Job 12 · Verse 7

Job 12:7

But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee:

Job 12:7, King James Version

Job 12:7 in other translations

BSB	But ask the animals, and they will instruct you; ask the birds of the air, and they will tell you.
WEB	“But ask the animals now, and they will teach you; the birds of the sky, and they will tell you.
ASV	But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; And the birds of the heavens, and they shall tell thee:
YLT	And yet, ask, I pray thee, One of the beasts, and it doth shew thee, And a fowl of the heavens, And it doth declare to thee.
DARBY	But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowl of the heavens, and they shall tell thee;
BBE	But put now a question to the beasts, and get teaching from them; or to the birds of the heaven, and they will make it clear to you;
Webster	But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee:

What does Job 12:7 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Job 12:7-8

7-8. Beasts, birds, fishes, and plants, reasons Job, teach that the violent live the most securely (Job 12:6). The vulture lives more securely than the dove, the lion than the ox, the shark than the dolphin, the rose than the thorn which tears it.

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 7 But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee - Mr. Good's paraphrase here is very just: "Why tell ye me that the Almighty hath brought this calamity upon me? Every thing in nature, the beasts of the field, the fowls of the heaven, every inhabitant of earth and sea, and every thing that befalls them, are the work of his hands; and every thing feels and acknowledges him to be the universal Creator and Controller. It is the common doctrine of all nature; but to apply it as ye would apply it to me, and to assert that I am suffering from being guilty of hypocrisy, is equally impertinent. He ordains every thing in wisdom as well as in power; but why events happen as they happen, why good and evil are promiscuously scattered throughout nature or human life, ye are as ignorant of as myself."

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Job 12:6-11

Job appeals to facts. The most audacious robbers, oppressors, and impious wretches, often prosper. Yet this is not by fortune or chance; the Lord orders these things. Worldly prosperity is of small value in his sight: he has better things for his children. Job resolves all into the absolute proprietorship which God has in all the creatures. He demands from his friends liberty to judge of what they had said; he…

Read the full comment on Job 12:6-11 →

Job 12:7 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.

וְֽאוּלָ֗םve.'u.Lamand butH199

שְׁאַל\־she.'al-askH7592

נָ֣אna'pleaseH4994

בְהֵמ֣וֹתve.he.Mot[the] animalsH929

וְתֹרֶ֑ךָּve.to.Re.kaso it may teach youH3384

וְע֥וֹףve.'ofand [the] bird[s] ofH5775

הַ֝שָּׁמַ֗יִםha.sha.Ma.yimthe heavensH8064

וְיַגֶּד\־ve.ya.ged-so it may tellH5046

לָֽךְ\׃Lakhto you

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

Cross references for Job 12:7

Isaiah 1:3
The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.
Jeremiah 8:7
Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the Lord.
Proverbs 6:6
Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:
Job 21:29-30
Have ye not asked them that go by the way? and do ye not know their tokens, That the wicked is reserved to the day of destruction? they shall be brought forth to the day of wrath.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

But ask.
21:29,30; Pr 6:6; Isa 1:3; Jer 8:7

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

Context

Job 12:6
The tabernacles of robbers prosper, and they that provoke God are secure; into whose hand God bringeth abundantly.
Job 12:7
But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee:
Job 12:8
Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee.

Read all of Job 12

Job 12:7 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Y en efecto, pregunta ahora á las bestias, que ellas te enseñarán; y á las aves de los cielos, que ellas te lo mostrarán:
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Mais, je te prie, interroge donc les bêtes, et elles t’enseigneront, et les oiseaux des cieux, et ils te l’annonceront;
German Elberfelder 1871	Aber frage doch das Vieh, und es wirds dich lehren; und das Gevögel des Himmels, und es wirds dir kundtun;
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Nimirum interroga jumenta, et docebunt te; et volatilia cæli, et indicabunt tibi.