Job 11:12

An empty-headed man becomes wise when a man is born as a wild donkey’s colt.

World English Bible
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Other translations

WEBBE

An empty-headed man becomes wise when a man is born as a wild donkey’s colt.

BSB

But a witless man can no more become wise than the colt of a wild donkey can be born a man!

KJV

For vain man would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass’s colt.

ASV

But vain man is void of understanding, Yea, man is born [as] a wild ass’s colt.

BBE

And so a hollow-minded man will get wisdom, when a young ass of the field gets teaching.

Original Hebrew

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Commentary

Matthew Henry · Verses 7–12

Zophar speaks well concerning God and his greatness and glory, concerning man and his vanity and folly. See here what man is; and let him be humbled. God sees this concerning vain man, that he would be wise, would be thought so, though he is born like a wild ass's colt, so unteachable and untameable. Man is a vain creature; empty, so the word is. Yet he is a proud creature, and self-conceited. He would be wise, would be thought so, though he will not submit to the laws of wisdom. He would be wise, he reaches after forbidden wisdom, and, like his first parents, aiming to be wise above what is written, loses the tree of life for the tree of knowledge. Is such a creature as this fit to contend with God?

Read Matthew Henry on Job 11 →

Cross-references

19

Topics

Cross-references: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. Hebrew and Greek data from STEPBible.org (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0. Library: sources.