Bible Strands
Job 12:9
Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this?
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Job addresses his companions during his prolonged suffering, using the natural world mentioned in the preceding verse to frame a rhetorical challenge. He speaks at a moment when his friends are offering theological explanations that he considers fundamentally incomplete.
The words — The phrase יַד יְהוָה (yad Yahweh) literally renders "hand of Yahweh," denoting direct agency and control. The verb יָדַע (yaDa) means "know," indicating factual recognition rather than abstract knowledge.
The thread — The concept of God's sovereign hand appears in Isaiah 41:20 where creation testifies to His work, Jeremiah 27:5 where He claims authority to give the earth to whomever He chooses, and Romans 11:36 which states all things originate from and exist through Him.
Why it lands — The text asserts that divine agency is the primary cause behind every circumstance, leaving no legitimate ground for ignorance. It requires the reader to acknowledge that all events, including suffering, fall under direct divine administration.
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
Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the Lord hath wrought this?
Cross-references
- Isaiah 41:20 so that all may see and know, may consider and understand, that the hand of the LORD has done this and the Holy One of Israel has created it.”
- Jeremiah 27:5 By My great power and outstretched arm, I made the earth and the men and beasts on the face of it, and I give it to whom I please.
- Romans 11:36 For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen.
- 1 Samuel 2:7 The LORD sends poverty and wealth; He humbles and He exalts.
- Daniel 9:17 So now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of Your servant. For Your sake, O Lord, cause Your face to shine upon Your desolate sanctuary.
- Acts 19:35 Finally the city clerk quieted the crowd and declared, “Men of Ephesus, doesn’t everyone know that the city of Ephesus is guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven?
- Deuteronomy 8:17 You might say in your heart, “The power and strength of my hands have made this wealth for me.”
- Daniel 5:18 As for you, O king, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty and greatness, glory and honor.
- James 2:5 Listen, my beloved brothers: Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him?
- Job 12:3 But I also have a mind; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know such things as these?