## Rashi on Job Chapter 12

###### Rashi on Job 12:2:1
[Rashi on Job 12:2:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rashi%20on%20Job/r/12:2:1)

**(מענה איוב:)** 
**תָּמוּת חָכְמָה.** כְּשֶׁתָּמוּתוּ, תָּמוּת עִמָּכֶם כָּל חָכְמָה, כִּי כָל חָכְמָה בָּכֶם. אֲבָל:

**The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg:**
**wisdom shall perish** When you die, all wisdom shall perish with you because all wisdom is in you, but I too have intelligence like you.


###### Rashi on Job 12:3:1
[Rashi on Job 12:3:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rashi%20on%20Job/r/12:3:1)

**גַּם לִי לֵבָב כְּמוֹכֶם.** וְאֶת מִי אֵין כְּמוֹ אֵלֶּה, שֶׁהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא שַׁלִּיט לַעֲשׂוֹת רְצוֹנוֹ וּלְהַאֲרִיךְ שַׁלְוַת רְשָׁעִים? אֵינְכֶם אֶלָּא כִּמְשַׂחֲקִים בִּי, וַאֲנִי הוּא (הַהוֹוֶה) שְׂחוֹק לְרֵעֵהוּ:

**The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg:**
**and with whom are there none comparable to these?** (Who is it who does not know like these) that the Holy One, blessed be He, has power to perform His will and to allow the tranquility of the wicked to last? You are only mocking me, and I am...


###### Rashi on Job 12:4:1
[Rashi on Job 12:4:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rashi%20on%20Job/r/12:4:1)

**אֶהְיֶה קוֹרֵא** לְהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, וַיַּעֲנֵהוּ מִצַּעַר הַקְנָטַתְכֶם. וּמָה יַעֲנֵהוּ? לָתֵת לוֹ **שְׂחוֹק לְצַדִּיק וְתָמִים.** שָׁלֵם:

**The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg:**
**a laughingstock to his friend** He calls to the Holy One, blessed be He, and He answers him concerning the pain of their provocation. Now what does He answer him? To give the righteous laughter. **completely** Heb. תָּמִים, perfectly.


###### Rashi on Job 12:4:2
[Rashi on Job 12:4:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rashi%20on%20Job/r/12:4:2)

**שְׂחוֹק צַדִּיק תָּמִים.** הִיא הָעֲנִיָּה אֲשֶׁר יַעֲנֵהוּ. יָדַעְתִּי אֲנִי כַּאֲשֶׁר אֲמַרְתֶּם, כִּי:

**The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg:**
**that the completely righteous will have laughter** That is the answer that He will reply with, and I know that it is as you said (8:21), (“He will yet fill your mouth with laughter,”) for...


###### Rashi on Job 12:5:1
[Rashi on Job 12:5:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rashi%20on%20Job/r/12:5:1)

**לַפִּיד בּוּז.** אֵשׁ שֶׁל גֵּיהִנֹּם עוֹמֵד לְמִי שֶׁשַּׁאֲנָן בְּעַשְׁתּוּתוֹ, לוֹמַר: ״שָׁלוֹם יִהְיֶה לִי״ (דברים כט:יח):

**The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg:**
**A brand of contempt** The fire of Gehinnom stands for one who is tranquil in his thoughts, saying, “I will have peace.”


###### Rashi on Job 12:5:2
[Rashi on Job 12:5:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rashi%20on%20Job/r/12:5:2)

**נָכוֹן.** מְזֻמָּן הוּא הָעַשְׁתּוֹת שַׁאֲנָן, לִהְיוֹת בְּמוֹעֲדֵי רֶגֶל – שֶׁרַגְלָם מוֹעֶדֶת:

**The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg:**
**prepared** The one who is tranquil in his thoughts is destined to be among those who stumble, whose foot slips.


###### Rashi on Job 12:6:1
[Rashi on Job 12:6:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rashi%20on%20Job/r/12:6:1)

**יִשְׁלָיוּ.** יָדַעְתִּי אֲנִי, כִּי יְמֵי יִשְׁלָיוּ אֹהָלִים לִבְנֵי קֵדָר הַשּׁוֹכְנִים בָּאֹהָלִים הַמִּדְבָּרָה, וְהֵם שׁוֹדְדִים, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר ״פֶּרֶא אָדָם יָדוֹ בַכֹּל״ (בראשית טז:יב):

**The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg:**
**prosper** I know that at times tents will prosper, namely those of the Kedarites who dwell in tents in the deserts, and who are robbers, as it is stated (Gen. 16:12): “a free man among men; his hand shall be against every man.”


###### Rashi on Job 12:6:2
[Rashi on Job 12:6:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rashi%20on%20Job/r/12:6:2)

**וּבַטֻּחוֹת.** שְׁלֵמוּת יֵשׁ לְמַרְגִּיזֵי אֵל, לְכָל אֲשֶׁר הֵבִיא לוֹ הַצּוּר הַשָּׁלוֹם בְּיָדוֹ, אִם טוֹב וְאִם רַע:

**The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg:**
**are secure** Those who provoke God have perfection, anyone to whom the Rock brought peace with His hand, whether he is good or bad.


###### Rashi on Job 12:11:1
[Rashi on Job 12:11:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rashi%20on%20Job/r/12:11:1)

**הֲלֹא אֹזֶן מִלִּין תִּבְחָן.** וְלָמָּה לֹא יָדְעוּ זֹאת הַשּׁוֹמְעִים פָּעֳלוֹ, **כַּאֲשֶׁר הַחֵךְ יִטְעַם לֶאֱכֹל**?

**The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg:**
**Does not the ear discern words** So why did the listeners not know this, as the palate tastes to eat?


###### Rashi on Job 12:12:1
[Rashi on Job 12:12:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rashi%20on%20Job/r/12:12:1)

**בִּישִׁישִׁים חָכְמָה וְגוֹ׳.** לָדַעַת כִּי עִמּוֹ חָכְמָה וְגוֹ׳:

**The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg:**
**In elders there is wisdom etc.** to know that with Him is wisdom.


###### Rashi on Job 12:15:1
[Rashi on Job 12:15:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rashi%20on%20Job/r/12:15:1)

**וִישַׁלְּחֵם וְיַהַפְכוּ אָרֶץ.** בִּשְׁלִיחוּתוֹ, כַּאֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה לְדוֹר אֱנוֹשׁ, שֶׁהֵצִיף שְׁלִישׁוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם (מכילתא דרבי ישמעאל יתרו ו):

**The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg:**
**He sends it away and it overturns the earth** As His agents, as He did to the generation of Enosh, when He inundated a third of the world.


###### Rashi on Job 12:16:1
[Rashi on Job 12:16:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rashi%20on%20Job/r/12:16:1)

**לוֹ שׁוֹגֵג.** הָאָדָם הַשּׁוֹגֵג:

**The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg:**
**His are the misled** The man who is misled.


###### Rashi on Job 12:16:2
[Rashi on Job 12:16:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rashi%20on%20Job/r/12:16:2)

**וּמַשְׁגֶּה.** שָׂטָן הַמַּשְׁגֵּהוּ:

**The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg:**
**and the misleader** The Adversary, who misleads.


###### Rashi on Job 12:17:1
[Rashi on Job 12:17:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rashi%20on%20Job/r/12:17:1)

**שׁוֹלָל.** שֵׁם דָּבָר הוּא שְׁטוּת, מוֹלִיכָם בִּשְׁטוּת כְּשֶׁהוּא רוֹצֶה לְעַרְבֵּב וּלְבַלֵּעַ חָכְמָתָם, כְּמוֹ ״וְסָר מֵרָע מִשְׁתּוֹלֵל״ (ישעיהו נט:טו), ״אֶשְׁתּוֹלְלוּ אַבִּירֵי לֵב״ (תהלים עו:ו). וְתָ״ו אֲשֶׁר בְּ״מִשְׁתּוֹלֵל״ וְ״אֶשְׁתּוֹלְלוּ״ – כֵּן דֶּרֶךְ לְשׁוֹן עִבְרִית בְּתֵיבָה שֶׁיְּסוֹדָהּ שִׁי״ן אוֹ סָמֶ״ךְ, וְהוּא בָּא לְדַבֵּר בִּלְשׁוֹן נַעֲשָׂה וְנִפְעַל אוֹ מִתְפַּעֵל, נוֹתֵן תָּ״ו אַחַר אוֹת רִאשׁוֹנָה שֶׁל יְסוֹד, כְּמוֹ ״וְיִשְׁתַּכְּחוּ בָעִיר״ (קהלת ח:י), ״וְיִשְׁתַּמֵּר חֻקּוֹת עָמְרִי״ (מיכה ו:טז), ״מִסְתּוֹלֵל בְּעַמִּי״ (שמות ט:יז), ״וְיִסְתַּבֵּל הֶחָגָב״ (קהלת יב:ה):

**The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg:**
**madness** Heb. שולל. It is a noun, ‘madness.’ He leads them away with madness when He wishes to confuse and destroy their wisdom, as in (Isa. 59: 15), “and he who turns away from evil is considered mad (משתולל)”; (Ps. 76:6), “The stouthearted became mad אשתוללוּ.” The “tav” in משתולל and in אשתוללוּ [is inserted because] so is the structure of the Hebrew language: in a word that has a radical “shin” or “sammech,” and which is used in passive or reflexive conjugation, a “tav” is placed after the first radical, like (Ecc. 8:10), “and they will be forgotten (וישתכחו) in the city”; (Micah 6: 16), “For the statutes of Omri are kept (וישתמר)”; (Exod. 9:17), “You still exalt yourself very high (מסתולל) above My people”; (Ecc. 12:5), “and the grasshopper shall drag himself along (ויסתבל).”


###### Rashi on Job 12:17:2
[Rashi on Job 12:17:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rashi%20on%20Job/r/12:17:2)

**יְהוֹלֵל.** יְשׁוּטֶה, לְשׁוֹן ״הוֹלְלוּת וְסִכְלוּת״ (קהלת ב:יב):

**The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg:**
**Me makes...fools** Heb. יהולל, He makes mad, an expression of folly and foolishness.


###### Rashi on Job 12:18:1
[Rashi on Job 12:18:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rashi%20on%20Job/r/12:18:1)

**מוּסַר מְלָכִים פִּתֵּחַ.** לְהָסִיר מוּסַר סִבְלָם מֵעַל אֲחֵרִים, וּמַעֲבִירָם מִמְּלוּכָה:

**The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg:**
**He loosens the bond of kings** He removed the bond of the yoke from Nebuchadnezzar and dethroned him.


###### Rashi on Job 12:18:2
[Rashi on Job 12:18:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rashi%20on%20Job/r/12:18:2)

**וַיֶּאֱסֹר אֵזוֹר בְּמָתְנֵיהֶם.** בִּתְחִלָּתָם, כְּשֶׁהוּא חָפֵץ בָּהֶם, חוֹגֵר חֲלָצֵיהֶם וּמְזָרְזָם כֹּחַ לַמְּלוּכָה:

**The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg:**
**and He binds a girdle to their loins** At his start, when He desired him, He girded his loins, and imbued him with strength for kingship.


###### Rashi on Job 12:19:1
[Rashi on Job 12:19:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rashi%20on%20Job/r/12:19:1)

**כֹּהֲנִים.** שָׂרִים, כְּמוֹ ״כֹּהֵן מִדְיָן״ (שמות ג:א), ״כֹּהֵן אוֹן״ (בראשית מא:מה):

**The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg:**
**princes** Heb. כהנים, like (Exod. 3:1), “the prince (כהן) of Midian”; (Gen. 41:45), “the prince (כהן) of On.”


###### Rashi on Job 12:20:1
[Rashi on Job 12:20:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rashi%20on%20Job/r/12:20:1)

**לְנֶאֱמָנִים.** אַף לְנֶאֱמָנִים, כִּי פְּעָמִים שְׂפָתָיו נִבְלָלִים לְדַבֵּר סָרָה, כְּגוֹן אַבְרָהָם: ״וְהֶאֱמִין בַּה׳״ (בראשית טו:ו), וְסוֹף נִכְשַׁל: ״בַּמָּה אֵדַע״ (בראשית טו:ח):

**The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg:**
**from trusty men** Even from trusty men. (Even to those who believe in Him. Etz Chayim ms.) Sometimes his lips become confused, speaking improper words, e.g. Abraham (about whom it is written:] (Gen. 15:6), And he believed in the Lord.” And later, he stumbled [by saying,] “How will I know?”


###### Rashi on Job 12:21:1
[Rashi on Job 12:21:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rashi%20on%20Job/r/12:21:1)

**וּמְזִיחַ אֲפִיקִים רִפָּה.** וַחֲגוֹר הַחֲזָקִים מְרַפֶּה, וּמְפַתֵּחַ חֲגוֹרָם לְהָתִישׁ כֹּחָם, כְּמוֹ (תהלים קט:יט) ״וּלְמֵזַח תָּמִיד יַחְגְּרֶהָ״:

**The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg:**
**and loosens the belt of the strong** And He loosens the belt of the strong. He opens their belt to weaken them, like (Ps. 109:19), “and for the girdle (ולמזח) wherewith he is girded continually.”


