Job 12 · Verse 24

Job 12:24

He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth, and causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way.
Job 12:24, King James Version

Job 12:24 in other translations

BSBHe deprives the earth’s leaders of reason and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland.
WEBHe takes away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth, and causes them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way.
ASVHe taketh away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth, And causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way.
YLTTurning aside the heart Of the heads of the people of the land, And he causeth them to wander In vacancy--no way!
DARBYHe taketh away the understanding of the chiefs of the people of the earth, and causeth them to wander in a pathless waste.
BBEHe takes away the wisdom of the rulers of the earth, and sends them wandering in a waste where there is no way.
WebsterHe taketh away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth, and causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way.

What does Job 12:24 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
24. heart--intelligence. wander in a wilderness--figurative; not referring to any actual fact. This cannot be quoted to prove Job lived after Israel's wanderings in the desert. Psa 107:4, 40 quotes this passage.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 24 He taketh away the heart of the chief - Suddenly deprives the leaders of great counsels, or mighty armies of courage; so that, panic-struck, they flee when none pursueth, or are confounded when about to enter on the accomplishment of important designs. And causeth them to wander in a wilderness - A plain allusion to the journeyings of the Israelites in the deserts of Arabia, on their way to the promised land. Their chief, Aaron, had his courage all taken away by the clamors of the people; and so made them a molten calf to be the object of their worship, which defection from God was the cause of their wandering nearly forty years in the trackless wilderness. The reference is so marked, that it scarcely admits of a doubt; yet Houbigant and some others have called it in question, and suppose that those chiefs or heads of families which led out colonies into distant parts are principally intended. It answers too well to the case of the Israelites in the wilderness to admit of any other interpretation.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Job 12:12-25

This is a noble discourse of Job concerning the wisdom, power, and sovereignty of God, in ordering all the affairs of the children of men, according to the counsel of His own will, which none can resist. It were well if wise and good men, who differ about lesser things, would see how it is for their honour and comfort, and the good of others, to dwell most upon the great things in which they agree. Here are no…

Read the full comment on Job 12:12-25 →

Job 12:24 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

מֵסִ֗ירme.Sir[he is] removingH5493
לֵ֭בlev[the] heart ofH3820
רָאשֵׁ֣יra.Shei[the] leaders ofH7218
עַם\־'am-[the] people ofH5971
הָאָ֑רֶץha.'A.retzthe earthH776
וַ֝יַּתְעֵ֗םvai.yat.'Emand he made wander themH8582
בְּתֹ֣הוּbe.To.huin a wastelandH8414
לֹא\־lo'-notH3808
דָֽרֶךְ\׃Da.rekha pathH1870

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Job 12:24

  • Psalms 107:40

    He poureth contempt upon princes, and causeth them to wander in the wilderness, where there is no way.

  • Job 12:20

    He removeth away the speech of the trusty, and taketh away the understanding of the aged.

  • Hosea 7:11

    Ephraim also is like a silly dove without heart: they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria.

  • Isaiah 19:1

    The burden of Egypt. Behold, the Lord rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.

  • Daniel 4:16

    Let his heart be changed from man’s, and let a beast’s heart be given unto him; and let seven times pass over him.

  • Job 17:4

    For thou hast hid their heart from understanding: therefore shalt thou not exalt them.

  • Isaiah 6:9-10

    And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.

  • Psalms 107:4

    They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in.

  • Daniel 4:33

    The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like birds’ claws.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
He taketh.
20; 17:4; Isa 6:9,10; 19:1; Da 4:16,33; Ho 7:11
and causeth.
Ps 107:4,40
in a wilderness{Bethohoo,} "in chaos," i.e., in a state of utter confusion; it is the same word which is employed in Ge 1:2, to describe the chaotic state of the earth at the creation.

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Job 12:23

    He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them: he enlargeth the nations, and straiteneth them again.

  • Job 12:24

    He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth, and causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way.

  • Job 12:25

    They grope in the dark without light, and he maketh them to stagger like a drunken man.

Read all of Job 12

Job 12:24 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		El quita el seso de las cabezas del pueblo de la tierra, y háceles que se pierdan vagueando sin camino:
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Il ôte le sens aux chefs du peuple de la terre, et les fait errer dans un désert où il n’y a pas de chemin;
German
Elberfelder 1871		Er entzieht den Verstand den Häuptern der Völker der Erde, und macht sie umherirren in pfadloser Einöde;
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Qui immutat cor principum populi terræ, et decipit eos ut frustra incedant per invium: