Job 12:13 Meaning and Explanation
“With him is wisdom and strength, he hath counsel and understanding.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →True and complete wisdom, strength, counsel, and understanding belong to God alone.
What Does Job 12:13 Mean?
Now Job lifts the proverb to its true home. If the aged have a measure of wisdom, with God is wisdom itself, and strength, and counsel, and understanding in fullness. Everything that flickers in human insight burns whole and bright in Him. This verse opens a great hymn to God's sovereign wisdom that fills the rest of the chapter.
To rest in this is to find solid ground when life makes no sense. Job cannot trace the reasons for his pain, but he can affirm that God lacks neither wisdom to know nor strength to act nor counsel to guide. The same wisdom is revealed in Christ, in whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden. What we cannot understand, God understands completely, and that is enough.
Job 12:13 in the Original Language
etsah (עֵצָה), 'counsel' -- the wise plan or purpose by which God governs all things.
Frequently Asked Questions About Job 12:13
What does Job 12:13 mean?
True and complete wisdom, strength, counsel, and understanding belong to God alone.