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英文原文
In this and the two following chapters we have Job's answer to Zophar's discourse, in which, as before, he first reasons with his friends (see Job 13:19) and then turns to his God, and directs his expostulations to him, from thence to the end of his discourse. In this chapter he addresses himself to his friends, and, I. He condemns what they had said of him, and the judgment they had given of his character, Job 12:1-5. II. He contradicts and confronts what they had said of the destruction of wicked people in this world, showing that they often prosper, Job 12:6-11. III. He consents to what they had said of the wisdom, power, and sovereignty of God, and the dominion of his providence over the children of men and all their affairs; he confirms this, and enlarges upon it, Job 12:12-25.
1-25
Job's Reply to Zophar (1520 BC)
約伯回答瑣法（主前1520年）
¹ 約伯回答說：
² 你們真是子民哪，你們死亡，智慧也就滅沒了。
³ 但我也有聰明，與你們一樣，並非不及你們，這樣的事，誰不知道呢？
⁴ 我這求告神、蒙他應允的人，竟成了朋友所譏笑的；公義完全人竟受了人的譏笑。
⁵ 滑腳的人，在安逸人的心思中，被當作燈拋棄。
約伯在此對朋友們的責備，無論是否恰當，都非常尖銳，可以作為一切驕傲輕慢之人的警戒，也揭露了他們的愚妄。
I. 他責備他們的自負，以及他們似乎對自己智慧的高估——與他相比，似乎自己的智慧更勝一籌。再沒有比這更軟弱、更不相稱的了，也最該被譏誚，正如這裏所記。1. 他指出他們自稱壟斷了智慧（Job 12:2）。他用反諷的口吻說：「你們真是子民哪；」你們自以為配向全人類發號施令、制定法則，以自己的判斷作為衡量每個人見解的標準與試金石，好像除了你們之外，沒有人能分辨真假、善惡；因此人人都得向你們降旗，無論對錯，我們都得隨聲附和，你們三人就是「子民」，就是多數，握有決定性的表決權。請注意，任何人若自認比天下所有人都更有智慧，或自信滿滿、專橫跋扈地行事為人，彷彿果真如此，這便是極其愚昧且有罪的事。不但如此，他進一步說：「你們不但認為現在沒有人像你們那樣有智慧，而且認為將來也不會有，所以*智慧必與你們一同死亡，*世人將在你們離去後淪為愚人，在你們的日頭落下後陷入黑暗。」請注意，我們若以為自己離世後世界將遭受無可挽回的損失，或以為缺了我們就無法運轉，這便是愚妄；因為神有靈的餘力，能興起比我們更合適的人來成就他的工。敬虔智慧之人離世時，我們可以得著安慰，知道智慧與善行並不會隨他們一同消亡。有人認為約伯在此暗指瑣法（如他所理解的）將他和別人比作野驢駒（Job 11:12）。「不錯，」他說，「我們必是驢；你們才是唯一的人。」2. 他為自己申辯，聲明自己同樣領受了智慧的恩賜（Job 12:3）：「*但我也有聰明（有心），與你們一樣；是的，我不亞於你們；」正如旁註所言。「我與你們一樣，能判斷神護理的作為與旨意，能解讀其中深奧難明之處。」他說這話並非要抬高自己。說我與你們一樣有聰明，*並不是甚麼了不起的自誇；說「這事我與你們一樣明白」也算不得甚麼；因為他或他們所明白的，不過是最淺顯、最低能者也懂的事，有何可誇之處？「這樣的事誰不知道呢？你們所說的正確之事，不過是淺顯的道理、平凡的話題，許多人都能像你或我一樣精彩地談論。」他這樣說，是要謙卑他們，壓制他們身為師尊的自傲。請注意，（1.）當我們想到有多少人與我們一樣知道得那麼多，甚至更多且更有果效，這便能使我們不因自己的知識而驕傲。（2.）當我們受試探想要嚴苛地論斷那些與我們意見不同、與我們爭辯的人時，應當想到他們也與我們一樣有悟性，有判斷的能力，也有自行判斷的權利；何況他們或許並不遜於我們，反而更勝一籌，他們可能是對的而我們是錯的；因此我們不可論斷或輕視他們（Ro 14:3），也不可自居為師（Jam 3:1），因為我們都是弟兄（Mt 23:8）。對一切與我們交往、與我們爭辯的人，承認他們與我們一樣是理性的受造物，這是非常合理的一種讓步。
II. 他抱怨他們待他的極大輕蔑。那些自視甚高的人，通常也輕慢別人，樂於踐踏周圍的一切。約伯正是如此感受——至少他以為如此（Job 12:4）：*我竟成了被譏笑的。*我不能說這指控有充分的理由；我們不認為約伯的朋友們有意辱罵他，他們的目的不過是要說服他，並以此正確的方法來安慰他；然而他卻呼喊說：*我竟成了被譏笑的。*請注意，我們往往把責備當作辱罵，把勸戒當作嘲弄，這種易怒正是我們的愚妄，對自己和朋友都是極大的虧損。然而我們不得不承認，這指控也有幾分道理；他們來是要安慰他，卻激怒了他，給他的忠告與鼓勵，卻流露出對這些忠告能否奏效的極大不信；因此他以為他們在戲弄他，這更增添了他的憂苦。對那些從興盛的頂峰跌入患難的深淵的人而言，最痛心的事莫過於在跌倒時被人踐踏和凌辱；在這方面他們特別容易疑心。且看——
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甚麼使這冤屈更難以忍受。有兩方面：——（1.）他們是他的鄰舍，是他的朋友、他的同伴（原文如此），這樣的人所發的譏誚往往最刻薄，也最令人難以忍受。詩篇五十五篇12、13節說：不是仇敵辱罵我，若是仇敵，我就可不屑一顧，安然忍受；是你——與我平等的人。（2.）他們是敬虔的人，是那些求告神、並宣稱神應允他們的人：因為有人將這話理解為指那些譏誚者。「他們是顧念天上、在天上有分的人，我因此樂意領受並感謝他們的代禱，不能不羨慕他們的好評，因此他們的非難就更覺痛心。」請注意，那些求告神的人竟譏笑弟兄（Jam 3:9,10），這實在令人痛心；一個好人被他所看重的人輕看，不能不感到沉重，然而這並非新鮮的事。
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甚麼支撐著他。（1.）他有一位可以向之傾訴的神，可以將上訴交託給他；因為有人將那些話理解為指那被譏笑的人——他*求告神，神就應允他；*這與Job 16:20相吻合。*我的朋友譏笑我，我的眼卻向神流淚。*若我們的朋友對我們的苦情充耳不聞，神卻不會；若他們定我們的罪，神卻知道我們的正直；若他們把我們看得最壞，他卻把我們看得最好；若他們給我們冷酷的回答，他卻給我們溫暖的回應。（2.）他的遭遇並非獨一無二，而是極其普遍：*公義完全人竟受了譏笑。許多人甚至因他的公義和完全——他對人的誠實和對神的敬虔——而譏笑他；這些被視為愚拙之事，是愚昧人無謂地給自己加的枷鎖，好像宗教不過是個笑話，因此也該被當作笑話。多數人則因他些微的軟弱或缺失而譏笑他，完全不顧他那當受尊敬的公義與完全。請注意，從古以來，誠實良善之人被藐視、被譏誚，就是他們的份；我們不該以此為奇怪（1Pe 4:12），也不該以為難，若這也是我們的份；人這樣逼迫，不僅是先知，*甚至連列祖時代的聖徒也未能倖免（Mt 5:12），我們還能指望比他們更好的待遇嗎？
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他懷疑這一切的真正原因何在，簡而言之就是：他們自己富足安逸，所以輕視陷入貧困的他。這是世道的常情；我們天天看見這樣的事。興盛的人受人稱讚，但對那些正在走下坡的人，人們就說：「讓他倒下去吧。」滑腳的人即將跌入患難，雖然從前如燈照耀，那時卻被看作將殘的燈火、快滅的燭芯，被人丟在地上踐踏，在安逸人的心思中被藐視（Job 12:5）。即使是那公義完全的人，在他的世代中如同明光照耀，若陷入試探（Ps 73:2）或蒙上陰影，也要被人輕看。請看，（1.）那些生活在興盛中的人常犯的通病是甚麼。他們自己飽足、安逸、快樂，就輕蔑地看待那些在缺乏、痛苦、憂患中的人；他們對這些人不屑一顧，不留心他們，還設法忘記他們。見詩篇一二三篇4節。酒政在碗中痛飲，卻對約瑟的苦難漠不關心。沒有恩典的財富往往使人如此驕傲，如此忽視貧窮的鄰舍。（2.）那些陷入逆境的人通常的遭遇是甚麼。貧窮足以遮蔽他們一切的光彩；他們雖然是燈，若從金燈臺上取下，像基甸那樣放在瓦器裏，就無人再像從前那樣看重他們，安逸度日的人反要藐視他們。
⁶ 強盜的帳棚興旺，惹神的人安逸，神的手將豐盛賜入其中。
⁷ 你且問走獸，走獸必指教你；又問空中的飛鳥，飛鳥必告訴你；
⁸ 或與地說話，地必指教你；海中的魚也必向你說明。
⁹ 這一切誰不知道是耶和華的手所作的呢？
¹⁰ 凡活物的生命，和人類的氣息，都在他手中。
¹¹ 耳朵豈不試驗言語，正如上膛品嘗食物嗎？
約伯的朋友們都根據同一個原則立論：惡人在世上不能長久亨通，必有某種顯著的審判突然臨到他們；瑣法正是以此作結——惡人的眼目將要失明（Job 11:20）。約伯在此反對這個原則，並主張神在安排人的外在境遇時，是照著至高的主權行事，將賞罰的精確分配保留到將來的境界。
I. 他斷言惡人可能、也常常在世上長久亨通，這是不容置疑的真理（Job 12:6）。即使是極大的罪人，也可能享受極大的興旺。請注意，1. 他怎樣描述這些罪人。他們是*強盜，是惹神的人，是罪人中最惡劣的一類——褻瀆者和逼迫者。他也許是指示巴人和迦勒底人，他們搶奪了他，向來靠劫掠為生，卻依然興旺；這是舉世有目共睹的事，不容置辯；一個基於事實的觀察，勝過二十個憑空設想的理論。或更廣義地說，一切驕傲的壓迫者都是強盜和海盜。凡是對人有害的事，必然惹神發怒，因為他是公義的維護者，是人類的保護者。那些違背公正的人，往往也褻瀆了一切宗教的義務，公然向神自己挑釁，對惹他發怒毫不在乎，這並不奇怪。2. 他怎樣描述他們的興旺。他們的興旺極大；因為（1.）連他們的帳棚都興旺，與他們同住的人，以及在他們之後出生的後裔都一同亨通。福分似乎附著在他們的家族上；有時靠欺詐得來的，竟能保存到後代。（2.）他們安逸無慮，不僅感受不到痛苦，也不懼怕甚麼，對來自威脅性的護理或覺醒的良心毫無危險的預感。但那些惹神的人，*並不因他們的安逸而更加安全。（3.）神的手將豐盛賜入其中。他們所得的，過於心裏所想的（Ps 73:7），不僅為需要，也為享受——不僅為自己，也為別人——不僅為現在，也為將來；而且這一切是從護理之手而來的。神豐豐富富地賜給他們。因此我們不能以人的豐裕來判斷他的敬虔，也不能以他手中的來判斷他心中的。
II. 他甚至向低等的受造物——走獸、飛鳥、樹木，甚至大地本身——提出上訴，以此為證；去請教這些，它們必告訴你（Job 12:7,8）。我們可以從它們學到許多好的功課，但在這裏它們要教導我們甚麼呢？
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我們可以從它們學到強盜的帳棚興旺（有人如此解釋）；因為（1.）即使在野獸之中，也是大的吞滅小的、強的吞吃弱的，人如同海中的魚（Hab 1:14）。若罪沒有進入世界，我們可以推想在受造物之間就不會有這樣的混亂，狼與羊羔必同臥。（2.）這些受造物服事惡人，因此見證了他們的興旺。去問牛群羊群屬於誰，它們會告訴你某個強盜、某個壓迫者是它們的主人；魚和飛鳥會告訴你，它們被端上餐桌，滿足了驕傲罪人的奢華。大地為他們結出果實（Job 9:24），整個受造之物在暴政的重壓下嘆息（Ro 8:20,22）。請注意，一切被惡人濫用——用來作為情慾的食糧和燃料——的受造之物，到那日都要作見證控告他們（Jam 5:3,4）。
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我們可以從它們學到神的智慧、權能和良善，以及他至高的主權；所有這些難明的安排，都必須歸結於這個淺顯而自明的真理。瑣法曾把這事說得高深莫測（Job 11:7）。「遠非如此，」約伯說，「我們所當知道的，甚至可以從低等的受造物那裏學到；因為從這一切誰不知道呢？」（Job 12:9）。任何人都可以從受造之書輕易看出*這是耶和華的手所作的，*也就是說，「有一位充滿智慧的護理，照著我們既不熟悉、也無資格判斷的法則，引導並管理這一切。」請注意，從神對低等受造物所行使的至高主權，我們應當學會在他一切關乎人類事務的安排中——即使與我們的尺度相悖——也能安然順服。
