Job 12 4

Job 12:4 kjv

I am as one mocked of his neighbour, who calleth upon God, and he answereth him: the just upright man is laughed to scorn.

Job 12:4 nkjv

"I am one mocked by his friends, Who called on God, and He answered him, The just and blameless who is ridiculed.

Job 12:4 niv

"I have become a laughingstock to my friends, though I called on God and he answered? a mere laughingstock, though righteous and blameless!

Job 12:4 esv

I am a laughingstock to my friends; I, who called to God and he answered me, a just and blameless man, am a laughingstock.

Job 12:4 nlt

Yet my friends laugh at me,
for I call on God and expect an answer.
I am a just and blameless man,
yet they laugh at me.

Job 12 verses

Job 12 4 Meaning

Job 12:4 articulates Job’s profound despair and the agonizing irony of his situation. He laments being made an object of scorn by his very friends, despite his demonstrable righteousness and his long-standing history of calling upon God and receiving a response. The verse highlights the tragic paradox of a devout, blameless individual, validated by God Himself (as seen in Job 1:1 and 2:3), suffering immense affliction and then facing cruel derision from his closest companions. It encapsulates Job's deep sense of betrayal, injustice, and the collapse of the established principle that divine favor always accompanies righteous living.

Job 12 4 Context

Job 12:4 is part of Job's response to Eliphaz's second speech in chapter 11. Eliphaz, convinced of Job's hidden sin, had urged him to seek God's mercy. In chapters 12-14, Job responds with cutting sarcasm and deep personal anguish. He counters the simplistic retribution theology advocated by his friends, which posits a direct, unvarying link between righteousness and prosperity, and sin and suffering. Job acknowledges God's absolute power and sovereignty but argues that God's ways are often inscrutable and do not always align with human notions of justice. He directly challenges his friends' judgmental accusations by emphasizing his own blameless character and his long history of intimacy with God, making their current mockery all the more hurtful and perplexing. This verse is a cry of anguish, highlighting the clash between the friends' conventional wisdom and Job's inexplicable reality.

Job 12 4 Word analysis

• I am a laughingstock (תֹּאק - to'aq): Job begins with a stark declaration of his humiliating state. The Hebrew to'aq denotes an object of scorn or derision, a jest. It emphasizes contempt, ridicule, and deep humiliation, not merely amusement. This pain is intensely personal, as it comes from those who should have been a source of comfort, highlighting utter rejection and disdain.
• to my friends (חֲיֵרַי - khayeiraI): This specific attribution intensifies Job's suffering. It's not general public mockery, but a profound betrayal and scorn from his trusted companions, from whom he expected empathy and solidarity. This shatters the bonds of fellowship, deepening Job's sense of isolation and injustice. In the ancient Near East, the loyalty of friends was highly esteemed, making this act of mockery a severe breach of covenant.
• I, who called on God (קוֹרֵא אֱלֹוַהּ - qorē Eloah): Job asserts his unblemished spiritual past. "Qorē Eloah" means literally "one who calls to God," indicating a consistent practice of prayer, communion, and reliance on the divine. It serves to establish his consistent piety and upright character, directly refuting his friends' implicit accusation of secret sin. This declaration profoundly underscores the shocking contrast between his life of devoted faith and his current, inexplicable suffering.
• and he answered him (וַיַּעֲנֵהוּ - vayyaʿanēhu): This critical phrase highlights a past, established relationship where God demonstrably responded to Job's pleas. The Hebrew verb ʿānāh ("to answer") in this context typically signifies a favorable response, divine acknowledgment, or direct intervention. The historical reality of God's attentiveness to Job makes His current perceived silence and Job's continuing agony all the more bewildering and painful to him. It is a central element of Job's profound spiritual and existential crisis.
• a righteous and blameless man (צַדִּיק תָּמִים - tzaddiq tamim): This phrase powerfully echoes God's own description of Job in Job 1:1 and 2:3. Tzaddiq signifies moral uprightness, justification, and alignment with God's standards. Tamim implies completeness, integrity, spiritual purity, and blamelessness before God. By using God's own assessment of him, Job vehemently asserts his innocence against his friends' false accusations. This reinforces the cosmic injustice of his unmerited suffering, presenting it as an offense against divine truth.
• is a laughingstock (תֹּאק - to'aq): The repetition of to'aq at the end of the verse emphasizes the cruel and devastating paradox. The very qualities (righteousness and blamelessness) that, according to their theology, should merit divine favor and human respect, have instead led to utter contempt and ridicule in the eyes of his friends. It encapsulates the overwhelming irony and the crushing weight of injustice Job experiences, marking a complete reversal of expected blessings.

Job 12 4 Bonus section

• The Weight of Public Scorn: For an individual in ancient Near Eastern society, mockery and derision, especially from one’s community, carried immense social and psychological weight. Honor and reputation were paramount, and to be made a "laughingstock" was to suffer a devastating loss of dignity and social standing, far beyond mere verbal insult. It signaled social ostracization and condemnation, amplifying Job’s isolation.
• Challenging Wisdom Traditions: This verse is a spearhead in Job’s broader argument against the common ancient Near Eastern and early Israelite wisdom tradition that explicitly tied individual suffering to specific sin. Job's very existence, confirmed by God as "blameless and upright," disproves this strict correlation, forcing a re-evaluation of divine justice and human experience beyond simplistic moral arithmetic. The book of Job stands as a profound critique of formulaic understanding of God's ways.
• Prefigurement of Christ's Suffering: Job, the "righteous and blameless man" who called on God, enduring undeserved suffering and mockery from those who claimed spiritual authority, resonates profoundly with the suffering of Jesus Christ. Christ, perfectly righteous and in constant communion with the Father, was likewise made a "reproach" (Heb 11:26), derided, and scorned by religious leaders and the crowd (Mk 15:29-32) even unto death, highlighting a divine purpose behind unmerited suffering for a greater redemption.

Job 12 4 Commentary

Job 12:4 is a heart-wrenching expression of Job’s deepest pain, a fusion of personal suffering, social betrayal, and theological confusion. It exposes the gaping chasm between conventional wisdom, represented by his friends' simplistic retribution theology, and the inexplicable reality of Job’s blameless suffering. The verse is soaked in bitter irony: Job, validated by God as righteous and blameless, who had always known God’s presence and responsiveness, now finds himself not only abandoned by God (as he perceives it) but also ridiculed by those who should be his closest allies. This lament is a direct challenge to the neat theological boxes his friends tried to fit him into, demanding that they acknowledge the uncomfortable truth that even the righteous can suffer profound injustice and contempt without direct fault. It portrays Job’s spiritual isolation and the immense weight of perceived divine silence amidst human scorn.