Job 12:7 kjv
But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee:
Job 12:7 nkjv
"But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you; And the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
Job 12:7 niv
"But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you;
Job 12:7 esv
"But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you;
Job 12:7 nlt
"Just ask the animals, and they will teach you.
Ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you.
Job 12 7 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Ps 19:1-4 | The heavens declare the glory of God... Their voice goes out through all the earth... | Nature's universal testimony to God. |
| Rom 1:20 | For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen... | God's attributes discernible through creation. |
| Jer 8:7 | Even the stork in the heavens knows her appointed times... but My people know not the judgment of the Lord. | Animals' innate knowledge vs. human ignorance. |
| Isa 1:3 | The ox knows its owner and the donkey its master’s crib; but Israel does not know, My people do not understand. | Animals' innate loyalty vs. human rebellion. |
| Prov 6:6 | Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. | Learning practical wisdom from creation. |
| Matt 6:26 | Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. | Birds teach reliance on God's provision. |
| Lk 12:24 | Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. | Ravens exemplify divine care and human worry. |
| Job 38-41 | God challenges Job with rhetorical questions about creation's complexity, demonstrating His unsearchable wisdom and power. | God's wisdom revealed in creation's intricate details. |
| Job 35:10-11 | But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker, who gives songs in the night... Who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth...’ | God teaches through natural instinct and wisdom. |
| Ps 104 | A psalm entirely dedicated to praising God's magnificent works in creation and His care for all living things. | Detailed exposition of God's creative power. |
| Gen 1:1 | In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. | Foundational truth of God as Creator. |
| Acts 14:17 | Yet He has not left Himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons... | God's testimony in providing for creation. |
| Ps 8:3-4 | When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers... what is mankind that you are mindful of them...? | Creation reveals God's greatness and man's smallness. |
| Col 1:16-17 | For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth... all things were created through him and for him. He is before all things... | Christ's centrality in creation. |
| Heb 11:3 | By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God... | God's word as the agent of creation. |
| Prov 30:24-28 | Four things on earth are small, yet they are exceedingly wise: the ants... the coneys... the locusts... the lizard. | Wisdom discernible in small, humble creatures. |
| Isa 40:21-26 | Do you not know? Have you not heard?... Who created these? He who brings out their starry host one by one... | God's sovereignty over creation contrasted with human might. |
| Job 9:8-10 | He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea... He does great things beyond searching out... | God's unsearchable works in creation. |
| Ps 33:6,9 | By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host... For he spoke, and it came to be... | Creation by God's powerful word. |
| Job 28:12-28 | But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?... God understands the way to it, and he knows its place. | True wisdom's source is God, not human effort. |
| 1 Cor 1:25 | For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. | God's wisdom transcends and humbles human wisdom. |
| John 1:3 | All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. | All creation originated through God. |
Job 12 verses
Job 12 7 Meaning
Job 12:7 expresses Job's deep frustration with his friends' conventional and shallow wisdom, suggesting ironically that even unreasoning creatures like beasts and birds inherently display a greater understanding of God's ways than his supposedly wise companions. This verse highlights the concept of general revelation, where the created order inherently teaches about the power, wisdom, and majesty of the Creator, challenging the limited scope of human-centric or rigid theological views.
Job 12 7 Context
Job 12:7 is part of Job’s extensive response to his friends' lectures, specifically directed against Zophar's previous speech (Job 11) and implicitly against Eliphaz and Bildad as well. Job challenges their claim to exclusive wisdom, arguing that their understanding of God's ways is narrow and formulaic (i.e., suffering implies sin). He points out that wisdom is not merely the domain of age or human assertion, but that even the natural world demonstrates profound truths about God's power and intricate design. Job's sarcasm in this verse serves to deflate his friends' inflated sense of theological insight, implying that their wisdom is so common and obvious, that even animals know it, yet they fail to grasp the deeper, more complex truths about God's justice and sovereignty, particularly concerning Job’s blameless suffering.
