Job 17:12
New International Version
turn night into day; in the face of the darkness light is near.

New Living Translation
These men say that night is day; they claim that the darkness is light.

English Standard Version
They make night into day: ‘The light,’ they say, ‘is near to the darkness.’

Berean Standard Bible
They have turned night into day, making light seem near in the face of darkness.

King James Bible
They change the night into day: the light is short because of darkness.

New King James Version
They change the night into day; ‘The light is near,’ they say, in the face of darkness.

New American Standard Bible
“They make night into day, saying, ‘The light is near,’ in the presence of darkness.

NASB 1995
“They make night into day, saying, ‘The light is near,’ in the presence of darkness.

NASB 1977
“They make night into day, saying, ‘The light is near,’ in the presence of darkness.

Legacy Standard Bible
They make night into day, saying, ‘The light is near,’ in the presence of darkness.

Amplified Bible
“These [thoughts try to] make the night into the day; ‘The light is near,’ they say in the presence of darkness [but they pervert the truth].

Christian Standard Bible
They turned night into day and made light seem near in the face of darkness.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
They turned night into day and made light seem near in the face of darkness.

American Standard Version
They change the night into day: The light, say they, is near unto the darkness.

Contemporary English Version
But all my friends can do is offer empty hopes.

English Revised Version
They change the night into a day: the fight, say they, is near unto the darkness.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
You say that night is day. Light has nearly become darkness.

Good News Translation
But my friends say night is daylight; they say that light is near, but I know I remain in darkness.

International Standard Version
They have transformed night into day— 'The light,' they say, 'is about to become dark.'

Majority Standard Bible
They have turned night into day, making light seem near in the face of darkness.

NET Bible
These men change night into day; they say, 'The light is near in the face of darkness.'

New Heart English Bible
They change the night into day, saying 'The light is near' in the presence of darkness.

Webster's Bible Translation
They change the night into day: the light is short because of darkness.

World English Bible
They change the night into day, saying ‘The light is near’ in the presence of darkness.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
They appoint night for day, "" Light [is] near because of darkness.

Young's Literal Translation
Night for day they appoint, Light is near because of darkness.

Smith's Literal Translation
They will set the night for day: the light being near from the face of darkness.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
They have turned night into day, and after darkness I hope for light again.

Catholic Public Domain Version
They have turned night into day, and I hope for light again after the darkness.

New American Bible
They would change the night into day; where there is darkness they talk of approaching light.

New Revised Standard Version
They make night into day; ‘The light,’ they say, ‘is near to the darkness.’
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
You change the night into day; and you bring forth the light before the darkness is over.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
You put the night for day, and you sacrifice the light to the darkness
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
They change the night into day; The light is short because of darkness.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
I have turned the night into day: the light is short because of darkness.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Job Prepares for Death
11My days have passed; my plans are broken off—even the desires of my heart. 12They have turned night into day, making light seem near in the face of darkness. 13If I look for Sheol as my home, if I spread out my bed in darkness,…

Cross References
Isaiah 5:20
Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who turn darkness to light and light to darkness, who replace bitter with sweet and sweet with bitter.

Micah 3:6
Therefore night will come over you without visions, and darkness without divination. The sun will set on these prophets, and the daylight will turn black over them.

Amos 5:18-20
Woe to you who long for the Day of the LORD! What will the Day of the LORD be for you? It will be darkness and not light. / It will be like a man who flees from a lion, only to encounter a bear, or who enters his house and rests his hand against the wall, only to be bitten by a snake. / Will not the Day of the LORD be darkness and not light, even gloom with no brightness in it?

Jeremiah 13:16
Give glory to the LORD your God before He brings darkness, before your feet stumble on the dusky mountains. You wait for light, but He turns it into deep gloom and thick darkness.

Isaiah 59:9-10
Therefore justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us. We hope for light, but there is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in gloom. / Like the blind, we feel our way along the wall, groping like those without eyes. We stumble at midday as in the twilight; among the vigorous we are like the dead.

Psalm 139:11-12
If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me, and the light become night around me”— / even the darkness is not dark to You, but the night shines like the day, for darkness is as light to You.

Isaiah 50:10
Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the voice of His Servant? Who among you walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD; let him lean on his God.

John 11:10
But if anyone walks at night, he will stumble, because he has no light.”

