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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /><title>Job 13:12 Your maxims are proverbs of ashes; your defenses are defenses of clay.</title><link rel="canonical" href="https://biblehub.com/job/13-12.htm" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/new9.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><meta property="og:image" content="https://biblehub.com/visuals/9/18_Job_13_12.jpg" /><meta property="og:title" content="Job 13:12 - Job Reproves His Friends" /><meta property="og:site_name" content="Bible Hub" /><meta property="og:description" content="Your maxims are proverbs of ashes; your defenses are defenses of clay." /><script type="application/javascript" src="https://scripts.webcontentassessor.com/scripts/8a2459b64f9cac8122fc7f2eac4409c8555fac9383016db59c4c26e3d5b8b157"></script><script src='https://qd.admetricspro.com/js/biblehub/biblehub-layout-loader-revcatch.js'></script><script id='HyDgbd_1s' src='https://prebidads.revcatch.com/ads.js' type='text/javascript' async></script><script>(function(w,d,b,s,i){var cts=d.createElement(s);cts.async=true;cts.id='catchscript'; cts.dataset.appid=i;cts.src='https://app.protectsubrev.com/catch_rp.js?cb='+Math.random(); document.head.appendChild(cts); }) (window,document,'head','script','rc-anksrH');</script></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="/vmenus/job/13-12.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="/bmc/job/13-12.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="/">Bible</a> > <a href="/job/">Job</a> > <a href="/job/13.htm">Chapter 13</a> > Verse 12</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div><div id="ad1"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/ad12.htm" width="100%" height="48" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="/job/13-11.htm" title="Job 13:11">◄</a> Job 13:12 <a href="/job/13-13.htm" title="Job 13:13">►</a></div></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="topverse"> <a href="#audio" class="clickchap2" title="Context and Audio Bible"> Audio </a> <a href="#crossref" class="clickchap2" title="Cross References"> Cross </a> <a href="#study" class="clickchap2" title="Study Bible"> Study </a> <a href="#commentary" class="clickchap2" title="Commentary"> Comm </a> <a href="#lexicon" class="clickchap2" title="Lexicon"> Heb </a> </div><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheadingv"><b>Verse</b><a href="/bsb/job/13.htm" class="clickchap" style="color:#001320" title="Click any translation name for full chapter">  (Click for Chapter)</a></div><div id="par"><span class="versiontext"><a href="/niv/job/13.htm">New International Version</a></span><br />Your maxims are proverbs of ashes; your defenses are defenses of clay.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nlt/job/13.htm">New Living Translation</a></span><br />Your platitudes are as valuable as ashes. Your defense is as fragile as a clay pot.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/esv/job/13.htm">English Standard Version</a></span><br />Your maxims are proverbs of ashes; your defenses are defenses of clay.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/bsb/job/13.htm">Berean Standard Bible</a></span><br />Your maxims are proverbs of ashes; your defenses are defenses of clay.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/kjv/job/13.htm">King James Bible</a></span><br />Your remembrances <i>are</i> like unto ashes, your bodies to bodies of clay.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nkjv/job/13.htm">New King James Version</a></span><br />Your platitudes <i>are</i> proverbs of ashes, Your defenses are defenses of clay.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb_/job/13.htm">New American Standard Bible</a></span><br />“Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ashes, Your defenses are defenses of clay.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb/job/13.htm">NASB 1995</a></span><br />&#8220Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ashes, Your defenses are defenses of clay.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb77/job/13.htm">NASB 1977 </a></span><br />“Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ashes, Your defenses are defenses of clay.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lsb/job/13.htm">Legacy Standard Bible </a></span><br />Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ashes; Your defenses are defenses of clay.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/amp/job/13.htm">Amplified Bible</a></span><br />“Your memorable sayings are [worthless, merely] proverbs of ashes; Your defenses are defenses of [crumbling] clay.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/csb/job/13.htm">Christian Standard Bible</a></span><br />Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ash; your defenses are made of clay.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/hcsb/job/13.htm">Holman Christian Standard Bible</a></span><br />Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ash; your defenses are made of clay. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/asv/job/13.htm">American Standard Version</a></span><br />Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ashes, Your defences are defences of clay.