“Truly then you are the people with whom wisdom itself will die!
Parallel translations
- WEB “No doubt, but you are the people, and wisdom shall die with you.
- KJV No doubt but ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you.
- NKJV “No doubt you are the people, And wisdom will die with you!
- NASB “Truly then you are the people, And with you wisdom will die!
- NLT “You people really know everything, don’t you? And when you die, wisdom will die with you!
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 biting irony Job says his friends are the people and wisdom will die with them. He mocks their air of superior insight.
Overview
Job uses sarcasm to deflate the friends' presumption that they hold a monopoly on wisdom. His tone exposes how their condescension wounds rather than helps. The episode warns counselors against self-important pride and reminds us that true wisdom comes humbly from God, supremely revealed in Christ (1 Corinthians 1:30; James 3:17).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Isa 5:21Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.
- Job 11:6and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom has two sides. Know then that God exacts from you less than your iniquity deserves.
- Job 17:4You have closed their minds to understanding; therefore You will not exalt them.
- Job 6:24–25Teach me, and I will be silent. Help me understand how I have erred.
- Job 32:7–13I thought that age should speak, and many years should teach wisdom.
- Job 8:8–10Please inquire of past generations and consider the discoveries of their fathers.
- Prov 28:11A rich man is wise in his own eyes, but a poor man with discernment sees through him.
- Job 20:3I have heard a rebuke that insults me, and my understanding prompts a reply.
- Job 17:10But come back and try again, all of you. For I will not find a wise man among you.
- Job 11:12But a witless man can no more become wise than the colt of a wild donkey can be born a man!
- 1 Cor 4:10We are fools for Christ, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are honored, but we are dishonored.
- Job 15:2“Does a wise man answer with empty counsel or fill his belly with the hot east wind?
- Job 11:2“Should this stream of words go unanswered and such a speaker be vindicated?
- 1 Cor 6:5I say this to your shame. Is there really no one among you wise enough to arbitrate between his brothers?
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 12:2 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.