III. 他將一切歸於神對一切受造物所擁有的絕對所有權（Job 12:10）：凡活物的生命和人類的氣息，都在他手中。一切受造物，尤其是人類，都是從他而得生命，將生命歸功於他，依靠他來維持生命，在他憐憫的掌管之下，受他的引導和統治，完全聽憑他的安排，到他一發令，就必須交出生命。所有的靈魂都是他的；他難道不能隨己意對待自己的所有物嗎？這裏用的是耶和華之名（Job 12:9），在約伯與朋友的全部對話中，這是唯一一次出現此名；因為在那個時代，神更多以沙代——全能者之名為人所知。
IV. 那些話——（Job 12:11）耳朵豈不試驗言語，正如上膛品嘗食物嗎？——可以理解為前面論述的總結，也可以理解為以下內容的引言。人的心思分辨真偽的能力，正如味覺分辨甜苦的能力一樣好——只要內容被恰當地陳明。因此約伯向朋友們要求自由，讓他能自行判斷他們所說的話，也希望他們同樣以自由來判斷他所說的話；不但如此，他似乎是在向任何人的公正判斷提出上訴；讓耳朵試驗雙方的話，就必發現他是對的。請注意，耳朵在領受話語並加以附和之前，必須先加以試驗。正如我們藉味覺判斷甚麼食物對身體有益、甚麼無益，我們也必須以分辨的靈判斷甚麼教義是純正、可口、有益的，甚麼不是（1Co 10:15,11:13）。
¹² 年老的有智慧，壽高的有知識。
¹³ 在他有智慧和能力，他有謀略和聰明。
¹⁴ 看哪，他拆毀的，就不能再建造；他拘禁一人，就不得開釋。
¹⁵ 看哪，他截留眾水，水就枯乾；他再發出，水就翻覆遍地。
¹⁶ 在他有能力和智慧，被誘惑的與誘惑人的都是屬他。
¹⁷ 他把謀士剝擄淨光，使士官變為愚妄。
¹⁸ 他放寬君王的約束，用帶子束他們的腰。
¹⁹ 他把君王剝擄淨光，傾覆有權勢的。
²⁰ 他除掉忠信人的口才，又奪去老人的聰明。
²¹ 他將君王傾倒於地，使有權勢的失力。
²² 他從黑暗中彰顯深奧的事，使死蔭顯為光明。
²³ 他使邦國興旺而又毀滅；他使邦國擴展而又被擄。
²⁴ 他從地上君王的口中奪去心志，使他們在無路的荒野漂流。
²⁵ 他們在無光之中暗中摸索，他使他們東倒西歪，如同醉酒之人。
這是約伯論到神的智慧、權能和主權的一段崇高的論述——神照著自己旨意的謀略安排人類一切的事務，無人敢反對，也無人能抗拒。若把他和他們從那場激烈的爭論中抽離出來，他們都說得極好；但在*那場爭論中，*我們有時簡直不知如何理解他們。智慧良善的人雖然在一些次要的事上見解不同，若能看見多專注於那些他們一致認同的大事，乃是自己的榮耀與安慰，也能造就別人，那該多好。在這個主題上，約伯說出了像他自己那樣的話。這裏沒有情緒化的抱怨，沒有易怒的反諷，一切都是剛強宏大的。
I. 他斷言神那不可測度的智慧和不可抵擋的權能。在人之中確有智慧和聰明（Job 12:12）。但這只能在少數人身上找到，就是在年老的人中，在那些蒙賜長壽的人中，他們藉著長期的、不斷的經驗而獲得；然而當他們得到智慧時，卻已失去了力量，無法執行智慧的結論。但如今在神那裏同時有智慧和力量——有設計最佳之策的智慧，也有成就所設計之工的力量。他不像我們那樣靠觀察而得謀略和聰明，而是在自己裏面本質地、永恆地擁有（Job 12:13）。古人的智慧與亙古常在者的智慧相比，算得了甚麼！我們所知的甚少，所能做的更少；但神能做萬事，*沒有任何意念能向他隱瞞。*以這位神為神的人有福了，因為無限的智慧和力量為他們效力。人一切反對他的企圖都是愚妄而徒然的（Job 12:14）：*他拆毀的，就不能再建造。*請注意，沒有人能與神的護理相爭，也不能破壞他的法度。正如他先前所說（Job 9:12）：他奪去，誰能阻擋？他在此又重申。神所說的不能被反駁，神所做的也不能被撤銷。神定意要使之成為廢墟的，無人能重建；且看巴別塔，建造者無法繼續；所多瑪和蛾摩拉的荒涼，永遠無法恢復。見賽二十五篇2節、結二十六章14節、啟示錄十八章21節。神所判處永遠監禁的人，無人能釋放；若他拘禁一人——藉著疾病，使他陷入困境，使他的事務陷入窘迫——*就不得開釋。*他將人關在墳墓裏，無人能打開那些封閉的門；將人關在地獄裏，用黑暗的鎖鏈捆鎖，無人能越過那所定的深淵。
II. 他舉出一個例證，從自然界證明這真理（Job 12:15）。神掌管眾水，將它們如衣袍般束起（Pr 30:4），將它們捧在掌中（Isa 40:12）；他能藉著水的缺乏或過量來懲罰世人。正如人因走極端而違背德行——或過或不及，因德行在於中庸——照樣神也以極端來管教他們，不賜下中庸之中的憐憫。1. 大有時是極大的審判：他截留眾水，水就枯乾；天若如銅，地就如鐵；若雨被扣留，泉源就枯竭，溪流就斷絕，田地就乾裂，果實就失收（Am 4:7）。2. 大水有時也是極大的審判。他興起眾水，就翻覆遍地——翻覆其中的出產，翻覆其上的建築。經上說，一場沖刷的大雨會不留食物（Pr 28:3）。請看神有多少方法對付犯罪的百姓，奪去他們所濫用、已喪失資格領受的憐憫；而我們又是何等無力與他抗爭。若可以顛倒次序，Job 12:15可以恰當地指向挪亞洪水——那個永誌不忘的神聖權能的實例。那時神在怒中發出眾水，水就翻覆了大地；但在憐憫中他截留了水，關閉了天上的窗戶和深淵的泉源，於是不多久水就退盡了。
III. 他舉出許多例證，說明神如何大能地管理世人——挫敗他們的計謀，藉著他們並在他們身上成就自己的旨意，推翻他們一切的謀略，壓制他們一切的企圖，勝過他們一切的反對。神對人所施的改變何等奇妙！他使人的道路何等翻轉！何等輕易，何等令人驚訝！
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總括而言（Job 12:16）：在他有力量和謀略（有人如此翻譯），即力量和與自己的一致：原文用了一個優美的字。在他有智慧的最精華和精髓。*在他有能力和一切所有的；*有人如此讀。他是自有永有的，萬有也靠他並在他裏面而立。他既有這力量和智慧，就知道如何善用——不僅是那些甘心樂意事奉他的智慧和良善之人，甚至包括那些愚昧邪惡的人，他們似乎絕不可能被用來成就他護理的旨意：*被誘惑的與誘惑人的都是屬他；*最簡單而被欺騙的人不會在他關注之下；最狡猾而欺騙人的人，也不能以一切的詭詐逃脫他的察覺。世上充滿了欺騙；一半的人欺騙另一半的人，神任憑如此，最終卻要從雙方得著榮耀。欺騙者把受騙者當作工具，但偉大的神把他們兩方都當作工具，用以成就他的作為，無人能阻擋。他有足夠的智慧和能力管理世上所有的愚人和惡棍，知道如何藉著他們成就自己的旨意，儘管一方愚昧、另一方邪惡。當雅各以欺詐奪取祝福時，神恩典的旨意得以成就；當亞哈被虛假的預言引入一場毀滅性的遠征時，神公義的旨意得以成就；在這兩件事上，被誘惑的與誘惑人的都在他的支配之下。見Eze 14:9。神若不知道如何為二者設立界限，並從二者之中得著榮耀，就必不容讓欺騙者的罪惡，也不容讓受騙者的苦難。*哈利路亞，主我們的全能神如此掌權；*他如此掌權是好的，因為若非如此，世上既如此缺乏智慧、又如此缺乏誠實，早已陷入混亂和毀滅了。
