King James Version:
(The Lord speaking is red text)
Men groan from out of the city, and the soul of the wounded crieth out: yet God layeth not folly [to them].
Complete Jewish Bible:
Men are groaning in the city, the mortally wounded are crying for help, yet God finds nothing amiss!
Berean Standard Bible:
From the city, men groan, and the souls of the wounded cry out, yet God charges no one with wrongdoing.
American Standard Version:
From out of the populous city men groan, And the soul of the wounded crieth out: Yet God regardeth not the folly.
KJV with Strong’s Numbers:
Men{H4962} groan{H5008} from out of the city{H5892}, and the soul{H5315} of the wounded{H2491} crieth out{H7768}: yet God{H433} layeth{H7760} not folly{H8604} to them.
Cross-References (KJV):
Ecclesiastes 4:1
- ¶ So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold the tears of [such as were] oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors [there was] power; but they had no comforter.
Psalms 69:26
- For they persecute [him] whom thou hast smitten; and they talk to the grief of those whom thou hast wounded.
Isaiah 52:5
- Now therefore, what have I here, saith the LORD, that my people is taken away for nought? they that rule over them make them to howl, saith the LORD; and my name continually every day [is] blasphemed.
Romans 2:4
- Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
Romans 2:5
- But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;
Psalms 12:5
- For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the LORD; I will set [him] in safety [from him that] puffeth at him.
Ecclesiastes 8:11
- Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.
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Commentary for Job 24:12
Job 24:12 is a verse from the Book of Job, which is part of the Wisdom Literature in the Hebrew Bible. The Book of Job deals with the problem of suffering and the nature of divine justice. It tells the story of Job, a righteous man who loses everything—his wealth, his children, and his health—as a result of a celestial wager between God and Satan. The bulk of the book is a dialogue between Job and his friends, who argue that Job's suffering must be a punishment for some hidden sin.
In Job 24, Job is lamenting the state of the world, where the wicked often seem to prosper while the innocent suffer. The verse in question, Job 24:12, reflects the anguish of the afflicted and the injustices they endure. The groans and cries of the wounded are loud, indicating their severe distress, yet there is a sense that God does not immediately intervene to address these wrongs or to punish the folly that may have led to such suffering. This verse captures the tension between the perceived silence or inaction of God in the face of human pain and the expectation that God should act to rectify injustices.
Historically, the Book of Job is thought to have been written during or after the Babylonian exile (6th century BCE), a period when the people of Judah were grappling with theodicy—the question of how a just and omnipotent God can allow evil and suffering to exist. Job 24:12, therefore, speaks to the universal human experience of questioning divine justice in the face of unrelenting pain and the apparent success of the wicked, a theme that resonates across different cultures and eras, including the time when the Book of Job was composed.
*This commentary is produced by Microsoft/WizardLM-2-8x22B AI model
Strong's Numbers and Definitions:
Note: H = Hebrew (OT), G = Greek (NT)
- Strong's Number: H4962
There are 21 instances of this translation in the Bible
Lemma: מַת
Transliteration: math
Pronunciation: math
Description: from the same as מָתַי; properly, an adult (as of full length); by implication, a man (only in the plural); [phrase] few, [idiom] friends, men, persons, [idiom] small. - Strong's Number: H5008
There are 2 instances of this translation in the Bible
Lemma: נָאַק
Transliteration: nâʼaq
Pronunciation: naw-ak'
Description: a primitive root; to groan; groan. - Strong's Number: H5892
There are 937 instances of this translation in the Bible
Lemma: עִיר
Transliteration: ʻîyr
Pronunciation: eer
Description: or (in the plural) עָר; or עָיַר; (Judges 10:4), from עוּר; a city (a place guarded by waking or a watch) in the widest sense (even of a mere encampment or post); Ai (from margin), city, court (from margin), town. - Strong's Number: H5315
There are 683 instances of this translation in the Bible
Lemma: נֶפֶשׁ
Transliteration: nephesh
Pronunciation: neh'-fesh
Description: from נָפַשׁ; properly, a breathing creature, i.e. animal of (abstractly) vitality; used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense (bodily or mental); any, appetite, beast, body, breath, creature, [idiom] dead(-ly), desire, [idiom] (dis-) contented, [idiom] fish, ghost, [phrase] greedy, he, heart(-y), (hath, [idiom] jeopardy of) life ([idiom] in jeopardy), lust, man, me, mind, mortally, one, own, person, pleasure, (her-, him-, my-, thy-) self, them (your) -selves, [phrase] slay, soul, [phrase] tablet, they, thing, ([idiom] she) will, [idiom] would have it. - Strong's Number: H2491
There are 85 instances of this translation in the Bible
Lemma: חָלָל
Transliteration: châlâl
Pronunciation: khaw-lawl'
Description: from חָלַל; pierced (especially to death); figuratively, polluted; kill, profane, slain (man), [idiom] slew, (deadly) wounded. - Strong's Number: H7768
There are 21 instances of this translation in the Bible
Lemma: שָׁוַע
Transliteration: shâvaʻ
Pronunciation: shaw-vah'
Description: a primitive root; properly, to be free; but used only causatively and reflexively, to halloo (for help, i.e. freedom from some trouble); cry (aloud, out), shout. - Strong's Number: H433
There are 123 instances of this translation in the Bible
Lemma: אֱלוֹהַּ
Transliteration: ʼĕlôwahh
Pronunciation: el-o'-ah
Description: rarely (shortened) אֱלֹהַּ; probably prolonged (emphatic) from אֵל; a deity or the Deity; God, god. See אֱלֹהִים. - Strong's Number: H7760
There are 550 instances of this translation in the Bible
Lemma: שׂוּם
Transliteration: sûwm
Pronunciation: soom
Description: or שִׂים; a primitive root; to put (used in a great variety of applications, literal, figurative, inferentially, and elliptically); [idiom] any wise, appoint, bring, call (a name), care, cast in, change, charge, commit, consider, convey, determine, [phrase] disguise, dispose, do, get, give, heap up, hold, impute, lay (down, up), leave, look, make (out), mark, [phrase] name, [idiom] on, ordain, order, [phrase] paint, place, preserve, purpose, put (on), [phrase] regard, rehearse, reward, (cause to) set (on, up), shew, [phrase] stedfastly, take, [idiom] tell, [phrase] tread down, (over-)turn, [idiom] wholly, work. - Strong's Number: H8604
There are 3 instances of this translation in the Bible
Lemma: תִּפְלָה
Transliteration: tiphlâh
Pronunciation: tif-law'
Description: from the same as תָּפֵל; frivolity; folly, foolishly.