Job 12:23 kjv
He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them: he enlargeth the nations, and straiteneth them again.
Job 12:23 nkjv
He makes nations great, and destroys them; He enlarges nations, and guides them.
Job 12:23 niv
He makes nations great, and destroys them; he enlarges nations, and disperses them.
Job 12:23 esv
He makes nations great, and he destroys them; he enlarges nations, and leads them away.
Job 12:23 nlt
He builds up nations, and he destroys them.
He expands nations, and he abandons them.
Job 12 23 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| God's Sovereignty Over Nations | ||
| Dan 2:21 | He changes times and seasons; He removes kings and installs kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those with understanding. | God controls governance. |
| Dan 4:17 | The Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind, and He gives it to whom He wishes and sets over it the humblest of men. | Divine authority over kingdoms. |
| Pro 8:15-16 | By Me kings reign and rulers decree justice. By Me princes rule, and nobles, all who govern rightly. | Divine ordination of authority. |
| Rom 13:1 | For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. | God establishes all governing power. |
| Isa 40:23 | He it is who reduces rulers to nothing, who makes the judges of the earth meaningless. | God deposes the mighty. |
| Psa 22:28 | For the kingdom is the Lord’s and He rules over the nations. | God's universal reign. |
| Psa 103:19 | The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, And His sovereignty rules over all. | God's rule is supreme. |
| Building Up and Tearing Down Nations | ||
| Jer 1:10 | See, I have appointed you this day over nations and over kingdoms, To pluck up and to break down, To destroy and to overthrow, To build and to plant. | God’s power to establish or demolish nations. |
| Jer 18:7-9 | At one moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to uproot...but if that nation...turns from its evil, I will relent. | Conditional divine action on nations. |
| Deut 32:39 | I bring death and I give life. I wound and I heal. | God's absolute power over life/death. |
| Amo 9:8-9 | Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are on the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from the face of the earth; Nevertheless...not completely destroy. | God destroys and preserves nations. |
| Isa 10:5-7 | Ah, Assyria, the rod of My anger, And the staff in whose hands is My indignation! I send it against a godless nation... | God uses nations for judgment. |
| Scattering and Dispersal of Nations/Peoples | ||
| Deut 28:64 | The Lord will scatter you among all the peoples, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth. | Consequence of disobedience, exile. |
| Zec 2:6 | Go! Go! Flee from the land of the north, says the LORD; for I have scattered you like the four winds of the heavens. | Prophetic scattering for judgment. |
| Act 17:26 | And He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation. | God controls national borders and dispersal. |
| Luk 1:51 | He has scattered those who are proud in the thoughts of their heart. | God scatters the arrogant. |
| Mystery of God's Ways | ||
| Isa 55:8-9 | For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts." | God's wisdom transcends human understanding. |
| Rom 11:33-36 | Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! | God's ways are beyond human comprehension. |
| Ecc 7:24 | Whatever has been is remote and very profound. Who can discover it? | The inscrutability of divine action. |
| Job 9:10 | Who does great things, inscrutable and unsearchable, And wondrous things without number? | God's unsearchable great works. |
Job 12 verses
Job 12 23 Meaning
Job 12:23 profoundly declares God's absolute sovereignty over the rise and fall of nations. It portrays the Creator as the sole architect of human history, empowering nations to grow vast and strong, yet also possessing the power to bring about their destruction or dispersal. This verse highlights the inscrutability and majesty of God's ways, suggesting that His actions are beyond full human comprehension or predictable patterns based on simple moral equivalencies. It is Job’s assertion of divine power that contrasts with the simplistic, deterministic theology of his friends.
Job 12 23 Context
Job 12:23 is spoken by Job himself in response to the pronouncements of his friend Zophar. After suffering immense personal tragedy, Job's friends attribute his misfortunes directly to his sin, following a conventional theological framework where suffering equals divine punishment for specific wrongdoing. In this chapter, Job critiques his friends' simplistic wisdom, arguing that their understanding of God is narrow and insufficient. He affirms God's overwhelming power and sovereignty, emphasizing that God acts in ways far more complex and mysterious than they comprehend. Job acknowledges God's absolute control over all creation and humanity, including the fates of nations, but contends that this power is not always exercised according to human logic or what appears to be simple retributive justice. The verse reinforces the idea that God's ways are ultimately beyond human scrutiny and attempts to contain divine action within a predictable framework.