1 Thessalonians 5:5-7
For you are all sons of the light and sons of the day; we do not belong to the night or to the darkness. / So then, let us not sleep as the others do, but let us remain awake and sober. / For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night.

Matthew 6:23
But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

Luke 11:34-36
Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are bad, your body is full of darkness. / Be careful, then, that the light within you is not darkness. / So if your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, you will be radiant, as though a lamp were shining on you.”

John 12:35
Then Jesus told them, “For a little while longer, the Light will be among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going.

Romans 13:12
The night is nearly over; the day has drawn near. So let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.

2 Corinthians 6:14
Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership can righteousness have with wickedness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness?

Ephesians 5:8
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light,


Treasury of Scripture

They change the night into day: the light is short because of darkness.

change

Job 7:3,4,13,14
So am I made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed to me…

Job 24:14-16
The murderer rising with the light killeth the poor and needy, and in the night is as a thief…

Deuteronomy 28:67
In the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.

short.

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Job 17
1. Job appeals from men to God
6. The unmerciful dealing of men with the afflicted may astonish,
9. but not discourage the righteous
11. His hope is not in life, but in death














They have turned night into day
This phrase captures the profound disorientation and confusion that Job feels. In the Hebrew text, the word for "turned" is "שׂוּם" (sum), which means to place or set. This suggests an intentional act of reversing the natural order. Historically, this reflects Job's perception of his friends' misguided counsel, which attempts to redefine his suffering and reality. In a broader scriptural context, this inversion of night and day symbolizes a distortion of truth and justice, echoing Isaiah 5:20, where woe is pronounced on those who call evil good and good evil.

in the face of darkness
The Hebrew word for "darkness" is "חֹשֶׁךְ" (choshek), often used in the Old Testament to denote chaos, evil, or judgment. Job's use of "darkness" here underscores the depth of his despair and the seeming absence of divine light or understanding in his situation. Archaeologically, darkness was often associated with the unknown and feared aspects of life in ancient Near Eastern cultures, further emphasizing Job's sense of being enveloped by uncertainty and dread.

they say, 'Light is near.'
The assertion "Light is near" is a statement of false hope or denial of reality. The Hebrew word for "light" is "אוֹר" (or), which typically represents life, prosperity, and divine presence. Job's friends, in their attempts to comfort him, offer platitudes that fail to acknowledge the severity of his suffering. This reflects a broader biblical theme where human wisdom falls short of comprehending God's purposes, as seen in Proverbs 14:12, which warns that there is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. Job's lament here is a poignant reminder of the need for genuine empathy and understanding in the face of suffering, rather than superficial reassurances.

(12) They change the night into day.--Comp. Job 11:17. So little did his friends enter into his case that they wanted him to believe that his night of trial was the reverse of darkness, and that there was light at hand. This was to him only the more painful mockery, because of its contrast to his felt condition. He, on the contrary, says that his only hope is in the grave. "The light," say they, "is near unto the darkness; that it is near before the darkness cometh; they try to persuade me that prosperity is close at hand."

Verse 12. - They change the night into day. They, my detractors, who are also my so-called "comforters," pretend to change my night into day; assure me that the cloud which rests on me is only for a time, and will ere long give place to the brightness of day, to a glorious burst of sunshine (see Job 5:18-26; Job 8:21, 22; Job 11:15-19). The light (they say) is short because of darkness; or, rather, is near because of the darkness. To extreme darkness shows that dawn must be near, that the day must soon break when my sorrow will be turned into joy. Job had not found himself comforted by these assurances, which lacked the ring of sincerity, and could not be accomplished except by miracle, which he did not feel that he had any right to expect.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
They have turned
יָשִׂ֑ימוּ (yā·śî·mū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 7760: Put -- to put, place, set

night
לַ֭יְלָה (lay·lāh)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3915: A twist, night, adversity

into day
לְי֣וֹם (lə·yō·wm)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3117: A day

and have made light
א֝֗וֹר (’ō·wr)
Noun - common singular
Strong's 216: Illumination, luminary

seem near
קָר֥וֹב (qā·rō·wḇ)
Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 7138: Near

in the face
מִפְּנֵי־ (mip·pə·nê-)
Preposition-m | Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 6440: The face

of darkness.
חֹֽשֶׁךְ׃ (ḥō·šeḵ)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 2822: The dark, darkness, misery, destruction, death, ignorance, sorrow, wickedness


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OT Poetry: Job 17:12 They change the night into day saying (Jb)
Job 17:11
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