Job 36 · Verse 12

Job 36:12

But if they obey not, they shall perish by the sword, and they shall die without knowledge.
Job 36:12, King James Version

Job 36:12 in other translations

BSBBut if they do not obey, then they perish by the sword and die without knowledge.
WEBBut if they don’t listen, they will perish by the sword; they will die without knowledge.
ASVBut if they hearken not, they shall perish by the sword, And they shall die without knowledge.
YLTAnd if they do not hearken, By the dart they pass away, And expire without knowledge.
DARBYBut if they hearken not, they shall pass away by the sword, and expire without knowledge.
BBEBut if not, they come to their end, and give up their breath without knowledge.
WebsterBut if they obey not, they shall perish by the sword, and they shall die without knowledge.

What does Job 36:12 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
12. (Job 33:18). without knowledge--that is, on account of their foolishness (Job 4:20, 21).

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 12 But if they obey not - This also is a general rule, from which, in the course of Providence, there are only few, and those only apparent, deviations. Instead of they shall perish by the sword, the meaning of the Hebrew בשלח יעברו beshelach yaaboru, is, "By a dart they shall pass by." They shall be in continual dangers, and often fall before they have lived out half their days. Mr. Good translates: They pass by as an arrow. The Vulgate: Transibunt per gladium. "They shall pass away by the sword."

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Job 36:5-14

Elihu here shows that God acts as righteous Governor. He is always ready to defend those that are injured. If our eye is ever toward God in duty, his eye will be ever upon us in mercy, and, when we are at the lowest, will not overlook us. God intends, when he afflicts us, to discover past sins to us, and to bring them to our remembrance. Also, to dispose our hearts to be taught: affliction makes people willing to…

Read the full comment on Job 36:5-14 →

Job 36:12 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.

וְאִם\־ve.'im-and ifH518
לֹ֣אlo'notH3808
יִ֭שְׁמְעוּYish.me.'uthey will hearH8085
בְּשֶׁ֣לַחbe.She.lachby a missileH7973
יַעֲבֹ֑רוּya.'a.Vo.ruthey will pass awayH5674
וְ֝יִגְוְע֗וּve.yig.ve.'Uand they may expireH1478
כִּבְלִי\־kiv.li-like notH1097
דָֽעַת\׃Da.'atknowledgeH1847

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

Cross references for Job 36:12

  • Job 4:21

    Doth not their excellency which is in them go away? they die, even without wisdom.

  • Romans 2:8-9

    But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;

  • Isaiah 3:11

    Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.

  • Isaiah 1:20

    But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

  • Deuteronomy 18:15-22

    The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken; According to all that thou desiredst of the Lord thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not. And the Lord said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken. I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. …

  • John 8:21-24

    Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come. Then said the Jews, Will he kill himself? because he saith, Whither I go, ye cannot come. And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world. I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.

  • Deuteronomy 29:15-20

    But with him that standeth here with us this day before the Lord our God, and also with him that is not here with us this day: (For ye know how we have dwelt in the land of Egypt; and how we came through the nations which ye passed by; And ye have seen their abominations, and their idols, wood and stone, silver and gold, which were among them:) Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turneth away this day from the Lord our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood; …

  • Job 15:22

    He believeth not that he shall return out of darkness, and he is waited for of the sword.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
if.
De 18:15-22; 29:15-20; Isa 1:20; 3:11; Ro 2:8,9
perish. Heb. pass away. die.
4:21; Joh 8:21-24

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

Context

  • Job 36:11

    If they obey and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures.

  • Job 36:12

    But if they obey not, they shall perish by the sword, and they shall die without knowledge.

  • Job 36:13

    But the hypocrites in heart heap up wrath: they cry not when he bindeth them.

Read all of Job 36

Job 36:12 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Mas si no oyeren, serán pasados á cuchillo, y perecerán sin sabiduría.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Mais s’ils n’écoutent pas, ils s’en iront par l’épée, et expireront sans connaissance.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Wenn sie aber nicht hören, so rennen sie ins Geschoß und verscheiden ohne Erkenntnis.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
si autem non audierint, transibunt per gladium, et consumentur in stultitia.