Job 12 23 Word analysis
- He: Refers to God (YHWH), the singular subject of immense power and authority, emphasized throughout Job's speech as the ultimate governor of the cosmos and human affairs.
- increases (יַגְדִּיל - yagdil): From the root גדל (gadal), meaning "to be great," here in the Hiphil form, meaning "He makes great" or "He enlarges." This signifies divine active expansion and empowerment of nations, granting them prosperity, population, and influence.
- the nations (לְגֹויִם - l'goyim): Refers to collective human groups, distinct from Israel in a broader biblical sense, yet universally applicable to all peoples. This emphasizes that God's sovereignty extends to all political entities and cultures.
- and destroys (וַיְאַבְּדֵם - va-ye'abbedem): From the root אבד (abad), meaning "to perish, destroy," here in the Hiphil, meaning "He causes to perish" or "He utterly destroys." This denotes divine active devastation, ending the power or existence of nations. It shows the comprehensive nature of God's power—not just to diminish but to eradicate.
- He enlarges (יַשְׁטִיחֵם - yashtihem): From the root שׁטח (shatach), meaning "to spread out," here in the Hiphil, meaning "He causes them to spread out" or "He makes them broad/spacious." This mirrors "increases," again depicting God’s power to expand nations geographically, numerically, and in terms of influence, highlighting vast territorial control.
- and disperses (וַיַּנְחֵם - va-yannchêm): From the root נוּח (nuach), meaning "to rest" or "to settle down," here in the Hiphil perfect consecutive, which implies a causative action: "He causes them to rest/settle" in the sense of leading them away, or settling them in a new, perhaps undesirable, location. This implies exile, scattering, or leading into decline, a form of undoing their prior greatness. It speaks to divine active disarray, removing a nation from its land or status.
Words-group by words-group analysis:
- "He increases the nations, and destroys them": This pair immediately establishes the dichotomy of divine power. God is not merely a creator but a governor who can both build up and tear down. This highlights God’s complete control over national destinies, a control that can appear paradoxical from a human vantage point. It challenges any simplistic view of consistent, linear divine blessings.
- "He enlarges the nations, and disperses them": This second parallel statement reinforces the first. "Enlarges" speaks to the expansive nature of national power and population, while "disperses" refers to the act of scattering, breaking up, or leading away from their established position and strength. The repetition emphasizes the pattern of divine activity in human history: the waxing and waning of world powers at His command. The action of "dispersing" suggests a loss of cohesion and identity, not necessarily complete annihilation, but a breaking of national unity or presence.
Job 12 23 Bonus section
The four verbs used in Job 12:23 showcase a deliberate parallelism and contrast, employing distinct Hebrew words to convey similar yet nuanced concepts. "Increases" (יַגְדִּיל) focuses on making something quantitatively great, while "enlarges" (יַשְׁטִיחֵם) emphasizes geographical or spatial extension. Similarly, "destroys" (וַיְאַבְּדֵם) speaks of complete ruin, whereas "disperses" (וַיַּנְחֵם) suggests dislodging or scattering. This sophisticated linguistic choice highlights the multi-faceted nature of God's comprehensive control: not just an end to power but also the unraveling of societal structure and identity. This verse reflects a worldview that predates, yet aligns with, later prophetic understandings (like those of Jeremiah or Daniel) concerning God's universal governance. Job 12:23 illustrates a profound theological truth relevant to all generations: no earthly power is absolute, for God alone is the ultimate disposer of kingdoms and empires.
Job 12 23 Commentary
Job 12:23 succinctly encapsulates Job's understanding of God's sovereign power over history and nations. It serves as a rebuttal to his friends' limited perspective, which attempted to neatly categorize divine actions solely by retributive justice for individual sin. Job here asserts that God's control extends far beyond individual prosperity or suffering, reaching into the grand tapestry of geopolitical events. He is not bound by human expectations or understandable rules. The divine action described—increasing and destroying, enlarging and dispersing—points to a profound, often mysterious, pattern where nations rise to prominence and then fall, not always seemingly in direct proportion to their moral righteousness or wickedness. This is not a statement of injustice but of transcendence, highlighting that God’s plans are far greater and more intricate than what human wisdom can discern. It underscores the ultimate dependence of all earthly powers on the Creator.