###### Rashi on Job 12:21:2
[Rashi on Job 12:21:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rashi%20on%20Job/r/12:21:2)

**אֲפִיקִים.** חֲזָקִים, כְּמוֹ ״אֲפִיקֵי נְחוּשָׁה״ (איוב מ:יח); ״אֲפִיקֵי מָגִנִּים״ (איוב מא:ז):

**The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg:**
**the strong** Heb. אפיקים, like (below 40:18), “as strong as (אפיקי) copper; (ibid. 41:7), “He is proud of the strength of (אפיקי) His scales.”


###### Rashi on Job 12:23:1
[Rashi on Job 12:23:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rashi%20on%20Job/r/12:23:1)

**מַשְׂגִּיא לַגּוֹיִם וַיְאַבְּדֵם.** יֵשׁ אוֹמְרִים: כַּאֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה לְמִצְרַיִם, בְּהַשִּׂיגָם אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל ״לִפְנֵי בַּעַל צְפוֹן״ (שמות יד:ט), שָׁגוּ וְאָמְרוּ: תֵּדְעוּ, שֶׁהִסְכִּים עִמָּנוּ לְטַבְּעָם בַּיָּם, כַּאֲשֶׁר גָּזַרְנוּ ״כָּל הַבֵּן הַיִּלּוֹד הַיְאֹרָה תַּשְׁלִיכֻהוּ״ (שמות א:כב); וְקָשָׁה יִרְאָתוֹ שֶׁל בַּעַל צְפוֹן, שֶׁלֹּא נַעֲשׂוּ בּוֹ שְׁפָטִים כְּכָל אֱלֹהֵי מִצְרַיִם. וְגָרַם הַמָּקוֹם לְהַשְׁגּוֹתָם, כְּדֵי לְטַבְּעָם. וְזֶה הַלָּשׁוֹן אֵינוֹ עִקָּר; דְּאִם כֵּן הָיָה לוֹ לוֹמַר בְּצַד יָמִין ׳מַשְׁגִּיא׳, כְּמוֹ ״שׁוֹגֶה״ (משלי כ:א). אֲבָל זֶה עִקָּר ׳מַגְדִּיל׳, לְשׁוֹן ״שַׂגִּיא כֹחַ״ (איוב לז:כג): מַשְׂגִּיא אֶת הַגּוֹיִם וּמַצְלִיחָם, וְלִבָּם מִתְגָּאֶה בְּהַצְלָחָתָם, וְהוּא הָיָה אָבְדָן שֶׁלָּהֶן – מַה שֶּׁהִצְלִיחוּ:

**The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg:**
**He makes nations great and destroys them** Heb. משׂגיא. Some say, as He did to the Egyptians when they overtook Israel before Baal-zephon (Exod. 14:9). They erred and said, “You should know that He agreed with us, to drown them in the sea as we decreed, ‘Every son that is born you shall cast into the river’ (ibid. 1:22), and [they also said] that their deity Baal-zephon is mighty, seeing that no acts of judgment were performed upon it, as [they were upon) all the [other] gods of Egypt, and the Omnipresent caused them to be misled in order to drown them. But this explanation is not the main one, for were it so, it should have been dotted on the right, מַשְׁגִיא like שׁוגֶה, the misled. This is the main explanation: It means making great, an expression of שׂגיא כֹח, having great strength. He makes the nations great and causes them to prosper, and their heart becomes haughty with their prosperity, so that [the fact] that they prosper is their destruction.


###### Rashi on Job 12:23:2
[Rashi on Job 12:23:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rashi%20on%20Job/r/12:23:2)

**שׁוֹטֵחַ.** מַרְבֶּה אוֹתָם, לְהַשְׁטִיחַ בָּאָרֶץ וּלְכַסּוֹתָם:

**The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg:**
**He spreads out** He multiplies them to spread them out over the earth and to cover them.


###### Rashi on Job 12:24:1
[Rashi on Job 12:24:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rashi%20on%20Job/r/12:24:1)

**בְּתֹהוּ לֹא דָרֶךְ.** בְּתֹהוּ שֶׁאֵינוֹ דֶרֶךְ:

**The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg:**
**in a wasteland not a road** In a wasteland that is not a road.