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Easy-to-Read Version

Job 27:12

But you have seen it all with your own eyes. So why do you say such useless things?

Bible Study Resources

Dictionaries:

- Holman Bible Dictionary - Vision;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Job;   Providence;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
All of you have seen this for yourselves,why do you keep up this empty talk?
Hebrew Names Version
Behold, all of you have seen it yourselves; Why then have you become altogether vain?
King James Version
Behold, all ye yourselves have seen it; why then are ye thus altogether vain?
English Standard Version
Behold, all of you have seen it yourselves; why then have you become altogether vain?
New Century Version
You have all seen this yourselves. So why are we having all this talk that means nothing?
New English Translation
If you yourselves have all seen this, Why in the world do you continue this meaningless talk?
Amplified Bible
"Behold, all of you have seen it; Why then do you act vainly and foolishly [cherishing worthless concepts]?
New American Standard Bible
"Behold, all of you have seen it; Why then do you talk of nothing?
World English Bible
Behold, all of you have seen it yourselves; Why then have you become altogether vain?
Geneva Bible (1587)
Beholde, all ye your selues haue seene it: why then doe you thus vanish in vanitie?
Legacy Standard Bible
Behold, all of you have seen it;Why then do you speak with utter vanity?
Berean Standard Bible
Surely all of you have seen it for yourselves. Why then do you keep up this empty talk?
Contemporary English Version
All of you have seen these things for yourselves. So you have no excuse.
Complete Jewish Bible
Look, you all can see for yourselves; so why are you talking such empty nonsense?
Darby Translation
Behold, ye yourselves have all seen [it]; and why are ye thus altogether vain?
George Lamsa Translation
Behold, all of you have seen it; why then do you boast in vain?
Good News Translation
But no, after all, you have seen for yourselves; so why do you talk such nonsense?
Lexham English Bible
Look, you all have seen, and why in the world have you become altogether vain?
Literal Translation
Behold, all of you have seen it yourselves; when then do you become vain with this vanity?
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Beholde, ye stonde in yor owne conceate, as though ye knew all thinges. Wherfore then do ye go aboute wt soch vayne wordes,
American Standard Version
Behold, all ye yourselves have seen it; Why then are ye become altogether vain?
Bible in Basic English
Truly, you have all seen it yourselves; why then have you become completely foolish?
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Behold, all ye yourselves have seen it; why then are ye become altogether vain?
King James Version (1611)
Behold, all ye your selues haue seene it, why then are yee thus altogether vaine?
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Behold, all ye your selues haue seene it, why then do ye thus vanishe in vanitie?
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Behold, ye all know that ye are adding vanity to vanity.
English Revised Version
Behold, all ye yourselves have seen it; why then are ye become altogether vain?
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Lo! alle ye knowen, and what speken ye veyn thingis with out cause?
Update Bible Version
Look, all you yourselves have seen it; Why then have you become altogether vain?
Webster's Bible Translation
Behold, all ye yourselves have seen [it]; why then are ye thus altogether vain?
New King James Version
Surely all of you have seen it; Why then do you behave with complete nonsense?
New Living Translation
But you have seen all this, yet you say all these useless things to me.
New Life Bible
All of you have seen it yourselves. Why then do you speak in a foolish way?
New Revised Standard
All of you have seen it yourselves; why then have you become altogether vain?
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Lo! ye, have, all of you, seen, Wherefore, then, is it, that ye are utterly without purpose?
Douay-Rheims Bible
Behold you all know it, and why do you speak vain things without cause?
Revised Standard Version
Behold, all of you have seen it yourselves; why then have you become altogether vain?
Young's Literal Translation
Lo, ye -- all of you -- have seen, And why [is] this -- ye are altogether vain?
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Behold, all of you have seen it; Why then do you act foolishly?

Contextual Overview

11 "I will teach you about God's power. I will not hide anything about God All-Powerful. 12 But you have seen it all with your own eyes. So why do you say such useless things? 13 "Here is what God has planned for those who are evil. This is what cruel people will get from God All-Powerful. 14 They may have many children, but all of them will be killed in war. Or their children will not have enough to eat. 15 All those who are left will die, and the widows will not even cry for them. 16 Evil people collect silver as easily as dirt. They may have so many clothes that they are piled up like clay. 17 But their piles of clothes will be worn by those who have lived right. All that silver will be given to those who have done no wrong. 18 Evil people might build houses, but they will not last long. They will be like a spider's web or a guard's tent. 19 They might be rich when they go to bed, but when they open their eyes, all their riches will be gone. 20 Terrible fears will come over them like a flood, like a storm in the night that blows everything away.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

ye yourselves: Job 21:28-30, Ecclesiastes 8:14, Ecclesiastes 9:1-3

altogether: Job 6:25-29, Job 13:4-9, Job 16:3, Job 17:2, Job 19:2, Job 19:3, Job 21:3, Job 26:2-4

Cross-References

Genesis 9:25
he said, "May there be a curse on Canaan! May he be a slave to his brothers."
Genesis 25:27
The boys grew up. Esau became a skilled hunter, who loved to be out in the fields. But Jacob was a quiet man, who stayed at home.
Genesis 27:21
Then Isaac said to Jacob, "Come near to me so that I can feel you, my son. If I can feel you, I will know if you are really my son Esau."
Genesis 27:22
So Jacob went to Isaac his father. Isaac felt him and said, "Your voice sounds like Jacob's voice, but your arms are hairy like the arms of Esau."
Genesis 27:36
Esau said, "His name is Jacob. That is the right name for him. He has tricked me twice. He took away my rights as the firstborn son. And now he has taken away my blessing." Then Esau said, "Have you saved any blessing for me?"
Deuteronomy 27:18
"The Levites will say, ‘Cursed is the one who tricks a blind man into going the wrong way!' "Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!'
Job 12:16
God is strong and always wins. He controls those who fool others and those who are fooled.
Jeremiah 48:10
Bad things will happen to those who don't obey the Lord and don't use their swords to kill those people.
Malachi 1:14
"Some people have good, male animals that they could give as sacrifices, but don't. Some people bring good animals and promise to give those healthy animals to me. But then they secretly exchange those good animals and give me sick animals instead. Bad things will happen to those people. I am the Great King and people all around the world respect me!" This is what the Lord All-Powerful said.
2 Corinthians 6:8
Some people honor us, but others shame us. Some people say good things about us, but others say bad things. Some people say we are liars, but we speak the truth.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Behold, all ye yourselves have seen [it],.... As they were men of observation, at least made great pretensions to it, as well as of age and experience, they must have seen and observed somewhat at least of the above things; they must have seen the wicked, as David afterwards did, spreading himself like a green bay tree, and the hypocrites in easy and flourishing circumstances, and good men labouring under great afflictions and pressures, and Job himself was now an instance of that before their eyes:

why then are ye thus altogether vain? or "become vain in vanity" k; so exceeding vain, so excessively trifling, as to speak and act against the dictates of their own conscience, against their own sense, and what they saw with their own eyes, and advance notions so contrary thereunto; as to affirm that evil men are always punished of God in this life, and good men are succeeded and prospered by him; and so from Job's afflictions drew so vain and empty a conclusion, that he must be a wicked man and an hypocrite.

k הבל תהבלו "vanitate vanescitis", Pagninus, Junius Tremellius, Michaelis, Schultens "[vel] evanescitis", Montanus, Bolducius, Beza, Mercerus, Drusius, Piscator, Cocceius.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Behold, all ye yourselves have seen it - You have had an opportunity of tracing the proofs of the wisdom of God in his works.

Why then are ye thus altogether vain - Why is it that you maintain such opinions - that you evince no more knowledge of his government and plans - that you argue so inconclusively about him and his administration! Why, since you have had an opportunity of observing the course of events, do you maintain that suffering is necessarily a proof of guilt, and that God deals with all people, in this life, according to their character? A close observation of the course of events would have taught you otherwise. Job proceeds to state what he supposes to be the exact truth on the subject, and particularly aims, in the following chapter, to show that the ways of God are inscrutable, and that we cannot be expected to comprehend them, and are not competent to pronounce upon them.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Job 27:12. Ye yourselves have seen it] Your own experience and observation have shown you that the righteous are frequently in affliction, and the wicked in affluence.

Why then are ye thus altogether vain? — The original is very emphatical: הבל תהבלו hebel tehbalu, and well expressed by Mr. Good: "Why then should ye thus babble babblings!" It our language would allow it, we might say vanitize vanity.


 
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