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Read the Bible

King James Version

Job 12:12

With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Atheism;   God;   Old Age;   Philosophy;   Religion;   Wisdom;   Thompson Chain Reference - Experience (Knowledge Experimental);   Knowledge;   Knowledge, Experimental;   Knowledge-Ignorance;   The Topic Concordance - God;   Government;   Nations;   Strength;   Wisdom;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Hair, the;  

Dictionaries:

- Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Greatness of God;   Hypocrisy;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Aging;   Job, the Book of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Age, Aged, Old Age;   Wisdom;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Eternity;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Wisdom (1);  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Age;   Ancient;   Job, Book of;   Wisdom;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Age, Old;   Simeon B. 'Aḳashyah;  

Devotionals:

- Chip Shots from the Ruff of Life - Devotion for February 18;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Wisdom is found with the elderly,and understanding comes with long life.
Hebrew Names Version
With aged men is wisdom, In length of days understanding.
English Standard Version
Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding in length of days.
New Century Version
Older people are wise, and long life brings understanding.
New English Translation
Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding?
Amplified Bible
"With the aged [you say] is wisdom, And with long life is understanding.
New American Standard Bible
"Wisdom is with the aged, And with long life comes understanding.
World English Bible
With aged men is wisdom, In length of days understanding.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Among the ancient is wisedome, and in the length of dayes is vnderstanding.
Legacy Standard Bible
Wisdom is with aged men,With long life is discernment.
Berean Standard Bible
Wisdom is found with the elderly, and understanding comes with long life.
Contemporary English Version
and gain some wisdom from those who have lived a long time.
Complete Jewish Bible
Is wisdom [only] with aged men? discernment [only] with long life?
Darby Translation
With the aged is wisdom, and in length of days understanding.
Easy-to-Read Version
People say, ‘Wisdom is to be found in those who are old. Long life brings understanding.'
George Lamsa Translation
With the elders is wisdom; and in length of days, understanding.
Good News Translation
Old people have wisdom, but God has wisdom and power. Old people have insight; God has insight and power to act. <
Lexham English Bible
Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding is in length of days.
Literal Translation
With the aged is wisdom, and understanding is in the length of days.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Amonge olde personnes there is wy?dome, and amonge the aged is vnderstodinge.
American Standard Version
With aged men is wisdom, And in length of days understanding.
Bible in Basic English
Old men have wisdom, and a long life gives knowledge.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Is wisdom with aged men, and understanding in length of days?--
King James Version (1611)
With the ancient is wisedome, and in length of dayes, vnderstanding.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Among olde persons there is wysedome, and in age is vnderstanding.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
In length of time is wisdom, and in long life knowledge.
English Revised Version
With aged men is wisdom, and in length of days understanding.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Wisdom is in elde men, and prudence is in myche tyme.
Update Bible Version
With aged men is wisdom, And in length of days understanding.
Webster's Bible Translation
With the ancient [is] wisdom; and in length of days understanding.
New King James Version
Wisdom is with aged men, And with length of days, understanding.
New Living Translation
Wisdom belongs to the aged, and understanding to the old.
New Life Bible
Wisdom is with old men, and understanding with long life.
New Revised Standard
Is wisdom with the aged, and understanding in length of days?
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
In the Ancient, is wisdom, and in Length of Days, understanding:
Douay-Rheims Bible
In the ancient is wisdom, and in length of days prudence.
Revised Standard Version
Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding in length of days.
Young's Literal Translation
With the very aged [is] wisdom, And [with] length of days understanding.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Wisdom is with aged men, With long life is understanding.

Contextual Overview

12 With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding. 13 With him is wisdom and strength, he hath counsel and understanding. 14 Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot be built again: he shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening. 15 Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up: also he sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth. 16 With him is strength and wisdom: the deceived and the deceiver are his. 17 He leadeth counsellors away spoiled, and maketh the judges fools. 18 He looseth the bond of kings, and girdeth their loins with a girdle. 19 He leadeth princes away spoiled, and overthroweth the mighty. 20 He removeth away the speech of the trusty, and taketh away the understanding of the aged. 21 He poureth contempt upon princes, and weakeneth the strength of the mighty.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Job 8:8, Job 15:10, Job 32:7

Reciprocal: 1 Kings 12:6 - consulted 2 Chronicles 10:6 - took counsel Job 15:7 - the first Psalms 119:100 - understand Joel 1:2 - ye old Titus 2:2 - the

Cross-References

Genesis 12:8
And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the Lord , and called upon the name of the Lord .
Genesis 12:10
And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land.
Genesis 20:11
And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife's sake.
Genesis 26:7
And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon.
1 Samuel 27:1
And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul: there is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul shall despair of me, to seek me any more in any coast of Israel: so shall I escape out of his hand.
Proverbs 29:25
The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe.
Matthew 10:28
And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

With the ancient [is] wisdom,.... Meaning not himself, who was not very ancient; though some think Eliphaz so understood him; hence those words of his, in Job 15:9; rather, as others, Job tacitly wishes that some ancient man, with whom wisdom was, would undertake to examine the affair between him and his friends, and judge of it, and decide the point; or, as others, he has respect to Bildad's advice to search the fathers, and learn their sentiments, and be determined by them; to which he replies, that though it will be allowed that wisdom is with them, for the most part, yet their judgment of things is no further to be regarded than as it agrees with the wisdom of God, and the revelation he has made of his will; though it seems best of all to consider these words as an adage or proverbial sentence generally agreed to, that it often is, as it might be expected it should, though it is not always, that men well advanced in years are wise; that as they have lived long in the world, they have learned much by observation and experience, and have attained to a considerable share of wisdom and knowledge in things, natural, civil, and religious:

and in length of days is understanding; the understandings of men are improved and enriched, and well stored with useful science, having had the opportunity of much reading, hearing, and conversation; by this Job would suggest, that if his friends had more knowledge of hidden and recondite things, beyond common people, which yet they had not, it was not so wonderful, since they were aged men, and had lived long in the world; or rather it may be that this is mentioned, to observe that from hence, seeing it is so among men, that ancient men have, or it may be expected they should have, a considerable share of wisdom and understanding; it may be most easily and strongly concluded, that God, who is the Ancient of days, has the most perfect and consummate wisdom and knowledge, which is asserted in Job 12:13.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

With the ancient is wisdom - With the aged. The word ישׁישׁ yâshı̂ysh used here, means an old man, one gray-headed. It is used chiefly in poetry, and is commonly employed in the sense of one who is decrepit by age. It is rendered “very aged” in Job 15:10; “him that stooped for age.” 2 Chronicles 36:17; “very old,” Job 32:6; and “the aged,” Job 29:8 The Septuagint renders it, Ἐν πολλῷ χρόνῳ En pollō chronō “in much time.” The sense is, that wisdom might be expected to be found with the man who had had a long opportunity to observe the course of events; who had conversed with a former generation, and who had had time for personal reflection. This was in accordance with the ancient Oriental views, where knowledge was imparted mainly by tradition, and where wisdom depended much on the opportunity of personal observation; compare Job 32:7.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Job 12:12. With the ancient is wisdom — Men who have lived in those primitive times, when the great facts of nature were recent, such as the creation, fall, flood, confusion of tongues, migration of families, and consequent settlement of nations, had much knowledge from those facts; and their length of days-the many hundreds of years to which they lived, gave them such an opportunity of accumulating wisdom by experience, that they are deservedly considered as oracles.


 
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