Job 12 7 Word analysis
- וְאוּלָ֗ם (ve'ulam): "But indeed," "Nevertheless," or "Moreover." This particle introduces a strong contrast or continuation, signaling a pointed rebuttal. Job uses it to highlight the stark difference between his friends' claims of superior knowledge and the self-evident truths found in creation.
- שְׁאַל־נָ֣א (sh'al-na): "Ask now," or "Please ask." Sh'al is an imperative verb, "ask" or "inquire." The particle na adds emphasis or a gentle entreaty, though here it might be tinged with Job's bitter sarcasm, implying "Go on, just ask!"
- בְהֵמ֣וֹת (behemot): "Beasts" or "animals." This is a general plural term referring to domestic and wild four-footed creatures. In this context, it broadly signifies the animal kingdom and, by extension, all of nature. It represents unreasoning creatures whose actions are guided by instinct or natural laws established by God.
- וְתֹרֶ֑ךָּ (v'toreka): "and they shall teach thee," or "and they will instruct you." Derived from yarah, meaning to teach, instruct, or point the way. It implies a non-verbal, demonstrative form of teaching. Nature doesn't lecture, but its existence, patterns, and behaviors inherently reveal principles.
- וְע֖וֹף (v'of): "and fowl," or "and birds." This refers to airborne creatures. Job extends his argument from land animals to birds, encompassing a broader range of the natural world to emphasize the universal witness of creation.
- שָׁמַ֣יִם (shamayim): "of the heavens," or "of the sky/air." It clarifies the domain of the "fowl," extending the natural testimony upwards to the aerial creatures, further universalizing the point that all of creation reveals God.
- וְיַגֵּֽד (v'yaggéd): "and they shall tell," or "and they will declare." Derived from nagad, meaning to declare, make known, or inform. Similar to "teach," it signifies a direct proclamation or making evident of truth.
Word-groups by word-groups analysis:
- "But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee;": Job presents a satirical challenge. He argues that even creatures considered unintelligent can "teach" (reveal truths) to those willing to observe. This highlights general revelation – God's character and attributes made evident in the natural order – and simultaneously critiques his friends' intellectual and spiritual arrogance, suggesting they fail to grasp even obvious truths. The teaching comes from the beasts' existence, their patterns, their dependence on God, and the order ingrained within them.
- "and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee;": This phrase reinforces and broadens the preceding point. By including birds (creatures of the air), Job underscores the comprehensive and inescapable nature of creation's witness to God. Their behaviors, migration patterns, and sustenance inherently "tell" or "declare" principles about a provident and ordering Creator. It further emphasizes that fundamental truths about God are not confined to human scholarly pursuits or religious traditions, but are universally displayed.
Job 12 7 Bonus section
Job's statement carries significant sarcasm and pathos. He's deeply wounded by his friends' accusations, and this verse is a rhetorical strike. It emphasizes that while humans are often blind to God's self-evident attributes, "dumb" creatures live by and inherently manifest the Creator's design. This paradox – that silent nature teaches more profound truths about God than eloquent humans – serves to highlight the spiritual blindness of Job's friends and, by extension, humanity when it relies solely on its own understanding. It subtly shifts the authority of wisdom from human traditionalism to God's inherent display in His creation. The phrase implies an invitation not just to literal asking, but to observing with discerning eyes and hearts.
Job 12 7 Commentary
Job 12:7 stands as a powerful testament to the concept of general revelation and Job’s cutting irony in response to his friends. It asserts that God’s wisdom, power, and providential care are so profoundly embedded in creation that even the beasts and birds implicitly testify to them. Job’s point is not that animals possess sentient wisdom equal to humans, but that their very existence, instinct, and patterns of life reveal truths about their Maker more clearly than his companions' flawed, formulaic theology. This verse underscores humanity’s often limited perception, urging humility and a willingness to learn from even the most unexpected "teachers." It suggests that genuine wisdom involves discerning God’s hand not just in explicit divine revelation, but throughout the created order, thereby rebuking the narrowness that seeks wisdom only in conventional sources or human pronouncements.