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Job 12:23

Old Testament Wisdom/Poetry ASV (1901)

What does Job 12:23 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “He increaseth the nations, and he destroyeth them: He enlargeth the nations, and he leadeth them captive.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

He increaseth the nations, and he destroyeth them: He enlargeth the nations, and he leadeth them captive.
Job 12:23 — American Standard Version

Context — Job 12

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
20He removeth the speech of the trusty, And taketh away the understanding of the elders.
21He poureth contempt upon princes, And looseth the belt of the strong.
22He uncovereth deep things out of darkness, And bringeth out to light the shadow of death.
23He increaseth the nations, and he destroyeth them: He enlargeth the nations, and he leadeth them captive.
24He taketh away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth, And causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way.
25They grope in the dark without light; And he maketh them to stagger like a drunken man.
← Job 12:22Job 12:24 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them, etc.] As he did before the flood, when the earth was tilled, and all over peopled with them, but at the flood he destroyed them at once. Sephorno interprets it of the seven nations in the land of Canaan, which were increased in it, and destroyed, to make way for the Israelites to inhabit it; and this has since been verified in other kingdoms, large and populous, and brought to destruction, particularly in the four monarchies, Babylonian, Persian, Grecian, and Roman, and will be in the antichristian states and nations of the world: he enlargeth the nations, and straiteneth them [again]; or “stretcheth” or “spreadeth out the nations” f528, as he…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“job 12:23Isa 9:3; Psa 107:38-39, which Psalm quotes this chapter elsewhere. (See on Job 12:21). straiteneth--literally, "leadeth in," that is, "reduces."”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them - He has entire control over them. The sources of prosperity are in his hand, and at his pleasure he can visit them with famine, pestilence, or war, and diminish their numbers and arrest their prosperity. Dr. Good renders this very improperly, “He letteth the nations grow licentious;” but the word שׂגא śâgâ' never has this sense. It means, to make great; to multiply; to increase. And straiteneth them again - Margin, “leadeth in.” So the word נחה nâchâh means. The idea is, that he increases a nation so that it spreads abroad beyond its usual limits, and then at his pleasure leads them back again, or confines them within the limits from where…”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“Nations - What hitherto he said of princes, he now applies to nations, whom God does either increase or diminish as he pleases. Job 12:25”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“12:23-24 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).”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“increaseth: Exo 1:7, Exo 1:20; Psa 107:38; Isa 9:3, Isa 26:15, Isa 27:6, Isa 51:2, Isa 60:22; Jer 30:19; Jer 33:22; Zac 10:8 straiteneth them again: Heb. leadeth in Job 12:24”
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Related study paths

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Sources and verification