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.
Parallel translations
- WEB 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.
- BSB He deprives the earth’s leaders of reason and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland.
- NKJV He takes away the understanding of the chiefs of the people of the earth, And makes them wander in a pathless wilderness.
- NASB “He deprives the leaders of the earth’s people of intelligence And makes them wander in a pathless wasteland.
- NLT He strips kings of understanding and leaves them wandering in a pathless wasteland.
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
God can strip leaders of their wisdom and leave them aimless. Human authority depends wholly on God's permission.
Overview
Job says God takes away understanding from the chiefs of the earth, causing them to wander in a trackless wilderness. The mightiest rulers become lost when God withdraws discernment. Scripture consistently teaches that true wisdom comes from God alone, and apart from Him even the wise are confounded.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Ps 107:40He poureth contempt upon princes, and causeth them to wander in the wilderness, where there is no way.
- Job 12:20He removeth away the speech of the trusty, and taketh away the understanding of the aged.
- Hos 7:11Ephraim also is like a silly dove without heart: they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria.
- Ps 107:4They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in.
- Dan 4:16Let his heart be changed from man’s, and let a beast’s heart be given unto him; and let seven times pass over him.
- Dan 4:33The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like birds’ claws.
- Isa 19:1The burden of Egypt. Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.
- Isa 6:9–10And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
- Job 17:4For thou hast hid their heart from understanding: therefore shalt thou not exalt them.
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 12:24 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.