“Strength and sound wisdom are with Him. One who goes astray and one who leads astray belong to Him.
Parallel translations
- WEB With him is strength and wisdom. The deceived and the deceiver are his.
- KJV With him is strength and wisdom: the deceived and the deceiver are his.
- BSB True wisdom and power belong to Him. The deceived and the deceiver are His.
- NKJV With Him are strength and prudence. The deceived and the deceiver are His.
- NLT Yes, strength and wisdom are his; deceivers and deceived are both in his power.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
With God are strength and sound wisdom, and both the deceived and the deceiver belong to Him. Job affirms God's rule over all, even deception.
Overview
Job declares that God possesses strength and effective wisdom, and that both those who mislead and those misled fall under His sovereign sway. This is a profound assertion of God's rule over all human affairs, including human folly and sin, without making God the author of evil (Proverbs 21:1; Acts 2:23). It assures us that no scheme escapes God's overruling purpose, which He bends toward good in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Ezek 14:9“‘“If the prophet is deceived and speaks a word, I, Yahweh, have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand on him, and will destroy him from among my people Israel.
- Job 12:13“With God is wisdom and might. He has counsel and understanding.
- 1 Kgs 22:22–23Yahweh said to him, ‘How?’ He said, ‘I will go out and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ He said, ‘You will entice him, and will also prevail. Go out and do so.’
- Job 13:9Is it good that he should search you out? Or as one deceives a man, will you deceive him?
- Matt 6:13Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.’
- Job 13:7Will you speak unrighteously for God, and talk deceitfully for him?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Job's cry for a mediator who can lay his hand on both God and man, and his confidence that 'my Redeemer lives' and will stand on the earth, reaches forward to Jesus the living Redeemer.
How Job 12:16 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.