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他接著轉向神的智慧和權能在國家與邦國更替中的具體實例；他從這裏取得證據，而不是從護理在個人和家庭中的類似作為中，因為人所處的地位越高、越公開，他們所遭遇的變故就越引人注目，因此護理在其中也就越輝煌地彰顯出來。由此很容易推論：神既能如此使地上的大人物如同球一般在大處拋來拋去（如先知所言，賽二十二篇18節），更何況小人物呢；連邦國都要臣服於他，我們與他相爭豈不是最大的瘋狂嗎？有人認為約伯在此暗指那些強大民族的覆滅——利乏音人、蘇西人、以米人和何利人（見Ge 14:5,6；申二篇10、20節）——其中特別注意到他們是何等離奇地被弄得昏亂而衰弱：若是如此，這是要表明每逢邦國的 affairs 中有類似的事發生，都是神所做的，我們在其中當觀察他至高的主權——即使對那些自認為最有權勢、最有謀略、最專橫的人也是如此。將此與以利法的話相比（Job 5:12-14等）。讓我們匯集此處所列舉的具體改變——神施於人身之上的，或是為了毀滅列國、在他們的地方另立別國，或是為了更換某個政府和內閣、提升另一個取而代之，這可能成為國家的福分；且看我們本國二十年前那場光榮的革命，在其中我們看見了約伯這段話最精彩的應驗。（1.）那些有智慧的人有時離奇地昏亂了，這其中必須承認有神的手（Job 12:17）：他把謀士剝擄淨光，如同他勝過他們所得的戰利品——剝去他們因謀略所得的一切尊榮和財富，甚至剝去他們因之聞名的智慧本身，以及他們對自己計畫所指望的成功。他的謀略立定，他們一切的計謀卻歸於無有，設計盡被挫敗，於是他們既失去了智慧所帶來的滿足，也失去了因智慧而得的聲譽。他使士官變為愚妄。他藉著對他們心思的作為，剝奪了他們處理事務的資格，於是他們真的成了愚妄人；他又藉著對他們事務的安排，使其計畫的結果和結局完全與他們自己所期望的相反，於是使他們看起來像愚妄人。亞希多弗——這段經文在他身上得到特別應驗——的謀略變成了愚妄，而他照著自己的名字，真成了愚妄人的兄弟。見賽十九篇13節：瑣安的首領都變為愚妄；他們欺哄了埃及，就是埃及各支派的房角石。因此智慧人不可因自己的智慧誇口，最有能力的謀士和士官也不可因自己的地位驕傲，而要謙卑地依靠神來持守他們的才能。連那些似乎憑資歷持有智慧的老年人——以為智慧是自己勤奮得來的、因此對它擁有不可剝奪的權利——也可能失去它，而且常常因年老的衰弱而失去，使他們兩度成為孩子：他奪去老人的聰明（Job 12:20）。那些最被倚重為顧問的老人，卻使倚靠他們的人失望。我們讀到一個年老卻不肯納諫的愚昧王（Ec 4:13）。（2.）那些身居高位和掌權的人離奇地被貶抑、貧困、奴役，是神使他們降卑（Job 12:18）：他放寬君王的約束，奪去他們管轄臣民的權柄——或許他們曾藉此奴役臣民、嚴酷地統治；他剝去他們一切尊榮和權威的標記，以及一切暴政的支柱，解開他們的腰帶，使刀劍從身側滑落，那麼冠冕若很快從他們頭上落下，也就不足為奇了——隨之而來的是用帶子束他們的腰，這是奴僕的記號，因為僕人是以腰帶束腰的。這樣，他把君王剝擄淨光——剝去他們一切的權力和財富，以及他們所喜悅所誇口的一切（Job 12:19）。請注意，君王也不能免於神的管轄。對我們而言，他們是神；對他而言，不過是人，且同樣遭受多於常人的人生變故。（3.）那些強壯的人離奇地被削弱，這是神使他們軟弱（Job 12:21），他傾覆有權勢的（Job 12:19）。強壯的身體因年老和疾病而衰弱；強大的軍隊瓦解消散，歸於無有，他們的力量不能保護他們免於致命的傾覆。沒有任何力量能在全能者面前站立，連歌利亞的也不行。（4.）那些以口才聞名、受託公共事務的人離奇地沉默了，無話可說（Job 12:20）：*他除掉忠信人的口才，使他們不能像從前那樣自由清晰地表達，而是結結巴巴、語無倫次、一事無成。或者他們不能說自己所想說的，只能說相反的話，如巴蘭——他本被召來咒詛，卻祝福了那些人。因此善辯者不可因自己的口才驕傲，也不可用之於不良的目的，免得神——造人口的那一位——將之奪去。（5.）那些受人尊敬和仰慕的人離奇地落入恥辱（Job 12:21）：他將君王傾倒於地。*他任憑他們自行去做卑賤的事，或改變人們對他們的看法。若君王自己不榮耀神、藐視他，若他們向神的百姓施以侮辱、加以踐踏，他們必被輕看，神必將傾倒於他們。見詩篇一〇七篇40節。通常沒有人比那些在得勢時驕橫跋扈的人，在失勢時更卑賤，或更被他人欺凌。（6.）那些隱祕的、藏匿的事離奇地被帶到光中、顯露出來（Job 12:22）：*他從黑暗中彰顯深奧的事。嚴密策畫的陰謀被發現並挫敗；暗中犯下、巧妙隱藏的惡行被揭露，罪人受到當得的刑罰——隱祕的叛逆（Ec 10:20）、隱祕的謀殺、隱祕的淫亂。君王的密謀都在神眼前（2Ki 6:11）。（7.）邦國有它的漲退、興衰；兩者都出於神（Job 12:23）：他有時使他們的人數增多，*擴展他們的疆界，使他們在列國中揚名，令人畏懼；但過了一段時間，或許因某種不為人知的原因，他們被毀滅、被收縮，變得稀少貧困，被削減，其中許多被剪除，於是他們在鄰國中變得可鄙，從前為首的如今成了列國之尾。見詩篇一〇七篇38、39節。（8.）那些膽大勇敢、不把危險放在眼裏的人離奇地被嚇倒、失去膽量；這也是主的作為（Job 12:24）：*他從地上君王的口中奪去心志，*就是那些作為他們的領袖和統帥、以武勇和豐功偉業聞名的人；當需要做事時，他們卻膽怯退縮，一片葉子搖動就足以使他們逃跑（詩篇七十六篇5節）。（9.）那些全速推進自己計畫的人離奇地迷失了方向、不知所措；他們不知身在何處，也不知在做甚麼，他們的謀略動搖不定，行動猶豫不決，反覆無常，忽此忽彼，如同人在沙漠中漂流（Job 12:24），如同人在暗中摸索，如同醉酒之人東倒西歪（Job 12:25；賽五十九篇10節）。請注意，神能輕易地使最深謀遠慮的政治家陷入困境，使最大的天才智窮計盡，以顯明他在他們所驕傲的事上超越他們。
邦國的更替，就是這樣奇妙地由那統管萬有的護理所成就。天地都要震動，但主永遠坐著為王，我們也指望得著一個不能震動的國。
英文原文
Job's Reply to Zophar (1520 BC)
¹ And Job answered and said,
² No doubt but ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you.
