Job 12:24

Legacy Standard Bible

He removes the heart of wisdom from the heads of the earth's peopleAnd makes them wander in a pathless waste.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
He deprives the world’s leaders of reason,and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland.

Hebrew Names Version
He takes away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the eretz, And causes them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way.

King James Version
He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth, and causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way.

English Standard Version
He takes away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth and makes them wander in a trackless waste.

New Century Version
He takes understanding away from the leaders of the earth and makes them wander through a pathless desert.

New English Translation
He deprives the leaders of the earth of their understanding; he makes them wander in a trackless desert waste.

Amplified Bible
"He removes intelligence and understanding from the leaders of the people of the earth And makes them wander and move blindly in a pathless waste.

New American Standard Bible
"He deprives the leaders of the earth's people of intelligence And makes them wander in a pathless wasteland.

World English Bible
He takes away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth, And causes them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way.

Geneva Bible (1587)
He taketh away the heartes of the that are the chiefe ouer the people of the earth, & maketh them to wander in the wildernes out of the way.

Berean Standard Bible
He deprives the earth's leaders of reason, and makes them wander a trackless wasteland.

Contemporary English Version
God strikes their rulers senseless, then leaves them to roam through barren deserts,

Complete Jewish Bible
He removes understanding from a country's leaders and makes them wander in trackless deserts.

Darby Translation
He taketh away the understanding of the chiefs of the people of the earth, and causeth them to wander in a pathless waste.

Easy-to-Read Version
He makes their leaders foolish. He makes them wander around in the desert.

George Lamsa Translation
He takes away the understanding of the chiefs of the people of the earth, and causes them to wander in a waste land where there is no way.

Good News Translation
He makes their leaders foolish and lets them wander confused and lost;

Lexham English Bible
He strips away the insight of the heads of the earth's people, and he makes them wander in a pathless wasteland.

Literal Translation
He takes away the heart of the heads of the people of the land; and He causes them to wander in a waste in which is no path.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
He chaungeth the herte of the prynces and kynges of the earth, and disapoynteth them: so that they go wadringe out of the waye,

American Standard Version
He taketh away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth, And causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way.

Bible in Basic English
He takes away the wisdom of the rulers of the earth, and sends them wandering in a waste where there is no way.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
He taketh away the heart of the chiefs of the people of the land, and causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way.

King James Version (1611)
He taketh away the heart of the chiefe of the people of the earth, and causeth them to wander in a wildernes where there is no way.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
He taketh away the hearte of them that be heades of ye people of the earth, and causeth them to wander in the wildernesse out of the way.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Perplexing the minds of the princes of the earth: and he causes them to wander in a way, they have not known, saying,

English Revised Version
He taketh away the heart of the chiefs of the people of the earth, and causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Which chaungith the herte of princes of the puple of erthe; and disseyueth hem, that thei go in veyn out of the weie.

Update Bible Version
He takes away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth, And causes them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way.

Webster's Bible Translation
He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth, and causeth them to wander in a wilderness [where there is] no way.

New King James Version
He takes away the understanding [fn] of the chiefs of the people of the earth,And makes them wander in a pathless wilderness.

New Living Translation
He strips kings of understanding and leaves them wandering in a pathless wasteland.

New Life Bible
He takes away understanding from the leaders of the people of the earth, and makes them travel in a waste-land with no path.

New Revised Standard
He strips understanding from the leaders of the earth, and makes them wander in a pathless waste.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Who taketh away the sense of the chiefs of the people of the earth, and hath caused them to wander in a pathless waste:

Douay-Rheims Bible
He changeth the heart of the princes of the people of the earth, and deceiveth them that they walk in vain where there is no way.

Revised Standard Version
He takes away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth, and makes them wander in a pathless waste.

Young's Literal Translation
Turning aside the heart Of the heads of the people of the land, And he causeth them to wander In vacancy -- no way!

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"He deprives of intelligence the chiefs of the earth's people And makes them wander in a pathless waste.

Contextual Overview

¹²Wisdom is with aged men,With long life is discernment. ¹³"With Him are wisdom and might;To Him belong counsel and discernment. ¹⁴Behold, He pulls down, and it cannot be rebuilt;He closes a man in, and it cannot be opened. ¹⁵Behold, He restrains the waters, and they dry up;And He sends them out, and they overturn the earth. ¹⁶With Him are strength and sound wisdom;The misled and the misleader belong to Him. ¹⁷He makes counselors walk barefootAnd makes fools of judges. ¹⁸He opens the bond of kingsAnd binds their loins with a belt. ¹⁹He makes priests walk barefootAnd subverts the enduring ones. ²⁰He removes speech from the faithfulAnd takes away the discerning taste of the elders. ²¹He pours contempt on noblesAnd loosens the belt of the strong.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

He taketh: Job 12:20, Job 17:4, Isaiah 6:9, Isaiah 6:10, Isaiah 19:1, Daniel 4:16, Daniel 4:33, Hosea 7:11

and causeth: Psalms 107:4, Psalms 107:40

in a wilderness: Bethohoo, "in chaos," i.e., in a state of utter confusion; it is the same word which is employed in Genesis 1:2, to describe the chaotic state of the earth at the creation.

Reciprocal: 1 Corinthians 1:20 - hath

Gill's Notes on the Bible

He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth,.... The people of the earth are the common people; the "chief" or "heads" f of them, as it may be rendered, are kings, princes and generals of armies; whose "hearts" may be said to be "taken away" when they are dispirited, and deprived both of courage and conduct; have neither valour nor wisdom, neither fortitude of mind, nor military skill to defend themselves and their people against their enemies. Sephorno interprets this of Sihon and Og, whose spirits the Lord hardened, and made their hearts obstinate to war with Israel, Deuteronomy 2:30; but it may be better understood of the Israelites, and the heads of them, when they were discomfited by the Amalekites, quickly after their coming out of Egypt, see Numbers 14:45; about which time Job lived: and the rather, since it follows,

and caused them to wander in a wilderness [where there is] no way: no track, no beaten path to follow, to be a guide to them, and direct their way; in such a wilderness the Israelites wandered near forty years, see Psalms 107:40.

f ראשי "capitum", Montanus, Cocceius, Schmidt, Michaelis, Schultens.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

He taketh away the heart - The word heart here evidently means mind, intelligence, wisdom; see the notes at Job 12:3.

Of the chief of the people - Hebrew “Heads of the people;” that is, of the rulers of the earth. The meaning is, that he leaves them to infatuated and distracted counsels. By withdrawing from them, he has power to frustrate their plans, and to leave them to an entire lack of wisdom; see the notes at Job 12:17.

And causeth them to wander in a wilderness - They are like persons in a vast waste of pathless sands without a waymark, a guide, or a path. The perplexity and confusion of the great ones of the earth could not be more strikingly represented than by the condition of such a lost traveler.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Job 12:24. He taketh away the heart of the chief — Suddenly deprives the leaders of great counsels, or mighty armies of courage; so that, panic-struck, they flee when none pursueth, or are confounded when about to enter on the accomplishment of important designs.

And causeth them to wander in a wilderness — A plain allusion to the journeyings of the Israelites in the deserts of Arabia, on their way to the promised land. Their chief, Aaron, had his courage all taken away by the clamours of the people; and so made them a molten calf to be the object of their worship, which defection from God was the cause of their wandering nearly forty years in the trackless wilderness. The reference is so marked, that it scarcely admits of a doubt; yet Houbigant and some others have called it in question, and suppose that those chiefs or heads of families which led out colonies into distant parts are principally intended. It answers too well to the case of the Israelites in the wilderness to admit of any other interpretation.