Job 12:24

Modern

He deprives the earth’s leaders of reason and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland.

Traditional

He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth, and causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way.

Literal

He turns aside the understanding of the chiefs of the people of the earth, and makes them wander in a wilderness without a path.

Latin

Qui immutat cor principum populi terræ, et decipit eos ut frustra incedant per invium:

Hebrew

English

He deprives the earth’s leaders of reason and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland.

Compare Daniel 2:21.
He deprives the earth’s leaders of reason: See Job 12:18; compare Daniel 4:23, 32–33.
He… makes them wander in a trackless wasteland: This is like the "nobles" in Psalm 107:40 (see Job 12:21).

Theme notes and profiles

Psalm 107:40
He pours out contempt on the nobles and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland.
Job 12:20
He deprives the trusted of speech and takes away the discernment of elders.
Hosea 7:11
So Ephraim has become like a silly, senseless dove—calling out to Egypt, then turning to Assyria.
Daniel 4:16
Let his mind be changed from that of a man, and let him be given the mind of a beast till seven times pass him by.
Daniel 4:33
At that moment the sentence against Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from mankind. He ate grass like an ox, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird.
Isaiah 6:9–10
And He replied: “Go and tell this people, ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’
Job 17:4
You have closed their minds to understanding; therefore You will not exalt them.
Isaiah 19:1
This is the burden against Egypt: Behold, the LORD rides on a swift cloud; He is coming to Egypt. The idols of Egypt will tremble before Him, and the hearts of the Egyptians will melt within them.
Psalm 107:4
Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no path to a city in which to dwell.