³ But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you: yea, who knoweth not such things as these?
⁴ I am as one mocked of his neighbour, who calleth upon God, and he answereth him: the just upright man is laughed to scorn.
⁵ He that is ready to slip with his feet is as a lamp despised in the thought of him that is at ease.
The reproofs Job here gives to his friends, whether they were just or no, were very sharp, and may serve for a rebuke to all that are proud and scornful, and an exposure of their folly.
I. He upbraids them with their conceitedness of themselves, and the good opinion they seemed to have of their own wisdom in comparison with him, than which nothing is more weak and unbecoming, nor better deserves to be ridiculed, as it is here. 1. He represents them as claiming the monopoly of wisdom, Job 12:2. He speaks ironically: "No doubt you are the people; you think yourselves fit to dictate and give law to all mankind, and your own judgment to be the standard by which every man's opinion must be measured and tried, as if nobody could discern between truth and falsehood, good and evil, but you only; and therefore every top-sail must lower to you, and, right or wrong, we must all say as you say, and you three must be the people, the majority, to have the casting vote." Note, It is a very foolish and sinful thing for any to think themselves wiser than all mankind besides, or to speak and act confidently and imperiously, as if they thought so. Nay, he goes further: "You not only think there are none, but that there will be none, as wise as you, and therefore that wisdom must die with you, that all the world must be fools when you are gone, and in the dark when your sun has set." Note, It is folly for us to think that there will be any great irreparable loss of us when we are gone, or that we can be ill spared, since God has the residue of the Spirit, and can raise up others, more fit than we are, to do his work. When wise men and good men die it is a comfort to think that wisdom and goodness shall not die with them. Some think Job here reflects upon Zophar's comparing him (as he thought) and others to the wild ass's colt, Job 11:12. "Yes," says he, "we must be asses; you are the only men." 2. He does himself the justice to put in his claim as a sharer in the gifts of wisdom (Job 12:3): "But I have understanding (a heart) as well as you; nay, I fall not lower than you;" as it is in the margin. "I am as well able to judge of the methods and meanings of the divine providence, and to construe the hard chapters of it, as you are." He says not this to magnify himself. It was no great applause of himself to say, I have understanding as well as you; no, nor to say, "I understand this matter as well as you;" for what reason had either he or they to be proud of understanding that which was obvious and level to the capacity of the meanest? "Yea, who knows not such things as these? What things you have said that are true are plain truths, and common themes, which there are many that can talk as excellently of as either you or I." But he says it to humble them, and check the value they had for themselves as doctors of the chair. Note, (1.) It may justly keep us from being proud of our knowledge to consider how many there are that know as much as we do, and perhaps much more and to better purpose. (2.) When we are tempted to be harsh in our censures of those we differ from and dispute with we ought to consider that they also have understanding as well as we, a capacity of judging, and a right of judging for themselves; nay, perhaps they are not inferior to us, but superior, and it is possible that they may be in the right and we in the wrong; and therefore we ought not to judge or despise them (Ro 14:3), nor pretend to be masters (Jam 3:1), while all we are brethren, Mt 23:8. It is a very reasonable allowance to be made to all we converse with, all we contend with, that they are rational creatures as well as we.
II. He complains of the great contempt with which they had treated him. Those that are haughty and think too well of themselves are commonly scornful and ready to trample upon all about them. Job found it so, at least he thought he did (Job 12:4): I am as one mocked. I cannot say there was cause for this charge; we will not think Job's friends designed him any abuse, nor aimed at any thing but to convince him, and so, in the right method, to comfort him; yet he cries out, I am as one mocked. Note, We are apt to call reproofs reproaches, and to think ourselves mocked when we are but advised and admonished; this peevishness is our folly, and a great wrong to ourselves and to our friends. Yet we cannot but say there was colour for this charge; they came to comfort him, but they vexed him, gave him counsels and encouragements, but with no great opinion that either the one or the other would take effect; and therefore he thought they mocked him, and this added much to his grief. Nothing is more grievous to those that have fallen from the height of prosperity into the depth of adversity than to be trodden on, and insulted over, when they are down; and on this head they are too apt to be suspicious. Observe,
1. What aggravated this grievance to him. Two things:—(1.) That they were his neighbours, his friends, his companions (so the word signifies), and the scoffs of such are often most spitefully given, and always most indignantly received. Ps 55:12,13, It was not an enemy that reproached me; then I would have slighted it, and so borne it; but it was thou, a man, my equal. (2.) That they were professors of religion, such as called upon God, and said that he answered them: for some understand that of the persons mocking. "They are such as have a regard to heaven, and an interest in heaven, whose prayers I would therefore be glad of and thankful for, whose good opinion I cannot but covet, and therefore whose censures are the more grievous." Note, It is sad that any who call upon God should mock their brethren (Jam 3:9,10), and it cannot but lie heavily on a good man to be thought ill of by those whom he thinks well of, yet this is no new thing.
2. What supported him under it. (1.) That he had a God to go to, with whom he could lodge his appeal; for some understand those words of the person mocked, that he calls upon God and he answers him; and so it agrees with Job 16:20. My friends scorn me, but my eye poureth out tears to God. If our friends be deaf to our complaints, God is not; if they condemn us, God knows our integrity; if they make the worst of us, he will make the best of us; if they give us cross answers, he will give us kind ones. (2.) That his case was not singular, but very common: The just upright man is laughed to scorn. By many he is laughed at even for his justice and his uprightness, his honesty towards men and his piety towards God; these are derided as foolish things, which silly people needlessly hamper themselves with, as if religion were a jest and therefore to be made a jest of. By most he is laughed at for any little infirmity or weakness, notwithstanding his justice and uprightness, without any consideration had of that which is so much his honour. Note, It was of old the lot of honest good people to be despised and derided; we are not therefore to think it strange (1Pe 4:12), no, nor to think it hard, if it be our lot; so persecuted they not only the prophets, but even the saints of the patriarchal age (Mt 5:12), and can we expect to fare better than they?
3. What he suspected to be the true cause of it, and that was, in short, this: they were themselves rich and at ease, and therefore they despised him who had fallen into poverty. It is the way of the world; we see instances of it daily. Those that prosper are praised, but of those that are going down it is said, "Down with them." He that is ready to slip with his feet and fall into trouble, though he has formerly shone as a lamp, is then looked upon as a lamp going out like the snuff of a candle, which we throw to the ground and tread upon, and is accordingly despised in the thought of him that is at ease, Job 12:5. Even the just upright man, that is in his generation as a burning and shining light, if he enter into temptation (Ps 73:2) or come under a cloud, is looked upon with contempt. See here, (1.) What is the common fault of those that live in prosperity. Being full, and easy, and merry themselves, they look scornfully upon those that are in want, pain, and sorrow; they overlook them, take no notice of them, and study to forget them. See Ps 123:4. The chief butler drinks wine in bowls, but makes nothing of the afflictions of Joseph. Wealth without grace often makes men thus haughty, thus careless of their poor neighbours. (2.) What is the common fate of those that fall into adversity. Poverty serves to eclipse all their lustre; though they are lamps, yet, if taken out of golden candlesticks, and put, like Gideon's, into earthen pitchers, nobody values them as formerly, but those that live at ease despise them.
⁶ The tabernacles of robbers prosper, and they that provoke God are secure; into whose hand God bringeth abundantly.
⁷ But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee:
⁸ Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee.
⁹ Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the LORD hath wrought this?
¹⁰ In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.
¹¹ Doth not the ear try words? and the mouth taste his meat?
Job's friends all of them went upon this principle, that wicked people cannot prosper long in this world, but some remarkable judgment or other will suddenly light on them: Zophar had concluded with it, that the eyes of the wicked shall fail, Job 11:20. This principle Job here opposes, and maintains that God, in disposing men's outward affairs, acts as a sovereign, reserving the exact distribution of rewards and punishments for the future state.
I. He asserts it as an undoubted truth that wicked people may, and often do, prosper long in this world, Job 12:6. Even great sinners may enjoy great prosperity. Observe, 1. How he describes the sinners. They are robbers, and such as provoke God, the worst kind of sinners, blasphemers and persecutors. Perhaps he refers to the Sabeans and Chaldeans, who had robbed him, and had always lived by spoil and rapine, and yet they prospered; all the world saw they did, and there is no disputing against sense; one observation built upon matter of fact is worth twenty notions framed by an hypothesis. Or more generally, All proud oppressors are robbers and pirates. It is supposed that what is injurious to men is provoking to God, the patron of right and the protector of mankind. It is not strange if those that violate the bonds of justice break through the obligations of all religion, bid defiance even to God himself, and make nothing of provoking him. 2. How he describes their prosperity. It is very great; for, (1.) Even their tabernacles prosper, those that live with them and those that come after them and descend from them. It seems as if a blessing were entailed upon their families; and that is sometimes preserved to succeeding generations which was got by fraud. (2.) They are secure, and not only feel no hurt, but fear none, are under no apprehensions of danger either from threatening providences or an awakened conscience. But those that provoke God are never the more safe for their being secure. (3.) Into their hand God brings abundantly. They have more than heart could wish (Ps 73:7), not for necessity only, but for delight—not for themselves only, but for others—not for the present only, but for hereafter; and this from the hand of Providence too. God brings plentifully to them. We cannot therefore judge of men's piety by their plenty, nor of what they have in their heart by what they have in their hand.
II. He appeals even to the inferior creatures for the proof of this—the beasts, and fowls, and trees, and even the earth itself; consult these, and they shall tell thee, Job 12:7,8. Many a good lesson we may learn from them, but what are they here to teach us?
1. We may from them learn that the tabernacles of robbers prosper (so some); for, (1.) Even among the brute creatures the greater devour the less and the stronger prey upon the weaker, and men are as the fishes of the sea, Hab 1:14. If sin had not entered, we may suppose there would have been no such disorder among the creatures, but the wolf and the lamb would have lain down together. (2.) These creatures are serviceable to wicked men, and so they declare their prosperity. Ask the herds and the flocks to whom they belong, and they will tell you that such a robber, such an oppressor, is their owner: the fishes and fowls will tell you that they are served up to the tables, and feed the luxury, of proud sinners. The earth brings forth her fruits to them (Job 9:24), and the whole creation groans under the burden of their tyranny, Ro 8:20,22. Note, All the creatures which wicked men abuse, by making them the food and fuel of their lusts, will witness against them another day, Jam 5:3,4.
2. We may from them learn the wisdom, power, and goodness of God, and that sovereign dominion of his into which plain and self-evident truth all these difficult dispensations must be resolved. Zophar had made a vast mystery of it, Job 11:7. "So far from that," says Job, "that what we are concerned to know we may learn even from the inferior creatures; for who knows not from all these? Job 12:9. Any one may easily gather from the book of the creatures that the hand of the Lord has wrought this," that is, "that there is a wise Providence which guides and governs all these things by rules which we are neither acquainted with nor are competent judges of." Note, From God's sovereign dominion over the inferior creatures we should learn to acquiesce in all his disposals of the affairs of the children of men, though contrary to our measures.
III. He resolves all into the absolute propriety which God has in all the creatures (Job 12:10): In whose hand is the soul of every living thing. All the creatures, and mankind particularly, derive their being from him, owe their being to him, depend upon him for the support of it, lie at his mercy, are under his direction and dominion and entirely at his disposal, and at his summons must resign their lives. All souls are his; and may he not do what he will with his own? The name Jehovah is used here (Job 12:9), and it is the only time that we meet with it in all the discourses between Job and his friends; for God was, in that age, more known by the name of Shaddai—the Almighty.
IV. Those words—(Job 12:11), Doth not the ear try words, as the mouth tastes meat? may be taken either as the conclusion to the foregoing discourse or the preface to what follows. The mind of man has as good a faculty of discerning between truth and error, when duly stated, as the palate has of discerning between what is sweet and what is bitter. Job therefore demands from his friends a liberty to judge for himself of what they had said, and desires them to use the same liberty in judging of what he had said; nay, he seems to appeal to any man's impartial judgment in this controversy; let the ear try the words on both sides, and it would be found that he was in the right. Note, The ear must try words before it receives them so as to subscribe to them. As by the taste we judge what food is wholesome to the body and what not, so by the spirit of discerning we must judge what doctrine is sound, and savoury, and wholesome, and what not, 1Co 10:15,11:13.
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.
²² He discovereth deep things out of darkness, and bringeth out to light the shadow of death.
²³ He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them: he enlargeth the nations, and straiteneth them again.
²⁴ 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.
²⁵ They grope in the dark without light, and he maketh them to stagger like a drunken man.
This is a noble discourse of Job's concerning the wisdom, power, and sovereignty of God, in ordering and disposing of all the affairs of the children of men, according to the counsel of his own will, which none dares gainsay or can resist. Take both him and them out of the controversy in which they were so warmly engaged, and they all spoke admirably well; but, in that, we sometimes scarcely know what to make of them. It were well if wise and good men, that differ in their apprehensions about minor things, would see it to be for their honour and comfort, and the edification of others, to dwell most upon those great things in which they are agreed. On this subject Job speaks like himself. Here are no passionate complaints, no peevish reflections, but every thing masculine and great.
I. He asserts the unsearchable wisdom and irresistible power of God. It is allowed that among men there is wisdom and understanding, Job 12:12. But it is to be found only with some few, with the ancient, and those who are blessed with length of days, who get it by long experience and constant experience; and, when they have got the wisdom, they have lost their strength and are unable to execute the results of their wisdom. But now with God there are both wisdom and strength, wisdom to design the best and strength to accomplish what is designed. He does not get counsel or understanding, as we do, by observation, but he has it essentially and eternally in himself, Job 12:13. What is the wisdom of ancient men compared with the wisdom of the ancient of days! It is but little that we know, and less that we can do; but God can do every thing, and no thought can be withheld from him. Happy are those who have this God for their God, for they have infinite wisdom and strength engaged for them. Foolish and fruitless are all the attempts of men against him (Job 12:14): He breaketh down, and it cannot be built again. Note, There is no contending with the divine providence, nor breaking the measures of it. As he had said before (Job 9:12), He takes away, and who can hinder him? so he says again. What God says cannot be gainsaid, nor what he does undone. There is no rebuilding what God will have to lie in ruins; witness the tower of Babel, which the undertakers could not go on with, and the desolations of Sodom and Gomorrah, which could never be repaired. See Isa 25:2, Eze 26:14, Re 18:21. There is no releasing those whom God has condemned to a perpetual imprisonment; if he shut up a man by sickness, reduce him to straits, and embarrass him in his affairs, there can be no opening. He shuts up in the grave, and none can break open those sealed doors—shuts up in hell, in chains of darkness, and none can pass that great gulf fixed.
II. He gives an instance, for the proof of this doctrine in nature, Job 12:15. God has the command of the waters, binds them as in a garment (Pr 30:4), holds them in the hollow of his hand (Isa 40:12); and he can punish the children of men either by the defect or by the excess of them. As men break the laws of virtue by extremes on each hand, both defects and excesses, while virtue is in the mean, so God corrects them by extremes, and denies them the mercy which is in the mean. 1. Great droughts are sometimes great judgments: He withholds the waters, and they dry up; if the heaven be as brass, the earth is as iron; if the rain be denied, fountains dry up and their streams are wanted, fields are parched and their fruits are wanted, Am 4:7. 2. Great wet is sometimes a great judgment. He raises the waters, and overturns the earth, the productions of it, the buildings upon it. A sweeping rain is said to leave no food, Pr 28:3. See how many ways God has of contending with a sinful people and taking from them abused, forfeited, mercies; and how utterly unable we are to contend with him. If we might invert the order, Job 12:15 would fitly refer to Noah's flood, that ever memorable instance of the divine power. God then, in wrath, sent the waters out, and they overturned the earth; but in mercy he withheld them, shut the windows of heaven and the fountains of the great deep, and then, in a little time, they dried up.
III. He gives many instances of it in God's powerful management of the children of men, crossing their purposes and serving his own by them and upon them, overruling all their counsels, overpowering all their attempts, and overcoming all their oppositions. What changes does God make with men! what turns does he give them! how easily, how surprisingly!
1. In general (Job 12:16): With him are strength and reason (so some translate it), strength and consistency with himself: it is an elegant word in the original. With him are the very quintessence and extract of wisdom. With him are power and all that is; so some read it. He is what he is of himself, and by him and in him all things subsist. Having this strength and wisdom, he knows how to make use, not only of those who are wise and good, who willingly and designedly serve him, but even of those who are foolish and bad, who, one would think, could be made no way serviceable to the designs of his providence: The deceived and the deceiver are his; the simplest men that are deceived are not below his notice; the subtlest men that deceive cannot with all their subtlety escape his cognizance. The world is full of deceit; the one half of mankind cheats the other, and God suffers it to be so, and from both will at last bring glory to himself. The deceivers make tools of the deceived, but the great God makes tools of them both, wherewith he works, and none can hinder him. He has wisdom and might enough to manage all the fools and knaves in the world, and knows how to serve his own purposes by them, notwithstanding the weakness of the one and the wickedness of the other. When Jacob by a fraud got the blessing the design of God's grace was served; when Ahab was drawn by a false prophecy into an expedition that was his ruin the design of God's justice was served; and in both the deceived and the deceiver were at his disposal. See Eze 14:9. God would not suffer the sin of the deceiver, nor the misery of the deceived, if he knew not how to set bounds to both and bring glory to himself out of both. Hallelujah, the Lord God omnipotent thus reigns; and it is well he does, for otherwise there is so little wisdom and so little honesty in the world that it would all have been in confusion and ruin long ago.
