Verse (Click for Chapter) New International Version Your maxims are proverbs of ashes; your defenses are defenses of clay. New Living Translation Your platitudes are as valuable as ashes. Your defense is as fragile as a clay pot. English Standard Version Your maxims are proverbs of ashes; your defenses are defenses of clay. Berean Standard Bible Your maxims are proverbs of ashes; your defenses are defenses of clay. King James Bible Your remembrances are like unto ashes, your bodies to bodies of clay. New King James Version Your platitudes are proverbs of ashes, Your defenses are defenses of clay. New American Standard Bible “Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ashes, Your defenses are defenses of clay. NASB 1995 “Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ashes, Your defenses are defenses of clay. NASB 1977 “Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ashes, Your defenses are defenses of clay. Legacy Standard Bible Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ashes; Your defenses are defenses of clay. Amplified Bible “Your memorable sayings are [worthless, merely] proverbs of ashes; Your defenses are defenses of [crumbling] clay. Christian Standard Bible Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ash; your defenses are made of clay. Holman Christian Standard Bible Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ash; your defenses are made of clay. American Standard Version Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ashes, Your defences are defences of clay. Contemporary English Version Your wisdom and arguments will blow away like dust. English Revised Version Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ashes, your defences are defences of clay. GOD'S WORD® Translation "Your recollections are worthless proverbs. Your answers are absolutely useless. Good News Translation Your proverbs are as useless as ashes; your arguments are as weak as clay. International Standard Version Your maxims are just worthless proverbs; your defensive arguments are made of clay." Majority Standard Bible Your maxims are proverbs of ashes; your defenses are defenses of clay. NET Bible Your maxims are proverbs of ashes; your defenses are defenses of clay. New Heart English Bible Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ashes, Your defenses are defenses of clay. Webster's Bible Translation Your remembrances are like to ashes, your bodies to bodies of clay. World English Bible Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ashes. Your defenses are defenses of clay. Literal Translations Literal Standard VersionYour remembrances [are] allegories of ashes, "" For high places of clay [are] your heights. Young's Literal Translation Your remembrances are similes of ashes, For high places of clay your heights. Smith's Literal Translation Your remembrances being likened to ashes, your backs to backs of clay. Catholic Translations Douay-Rheims BibleYour remembrance shall be compared to ashes, and your necks shall be brought to clay. Catholic Public Domain Version Your remembrance will be compared to ashes, and your necks will be reduced to clay. New American Bible Your reminders are ashy maxims, your fabrications mounds of clay. New Revised Standard Version Your maxims are proverbs of ashes, your defenses are defenses of clay. Translations from Aramaic Lamsa BibleRemember that your power is from the earth, and your dwelling place is of clay. Peshitta Holy Bible Translated Remember that your power is from the dust, and your lofty dwelling is upon a bank of clay OT Translations JPS Tanakh 1917Your memorials shall be like unto ashes, Your eminences to eminences of clay. Brenton Septuagint Translation And your glorying shall prove in the end to you like ashes, and your body like a body of clay. Additional Translations ... Audio Bible Context Job Reproves His Friends…11Would His majesty not terrify you? Would the dread of Him not fall upon you? 12Your maxims are proverbs of ashes; your defenses are defenses of clay. 13Be silent, and I will speak. Then let come to me what may.… Cross References Isaiah 29:14 Therefore I will again confound these people with wonder upon wonder. The wisdom of the wise will vanish, and the intelligence of the intelligent will be hidden.” 1 Corinthians 1:19-20 For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” / Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? Jeremiah 8:9 The wise will be put to shame; they will be dismayed and trapped. Since they have rejected the word of the LORD, what wisdom do they really have? 1 Corinthians 3:19-20 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness.” / And again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.” Isaiah 44:25 who foils the signs of false prophets and makes fools of diviners, who confounds the wise and turns their knowledge into nonsense, Romans 1:22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools, Proverbs 21:30 There is no wisdom, no understanding, no counsel that can prevail against the LORD. 1 Corinthians 1:27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. Ecclesiastes 10:13 The beginning of his talk is folly, and the end of his speech is evil madness. 2 Corinthians 10:5 We demolish arguments and every presumption set up against the knowledge of God; and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. Isaiah 47:10 You were secure in your wickedness; you said, ‘No one sees me.’ Your wisdom and knowledge led you astray; you told yourself, ‘I am, and there is none besides me.’ Colossians 2:8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, which are based on human tradition and the spiritual forces of the world rather than on Christ. Proverbs 14:8 The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way, but the folly of fools deceives them. James 3:15 Such wisdom does not come from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. Isaiah 5:21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight. Treasury of Scripture Your remembrances are like to ashes, your bodies to bodies of clay. remembrances Job 18:17 His remembrance shall perish from the earth, and he shall have no name in the street. Exodus 17:14 And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. Psalm 34:16 The face of the LORD is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. ashes Genesis 18:27 And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes: to bodies Job 4:19 How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, which are crushed before the moth? Genesis 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. 2 Corinthians 5:1 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Jump to Previous Ashes Bodies Bulwarks Clay Defences Defenses Dust Earth Heights High Maxims Memorable Memorials Mire Places Proverbs Remembrances Sayings Similes Strong WiseJump to Next Ashes Bodies Bulwarks Clay Defences Defenses Dust Earth Heights High Maxims Memorable Memorials Mire Places Proverbs Remembrances Sayings Similes Strong WiseJob 13 1. Job reproves his friends for partiality14. He professes his confidence in God; 19. and entreats to know his own sins, and God's purpose in afflicting him Your maxims are proverbs of ashes; In this phrase, Job is addressing his friends, who have been offering him traditional wisdom and advice throughout their dialogues. The term "maxims" refers to the sayings or principles that his friends have been using to explain his suffering. Job criticizes these as "proverbs of ashes," suggesting they are empty, worthless, and lacking substance. Ashes in the Bible often symbolize mourning, worthlessness, or destruction (Genesis 18:27, Isaiah 61:3). Job implies that their wisdom is as insubstantial and futile as ashes, unable to provide true comfort or understanding of his plight. This critique highlights the limitations of human wisdom when it is disconnected from divine insight. your defenses are defenses of clay. Persons / Places / Events 1. JobA man described as blameless and upright, who feared God and shunned evil. He is the central figure in the Book of Job, enduring immense suffering and questioning the reasons behind it. 2. Job's Friends Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar are the three friends who come to comfort Job but end up arguing with him, insisting that his suffering must be due to some hidden sin. 3. The Land of Uz The setting of the Book of Job, traditionally considered to be in the region of Edom or northern Arabia. 4. God The ultimate authority and sovereign being, whose wisdom and purposes are beyond human understanding. 5. Satan The adversary who challenges Job's integrity, suggesting that Job is faithful only because of his prosperity. Teaching Points The Limitations of Human WisdomHuman wisdom, like the "proverbs of ashes," is often insufficient in understanding God's purposes. We must seek divine wisdom through prayer and scripture. The Fragility of Human Defenses Just as "defenses of clay" are easily broken, our own justifications and arguments can fail. We should rely on God's strength and truth. The Importance of Discernment Job's critique of his friends' counsel teaches us to discern the quality of advice we receive and give, ensuring it aligns with biblical truth. Trusting in God's Sovereignty In times of suffering, we should trust in God's sovereign plan, even when it is beyond our understanding, rather than relying solely on human explanations. The Role of Suffering in Spiritual Growth Suffering can refine our faith and deepen our reliance on God, much like Job's experience, leading to spiritual maturity.(12) Remembrances--i.e. "Wise and memorable saws of garnered wisdom are proverbs of ashes, worthless as the dust, and fit for bodies of clay like your bodies." Or, as some understand it, "Your high fabrics, or defences, are fabrics of clay," as an independent parallelism.Verse 12. - Your remembrances are like unto ashes. The "remembrances" intended are probably the wise saws, embodiments of the ancient wisdom, on which Job's adversaries have relied in their disputations with him (Job 4:7, 8; Job 8:8-11, etc.). These Job declares to be mere dust and ashes - useless, worthless, such as the first breath of air wilt blow away. Your bodies to bodies of clay; rather, your mounds or your defences (see the Revised Version). These defences, Job says - i.e, the arguments by which his opponents support their views - are no better than "defences of clay " - easy to batter down and destroy. The ancient defences of a town were usually either of stone, as at Khorsabad ('Ancient Monarchies,' vol. 1. pp. 278, 279), or of crude brick faced with burnt brick, as at Babylon and elsewhere. But Job seems to be speaking of something more primitive than either of these - mere earthworks, like the Roman aggera hastily thrown up and easy to level with the ground. Parallel Commentaries ... Hebrew Your maximsזִֽ֭כְרֹנֵיכֶם (ziḵ·rō·nê·ḵem) Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine plural Strong's 2146: Memorial, remembrance are proverbs מִשְׁלֵי־ (miš·lê-) Noun - masculine plural construct Strong's 4911: To liken, to use, language, in, to resemble of ashes; אֵ֑פֶר (’ê·p̄er) Noun - masculine singular Strong's 665: Ashes your defenses לְגַבֵּי־ (lə·ḡab·bê-) Preposition-l | Noun - masculine plural construct Strong's 1354: The back, the top, rim, a boss, a vault, arch of eye, bulwarks are defenses גַּבֵּיכֶֽם׃ (gab·bê·ḵem) Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine plural Strong's 1354: The back, the top, rim, a boss, a vault, arch of eye, bulwarks of clay. חֹ֝֗מֶר (ḥō·mer) Noun - masculine singular Strong's 2563: A bubbling up, of water, a wave, of earth, mire, clay, a heap, a chomer, dry measure Links Job 13:12 NIVJob 13:12 NLT Job 13:12 ESV Job 13:12 NASB Job 13:12 KJV Job 13:12 BibleApps.com Job 13:12 Biblia Paralela Job 13:12 Chinese Bible Job 13:12 French Bible Job 13:12 Catholic Bible OT Poetry: Job 13:12 Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ashes (Jb) |
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