Passage

Job 12.7-10

Book: Job · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"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." (Job 12:5-12, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"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, Yahweh’s hand 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." (Job 12:5-12, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"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. ^{soul: or, life} ^{all: Heb. all flesh of man}"

"11. Doth not the ear try words? and the mouth taste his meat? ^{mouth: Heb. palate} 12. With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding." (Job 12:5-12, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"5. A torch, despised in the thoughts of the secure Is prepared for those sliding with the feet. 6. At peace are the tents of spoilers, And those provoking God have confidence, He into whose hand God hath brought."

"7. And yet, ask, I pray thee, [One of] the beasts, and it doth shew thee, And a fowl of the heavens, And it doth declare to thee. 8. Or talk to the earth, and it sheweth thee, And fishes of the sea recount to thee: 9. 'Who hath not known in all these, That the hand of Jehovah hath done this? 10. In whose hand [is] the breath of every living thing, And the spirit of all flesh of man.'"

"11. Doth not the ear try words? And the palate taste food for itself? 12. With the very aged [is] wisdom, And [with] length of days understanding." (Job 12:5-12, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

TBD
TBD
TBD
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Quoted in

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.