Job 12 13

Job 12:13 kjv

With him is wisdom and strength, he hath counsel and understanding.

Job 12:13 nkjv

"With Him are wisdom and strength, He has counsel and understanding.

Job 12:13 niv

"To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his.

Job 12:13 esv

"With God are wisdom and might; he has counsel and understanding.

Job 12:13 nlt

"But true wisdom and power are found in God;
counsel and understanding are his.

Job 12 verses

Job 12 13 Meaning

Job 12:13 declares that ultimate wisdom, strength, counsel, and understanding inherently reside with God. It asserts divine perfection and supremacy in all attributes relating to knowledge, power, and purpose, establishing Him as the singular source and possessor of these profound qualities. This statement functions as a foundational truth affirmed by Job even in the midst of his profound suffering and doubt concerning God's actions.

Job 12 13 Context

Job 12:13 appears in Job's second discourse, specifically in his response to Zophar (Job 11) and broadly, to the consolidated arguments of his three friends. Throughout these exchanges, Job's friends posit that suffering is a direct consequence of sin, a common ancient Near Eastern belief rooted in a simplified view of divine justice. They urge Job to confess hidden sin to find relief.

Job 12:13 is a pivotal declaration. Job has just challenged his friends' supposed monopoly on wisdom (Job 12:2-3) and scorned their simplistic understanding of God (Job 12:7-12), arguing that even nature testifies to God's profound, inscrutable power and sovereignty over all things, including the righteous and the wicked. With this verse, Job affirms the core truth of God's perfect and absolute attributes of wisdom, might, counsel, and understanding. He is not disputing God's character; rather, he is wrestling with how these perfect attributes are being applied to his unmerited suffering. His point is that human wisdom cannot comprehend God's actions, which stem from these incomprehensible divine perfections. He asserts that God's power and knowledge are far beyond what his friends' rigid doctrines account for, implying a deeper, unsearchable divine plan.

Job 12 13 Word analysis

• With God: עִמּוֹ (immo) - im means "with" or "by," and o is a suffix meaning "Him."
  • Significance: This highlights God as the intrinsic source and possessor. These qualities are not merely attributes He chooses to use but are inherent to His very being. It signifies a natural, perpetual, and inseparable connection, not an acquired one. God is where these qualities originate and eternally reside.
• are wisdom: חָכְמָה (ḥokhmah) - Skill, prudence, insight, inherent sagacity.
  • Significance: Refers to ultimate, comprehensive knowledge and skill, not just intellectual capacity but practical discernment in the ordering of creation and governance of affairs. It implies divine intelligence, insight into the true nature of things, and the ability to apply knowledge perfectly for right outcomes. It includes understanding divine purposes.
• and might: וְגְּבוּרָה (vêgĕvurah) - vê is "and," gĕvurah means strength, power, valor, effective force.
  • Significance: Points to God's omnipotence and absolute sovereignty. It is the power to execute wisdom's decrees, to accomplish His will without fail, and to control all aspects of creation and history. This might is limitless and uncontestable.
• he has: לוֹ (lo) - Literally "to Him," or "for Him." Implies ownership and possession.
  • Significance: Reinforces that counsel and understanding are not external concepts God refers to, but internal, intrinsic qualities He holds completely and exercises freely.
• counsel: עֵצָה (ʿetsah) - Counsel, advice, purpose, deliberate plan.
  • Significance: Denotes God's settled, deliberate purpose and strategic planning for all events. It implies an eternal, unchangeable, and perfectly thought-out plan that encompasses all of existence, executed according to His will and for His glory. This is not deliberation stemming from uncertainty, but from inherent perfection.
• and understanding: וּתְּבוּנָה (vêtĕvunah) - vê is "and," tĕvunah means understanding, discernment, comprehension, intelligence, skill.
  • Significance: Represents God's perfect discernment, insight into cause and effect, and complete comprehension of all intricacies and interrelationships. It is the ability to perceive deeply, differentiate correctly, and grasp the fullness of every situation. This understanding is boundless and infallible.

Words-group by words-group analysis:

• With God are wisdom and might: This phrase emphatically declares God as the unique, ultimate, and indwelling source of both profound knowledge and absolute power. It highlights God's intrinsic and dynamic nature: His intelligence is supreme, and His capacity to act on that intelligence is irresistible. It asserts His active role in controlling all circumstances, far beyond human intervention or comprehension.
• he has counsel and understanding: This complementary phrase clarifies the application of God's wisdom and might. His "counsel" signifies His eternal and purposeful plan, a blueprint for all things. His "understanding" is the complete discernment needed to formulate and execute this plan flawlessly. These two attributes underline His perfect forethought and unfailing grasp of every detail, ensuring His plans are eternally fixed and perfectly achieved.

Job 12 13 Bonus section

• This verse can be seen as a precursor to God's speeches from the whirlwind (Job chapters 38-41), where God himself displays His unmatched wisdom and power through creation, further humbling Job and exposing the limitations of human understanding.
• The assertion that "With God are wisdom and might" sets the stage for a theology of divine transcendence, emphasizing God's elevated status far above human intellect or control, especially in times of great perplexity.
• It counters any belief that human intelligence or power can match, manipulate, or even fully comprehend the divine will. No earthly king or human strategy can overturn God's sovereign plan.

Job 12 13 Commentary

Job 12:13 is a profound theological statement made by Job, setting the foundation for his entire argument in the book. It is not an expression of doubt, but an assertion of undeniable divine reality. Despite his personal anguish and confusion over God's ways, Job steadfastly declares that ultimate wisdom, omnipotence, unchangeable counsel, and boundless understanding reside perfectly in God alone. This truth differentiates God's intricate and often incomprehensible workings from the simplistic retribution theology offered by his friends.

Job reminds them – and the reader – that God operates from a level of perfect wisdom and purpose that humanity cannot fully grasp or criticize. His plans are born of complete understanding and executed with infinite might, even when they appear confounding from a limited human perspective. The verse underscores God's absolute sovereignty; His decisions are not arbitrary, but flow from these inherent, perfect attributes, however difficult they are for us to reconcile with our finite sense of justice or suffering. Job implicitly uses this truth to challenge his friends' assumption that they, with their limited human insight, could fully comprehend God's purposes in his suffering.