2. He next descends to the particular instances of the wisdom and power of God in the revolutions of states and kingdoms; for thence he fetches his proofs, rather than from the like operations of Providence concerning private persons and families, because the more high and public the station is in which men are placed the more the changes that befal them are taken notice of, and consequently the more illustriously does Providence shine forth in them. And it is easy to argue, If God can thus turn and toss the great ones of the earth, like a ball in a large place (as the prophet speaks, Isa 22:18), much more the little ones; and with him to whom states and kingdoms must submit it is surely the greatest madness for us to contend. Some think that Job here refers to the extirpation of those powerful nations, the Rephaim, the Zuzim, the Emim, and the Horites (mentioned Ge 14:5,6, De 2:10,20), in which perhaps it was particularly noticed how strangely they were infatuated and enfeebled: if so, it is designed to show that whenever the like is done in the affairs of nations it is God that does it, and we must therein observe his sovereign dominion, even over those that think themselves most powerful, politic, and absolute. Compare this with that of Eliphaz, Job 5:12-14, etc. Let us gather up the particular changes here specified, which God makes upon persons, either for the destruction of nations and the planting of others in their room or for the turning out of a particular government and ministry and the elevation of another in its room, which may be a blessing to the kingdom; witness the glorious Revolution in our own land twenty years ago, in which we saw as happy an exposition as ever was given of this discourse of Job's. (1.) Those that were wise are sometimes strangely infatuated, and in this the hand of God must be acknowledged (Job 12:17): He leadeth counsellors away spoiled, as trophies of his victory over them, spoiled of all the honour and wealth they have got by their policy, nay, spoiled of the wisdom itself for which they have been celebrated and the success they promised themselves in their projects. His counsel stands, while all their devices are brought to nought and their designs baffled, and so they are spoiled both of the satisfaction and of the reputation of their wisdom. He maketh the judges fools. By a work on their minds he deprives them of their qualifications for business, and so they become really fools; and by his disposal of their affairs he makes the issue and event of their projects to be quite contrary to what they themselves intended, and so he makes them look like fools. The counsel of Ahithophel, one in whom this scripture was remarkably fulfilled, became foolishness, and he, according to his name, the brother of a fool. See Isa 19:13, The princes of Zoan have become fools; they have seduced Egypt, even those that are the stay of the tribes thereof. Let not the wise man therefore glory in his wisdom, nor the ablest counsellors and judges be proud of their station, but humbly depend upon God for the continuance of their abilities. Even the aged, who seem to hold their wisdom by prescription, and think they have got it by their own industry and therefore have an indefeasible title to it, may yet be deprived of it, and often are, by the infirmities of age, which make them twice children: He taketh away the understanding of the aged, Job 12:20. The aged, who were most depended on for advice, fail those that depended on them. We read of an old and yet foolish king, Ec 4:13. (2.) Those that were high and in authority are strangely brought down, impoverished, and enslaved, and it is God that humbles them (Job 12:18): He looseth the bond of kings, and taketh from them the power wherewith they ruled their subjects, perhaps enslaved them and ruled them with rigour; he strips them of all the ensigns of their honour and authority, and all the supports of their tyranny, unbuckles their belts, so that the sword drops from their side, and then no marvel if the crown quickly drops from their head, on which immediately follows the girding of their loins with a girdle, a badge of servitude, for servants went with their loins girt. Thus he leads great princes away spoiled of all their power and wealth, and that in which they pleased and prided themselves, Job 12:19. Note, Kings are not exempt from God's jurisdiction. To us they are gods, but men to him, and subject to more than the common changes of human life. (3.) Those that were strong are strangely weakened, and it is God that weakens them (Job 12:21) and overthrows the mighty. Job 12:19. Strong bodies are weakened by age and sickness; powerful armies moulder and come to nothing, and their strength will not secure them from a fatal overthrow. No force can stand before Omnipotence, no, not that of Goliath. (4.) Those that were famed for eloquence, and entrusted with public business, are strangely silenced, and have nothing to say (Job 12:20): He removeth away the speech of the trusty, so that they cannot speak as they intended and as they used to do, with freedom and clearness, but blunder, and falter, and make nothing of it. Or they cannot speak what they intended, but the contrary, as Balaam, who blessed those whom he was called to curse. Let not the orator therefore be proud of his rhetoric, nor use it to any bad purposes, lest God take it away, who made man's mouth. (5.) Those that were honoured and admired strangely fall into disgrace (Job 12:21): He poureth contempt upon princes. He leaves them to themselves to do mean things, or alters the opinions of men concerning them. If princes themselves dishonour God and despise him, if they offer indignities to the people of God and trample upon them, they shall be lightly esteemed, and God will pour contempt upon them. See Ps 107:40. Commonly none more abject in themselves, nor more abused by others when they are down, than those who were haughty and insolent when they were in power. (6.) That which was secret, and lay hidden, is strangely brought to light and laid open (Job 12:22): He discovers deep things out of darkness. Plots closely laid are discovered and defeated; wickedness closely committed and artfully concealed is discovered, and the guilty are brought to condign punishment—secret treasons (Ec 10:20), secret murders, secret whoredoms. The cabinet-councils of princes are before God's eye, 2Ki 6:11. (7.) Kingdoms have their ebbings and flowings, their waxings and wanings; and both are from God (Job 12:23): He sometimes increases their numbers, and enlarges their bounds, so that they make a figure among the nations and become formidable; but after a while, by some undiscerned cause perhaps, they are destroyed and straitened, made few and poor, cut short and many of them cut off, and so they are rendered despicable among their neighbours, and those that were the head become the tail of the nations. See Ps 107:38,39. (8.) Those that were bold and courageous, and made nothing of dangers, are strangely cowed and dispirited; and this also is the Lord's doing (Job 12:24): He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people, that were their leaders and commanders, and were most famed for their martial fire and great achievements; when any thing is to be done they are heartless, and ready to flee at the shaking of a leaf. Ps 76:5. (9.) Those that were driving on their projects with full speed are strangely bewildered and at a loss; they know not where they are nor what they do, are unsteady in their counsels and uncertain in their motions, off and on, this way and that way, wandering like men in a desert (Job 12:24), groping like men in the dark, and staggering like men in drink, Job 12:25, Isa 59:10. Note, God can soon nonplus the deepest politicians and bring the greatest wits to their wits' end, to show that wherein they deal proudly he is above them.
Thus are the revolutions of kingdoms wonderfully brought about by an overruling Providence. Heaven and earth are shaken, but the Lord sits King for ever, and with him we look for a kingdom that cannot be shaken.
在本章及接下來兩章中，我們看到約伯對瑣法講論的回答；其中如先前一樣，他先與朋友們理論（見 Job 13:19），然後轉向他的神，從那裏直到講論的末了，都將他的申訴指向神。在本章中他向朋友們發言：I. 他定罪他們論到他的話，以及他們對他品格所作的判斷（Job 12:1-5）。II. 他反駁並對抗他們所說惡人在今世必遭毀滅的話，指出惡人往往昌盛（Job 12:6-11）。III. 他贊同他們所說關於神的智慧、大能、主權，以及他的護理對世人及其一切事務的掌管；他印證並加以闡述（Job 12:12-25）。