Job 5:13 Meaning and Explanation
“He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsel of the froward is carried headlong.”
King James Version (KJV)
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Read Full Chapter →There is a kind of wisdom that is admired because it can outmaneuver others. Job 5:13 looks beneath that appearance. It says that God is able to use the very craftiness of the wise to expose and undo them, so that their counsel loses the control it claimed to possess.
Eliphaz declares that God can turn the clever schemes of the self-assured back upon their makers, causing stubborn and twisted counsel to rush toward ruin instead of success.
The Context of Job 5:13
In Job 5, Eliphaz urges Job to seek God and then describes God's mighty dealings in the world. God sends rain, lifts those who mourn, frustrates the crafty, and delivers the poor from violent speech and powerful hands. Verse 13 follows the statement that the crafty cannot carry out their enterprise. Verse 14 pictures them groping in darkness at noon, while verses 15-16 turn to God's salvation of the poor and the silencing of iniquity. Eliphaz speaks true words about God's power over proud evil, yet the book later corrects his attempt to treat Job's suffering as evidence of wrongdoing or divine punishment.
What Does Job 5:13 Mean?
The verse uses "wise" in a context that qualifies the word. These are people marked by "their own craftiness," not by the fear of God or wise obedience. God "taketh" them in that craftiness: the means by which they expect to secure themselves becomes the means by which they are caught. The second line describes "the counsel of the froward" as "carried headlong." Froward counsel is perverse or stubbornly crooked in its direction. It is swept forward in haste, unable to provide the steady, successful course its planners imagined. The language presents God as fully able to expose the weakness concealed inside proud calculation.
Verse 13 strengthens the movement begun in verse 12. God raises the lowly in verse 11, brings crafty enterprises to failure in verse 12, and then shows the inner collapse of crooked counsel in verses 13-14. This concern for the vulnerable becomes explicit in verses 15-16, where God saves the poor from the sword, the mouth, and the hand of the mighty. The chapter therefore joins divine wisdom with care for those who are easily overpowered. At the same time, Job's story requires careful reading. Eliphaz's general description of God's justice does not authorize us to identify a suffering person's condition with hidden craftiness or frowardness.
A strong canonical echo appears when Paul cites this verse in his teaching about the church's divisions and boasting. He uses Job's words to show that God knows the reasoning of those who pride themselves on wisdom. The connection is earned by the shared concern with wisdom that becomes self-exalting and divisive. Christ's ministry repeatedly brings hidden motives into the light and warns against gaining the world at the cost of one's life. His way also shows that God's wisdom is not measured by worldly display or control. Job 5:13 calls us to seek wisdom that can receive correction, serve truth, and remain answerable to God.
Bible Verses Related to Job 5:13
“He made a pit, and digged it, and is fallen into the ditch which he made. His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate.”
- Psalm 7:15-16
“When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom.”
- Proverbs 11:2
“Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.”
- Ecclesiastes 7:29
“For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.”
- 1 Corinthians 3:19
Where Job 5:13 Echoes in Scripture
1 Corinthians 3:19 directly quotes Job 5:13: Paul invokes it while addressing jealousy, strife, and party spirit among believers in Corinth. His point is that human wisdom cannot be a ground for boasting before God. The quotation preserves Job 5:13's warning about craftiness while giving it a concrete setting in communal life. It urges a form of wisdom shaped by God's judgment rather than by competition for status or allegiance to impressive human leaders.
How to Apply Job 5:13 Today
This verse can help us recognize the difference between wise judgment and craftiness. Wise judgment seeks truth, considers consequences, welcomes correction, and refuses to use people as pieces in a strategy. Craftiness often depends on secrecy, flattery, pressure, or the belief that no one will see the real aim. In work, family, community, and church life, we can bring our motives before God before pressing ahead. When conflict grows, the way forward may include plain speech, patient listening, and counsel from trustworthy people. We can also entrust schemes aimed at harming others to God, who sees more clearly than we do.
Reflection & Prayer
Are there places where we are tempted to value being shrewd over being truthful and teachable? Consider one relationship or decision in which honest counsel would bring greater light. Suggested prayer: "Lord, deliver us from proud craftiness. Give us wisdom that is true, humble, and ready to receive your correction."