to turn off (literal or figurative) · verb, hiphil active participle, masculine singular absolute
heart
לֵ֭בlev
H3820
the heart · noun, common masculine singular construct
chief
רָאשֵׁ֣יra.Shei
H7218
the head (as most easily shaken) · noun, common masculine plural construct
people
עַם'am-
H5971
a people (as a congregated unit) · noun, common masculine singular construct
earth
הָאָ֑רֶץha.'A.retz
H776
the earth (at large · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
wander
וַ֝יַּתְעֵ֗םvai.yat.'Em
H8582
to vacillate · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
wilderness
בְּתֹ֣הוּbe.To.hu
H8414
a desolation (of surface) · preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute
way
דָֽרֶךְDa.rekh
H1870
a road (as trodden) · noun, common both genders singular absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Psalms 107:40 He poureth contempt upon princes, and causeth them to wander in the wilderness, where there is no way.
Job 12:20 He removeth away the speech of the trusty, and taketh away the understanding of the aged.
Hosea 7:11 Ephraim also is like a silly dove without heart: they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria.
Job 17:4 For thou hast hid their heart from understanding: therefore shalt thou not exalt them.
Psalms 107:4 They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in.
Isaiah 6:9-10 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
Isaiah 19:1 The burden of Egypt. Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his pre…
Daniel 4:16 Let his heart be changed from man’s, and let a beast’s heart be given unto him; and let seven times pass over him.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Job 12:12–end
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. Her…
heart--intelligence.
wander in a wilderness--figurative; not referring to any actual fact. This cannot be quoted to prove Job lived after Israel's wanderings in the desert. Psa 107:4, Psa 107:40 quotes this passage.
John Gill on Job 12:24
He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth,.... The people of the earth are the common people; the "chief" or "heads" (f) of them, as it may be rendered, are kings, princes and generals of armies; whose "hearts" may be said to be "taken away" when they are dispirited, and deprived both of courage and conduct; have neither valour nor wisdom, neither fortitude of mind, nor military skill to defend themselves and their people against their enemies. Sephorno interprets this of Sihon and Og, whose spirits the Lord hardened, and made their hearts obstinate to war with Israel, Deuteronomy 2:30; but it may be better understood of the Israelites, and the heads of them, when they…
22 He discovereth deep things out of darkness,
And bringeth out to light the shadow of death;
23 He giveth prosperity to nations and then destroyeth them,
Increase of territory to nations and then carrieth them away;
24 He taketh away the understanding of the chief people of the land,
And maketh them to wander in a trackless wilderness;
25 They grope in darkness without light,
He maketh them to stagger like a drunken man.
The meaning of Job 12:22 in this connection can only be, that there is nothing so finely spun out that God cannot make it visible. All secret plans of the wicked, all secret sins, and the deeds of the evil-doer though veiled in deep darkness, He bringeth before the tribunal…
The Church Fathers
"He has reconciled the hearts of the princes of the earth. He reconciled the Jews or the kings of the earth, who had first persecuted his Church. "He led them on a new road which they did not know." In abrogating the Law he spoke only to their intelligence; so they looked at him as a sinner.
Who changeth the heart of the chief of the people of the earth, and deceiveth them, that they wander in vain where there is no way, they shall grope in the dark without any light, and He shall make them to stagger like a drunken man. For 'the heart of the chief of the earth was changed,' when the chief priests and elders of the people in Judaea set themselves to withstand Him by their counsels, Whom they beforehand proclaimed, that He was to come. And when they strove to put out His Name by persecuting Him, being deceived by their own wickedness they vainly essayed to 'wander where there is no way,' because it was impossible that a 'way' could be open to their cruelty directed against the Creator of all things. They saw the miracles, they were made to fear by His power, but by a righteous judgment, light itself was made dark to them, in that whilst it came to heal the sound of mind, it blinded those that were puffed up. For in proportion as the light of miracles shone upon their faces, in the same degree were they darkened by the depth of their iniquity; and they that before His Incarnation seemed to 'walk right in the way,' after the Incarnation were made to 'stagger like a drunken man.' For a drunken man walks on that he may arrive at some place, yet he knows not what place he is making for. And so, when for the killing of the Lord, Judaea busied herself with the exertion of her evil intent, she toiled on, and knew not whither; because whereas she thought to destroy Him, Whom she had put to death, she multiplied the numbers of believers without any bounds, and 'staggered' when she was minded to fix her footing in the firmest way, in that wherein by her evil intent she thought to make an end, there being confuted, she increased His glory.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Satan — Adversary; accuser. When used as a proper name, the Hebrew word so rendered has the article “the adversary” (Job 1:6-12; 2:1-7). In the New Testament it is used as interchangeable with Diabolos, or…
Wilderness — (1.) Heb. midhbar, denoting not a barren desert but a district or region suitable for pasturing sheep and cattle (Ps. 65:12; Isa. 42:11; Jer. 23:10; Joel 1:19; 2:22); an uncultivated place. This word…
Atheism · ARGUMENTS AGAINST — ARGUMENTS AGAINST
Philosophy · provi — provi
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Cp. Dan 2:21. • strips kings of understanding: See Job 12:18; cp. Dan 4:23, 32-33. • He . . . leaves them wandering in a pathless wasteland like the princes in Ps 107:40 (see Job 12:21).
Rashi on Job 12:24
in a wasteland not a road In a wasteland that is not a road.
