up; Again, he sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth.
16 With him is strength and wisdom; The deceived and the deceiver are his.
17 He leadeth counsellors away stripped, And judges maketh he fools.
18 He looseth the bond of kings, And he bindeth their loins with a girdle.
19 He leadeth priests away stripped, And overthroweth the mighty.
20 He removeth the speech of the trusty, And taketh away the understanding of the elders.
21 He poureth contempt upon princes, And looseth the belt of the strong.
22 He uncovereth deep things out of darkness, And bringeth out to light the shadow of death.
23 He increaseth the nations, and he destroyeth them: He enlargeth the nations, and he leadeth them captive.
24 He taketh away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth, And causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way.
25 They grope in the dark without light; And he maketh them to stagger like a drunken man.
Summary
Job answers his friends with sharp irony, mocking their air of superiority: no doubt they are the people, and wisdom will die with them! But he too has understanding and is not inferior to them; indeed, who does not know such things as these? He feels he has become a laughingstock—a righteous, blameless man who called on God and was answered, now treated with the contempt that those at ease reserve for the unfortunate. He notes the uncomfortable fact that the tents of robbers prosper and those who provoke God are secure. Then Job urges them to ask the animals, the birds, the earth, and the fish, for even creation knows that the hand of Yahweh has done all this, holding the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind. He launches into his own hymn of God's sovereign power and wisdom, but with a darker edge than the friends': God breaks down what cannot be rebuilt, withholds and unleashes the waters, owns both the deceived and the deceiver, leads counselors away stripped and makes judges fools, looses the bonds of kings and overthrows the mighty, pours contempt on princes, and takes away the understanding of the elders. He uncovers deep things out of darkness and leads whole nations into being and into captivity. Job's point is pointed: he knows God's greatness as well as they do—better, perhaps—and that very greatness makes their tidy explanations ring hollow.
Voices
- Job (speaking) — The sufferer who answers his friends with cutting irony, claims equal understanding, and proclaims that wisdom and might belong to God, who overturns the great.
- The three friends (addressed) — Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, mocked by Job for their presumed monopoly on wisdom and told that even the animals know what they claim to teach.
Key Verse
Job 12:13 (WEB)
“With God is wisdom and might. He has counsel and understanding.
Lessons Learned
- Suffering does not make a person ignorant; Job grasps God's greatness as fully as his critics.
- Creation itself testifies that all things rest in the hand of the living God.
- God's sovereignty extends over rulers, nations, and the wise, not just the obscure individual.
- A right view of God's power should humble our confident explanations of his ways.
- The afflicted are not fools. Job retorts, “I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you” (Job 12:3, WEB); suffering has not robbed him of insight.
- Creation declares God's hand. “Ask the animals… and they shall teach you” (Job 12:7, WEB); all that lives knows its life rests in the hand of the Lord.
- Wisdom and might belong to God. “With God is wisdom and might. He has counsel and understanding” (Job 12:13, WEB), a truth that dwarfs the friends' formulas.
- God overturns the powerful. He “leads counselors away stripped” and “makes judges fools” (Job 12:17, WEB); none of the mighty stand outside his sovereign rule.
- How does Job use irony in verses 2-3 to respond to his friends' confidence?
- What does Job mean by inviting them to 'ask the animals' (12:7-9)?
- How does Job's description of God's sovereignty differ in tone from the friends' descriptions?
- Why does Job emphasize that God overturns counselors, judges, kings, and nations (12:17-25)?
- When you suffer, do you feel others treat you as if you have lost your wisdom? How does Job's confidence encourage you?
- Job answers their condescension with biting sarcasm: surely they are 'the people' and wisdom will die with them (12:2). He insists he is not inferior and that what they say is common knowledge (12:3). The irony deflates their self-importance and reclaims his dignity as a thinking, faithful man.
- Job says even the beasts, birds, earth, and fish know that Yahweh's hand holds the life of every creature (12:7-10). His point is that his friends' supposed insight is so basic that creation itself proclaims it; they have taught him nothing he and all the world do not already know.
- Job affirms the same sovereign power the friends do, but with a darker, more unsettling edge: God breaks down with no rebuilding, strips counselors and kings, and makes judges fools (12:14-21). For Job, God's freedom and might do not fit neat formulas, which is precisely why his friends' explanations fail.
- Job piles up examples of God toppling the powerful and wise to show that God's sovereignty is vast, free, and not bound by human schemes of reward and punishment (12:17-25). If God overturns even nations and elders, then the friends' tidy account of Job's case is far too small.
- This is a personal-application question. Encourage members who suffer that their pain does not erase their understanding or worth, as Job insists. As leader, affirm the dignity of the hurting and the freedom to hold a robust view of God even while wrestling with his ways.