Bible Strands
Job 12:20
He deprives the trusted of speech and takes away the discernment of elders.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Job addresses his three companions during his prolonged suffering, declaring God's power to dismantle human leadership.
The words — מֵסִיר (meSir) means "removes" and שָׂפָה (saPhah) means "lip" or "speech," highlighting the divine withdrawal of expression from trusted advisors.
The thread — This motif of God stripping understanding from human leaders appears in Job 12:24 and Job 17:4, while Job 32:9 contrasts the theme by affirming that age alone does not guarantee wisdom.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that human authority and insight are contingent on divine permission, not inherent merit.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
He removeth away the speech of the trusty, and taketh away the understanding of the aged.
Cross-references
- Job 32:9 It is not only the old who are wise, or the elderly who understand justice.
- Job 17:4 You have closed their minds to understanding; therefore You will not exalt them.
- Job 12:24 He deprives the earth’s leaders of reason and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland.
- Job 39:17 For God has deprived her of wisdom; He has not endowed her with understanding.
- Proverbs 10:21 The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of judgment.
- Proverbs 12:19 Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.
- Proverbs 12:22 Lying lips are detestable to the LORD, but those who deal faithfully are His delight.
- Isaiah 3:1 For behold, the Lord GOD of Hosts is about to remove from Jerusalem and Judah both supply and support: the whole supply of food and water,