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/cev/job/13.htm">Contemporary English Version</a></span><br />Your wisdom and arguments will blow away like dust. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/erv/job/13.htm">English Revised Version</a></span><br />Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ashes, your defences are defences of clay.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/gwt/job/13.htm">GOD'S WORD® Translation</a></span><br />"Your recollections are worthless proverbs. Your answers are absolutely useless. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/gnt/job/13.htm">Good News Translation</a></span><br />Your proverbs are as useless as ashes; your arguments are as weak as clay. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/isv/job/13.htm">International Standard Version</a></span><br />Your maxims are just worthless proverbs; your defensive arguments are made of clay."<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/msb/job/13.htm">Majority Standard Bible</a></span><br />Your maxims are proverbs of ashes; your defenses are defenses of clay.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/net/job/13.htm">NET Bible</a></span><br />Your maxims are proverbs of ashes; your defenses are defenses of clay. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nheb/job/13.htm">New Heart English Bible</a></span><br />Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ashes, Your defenses are defenses of clay.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/wbt/job/13.htm">Webster's Bible Translation</a></span><br />Your remembrances are like to ashes, your bodies to bodies of clay.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/web/job/13.htm">World English Bible</a></span><br />Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ashes. Your defenses are defenses of clay. <div class="vheading2"><b>Literal Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lsv/job/13.htm">Literal Standard Version</a></span><br />Your remembrances [are] allegories of ashes, "" For high places of clay [are] your heights.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/ylt/job/13.htm">Young's Literal Translation</a></span><br /> Your remembrances are similes of ashes, For high places of clay your heights.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/slt/job/13.htm">Smith's Literal Translation</a></span><br />Your remembrances being likened to ashes, your backs to backs of clay.<div class="vheading2"><b>Catholic Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/drb/job/13.htm">Douay-Rheims Bible</a></span><br />Your remembrance shall be compared to ashes, and your necks shall be brought to clay. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/cpdv/job/13.htm">Catholic Public Domain Version</a></span><br />Your remembrance will be compared to ashes, and your necks will be reduced to clay.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nabre/job/13.htm">New American Bible</a></span><br />Your reminders are ashy maxims, your fabrications mounds of clay. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nrsvce/job/13.htm">New Revised Standard Version</a></span><br />Your maxims are proverbs of ashes, your defenses are defenses of clay.<div class="vheading2"><b>Translations from Aramaic</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lamsa/job/13.htm">Lamsa Bible</a></span><br />Remember that your power is from the earth, and your dwelling place is of clay.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/hpbt/job/13.htm">Peshitta Holy Bible Translated</a></span><br />Remember that your power is from the dust, and your lofty dwelling is upon a bank of clay<div class="vheading2"><b>OT Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/jps/job/13.htm">JPS Tanakh 1917</a></span><br />Your memorials shall be like unto ashes, Your eminences to eminences of clay.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/sep/job/13.htm">Brenton Septuagint Translation</a></span><br />And your glorying shall prove in the end to you like ashes, and your body <i>like a body</i> of clay.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/parallel/job/13-12.htm">Additional Translations ...</a></span></div></div></div><div id="centbox"><div class="padcent"><a name="audio" id="audio"></a><div class="vheadingv"><b>Audio Bible</b></div><iframe width="100%" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XAwuD5NuZq0?start=1986" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe><span class="p"><br /><br /><br /></span><div class="vheadingv"><b>Context</b></div><span class="hdg"><a href="/bsb/job/13.htm">Job Reproves His Friends</a></span><br>…<span class="reftext">11</span>Would His majesty not terrify you? Would the dread of Him not fall upon you? <span class="reftext">12</span><span class="highl"><a href="/hebrew/2146.htm" title="2146: ziḵ·rō·nê·ḵem (N-mpc:: 2mp) -- Memorial, remembrance. From zakar; a memento.">Your maxims</a> <a href="/hebrew/4912.htm" title="4912: miš·lê- (N-mpc) -- A proverb, parable. ">are proverbs</a> <a href="/hebrew/665.htm" title="665: ’ê·p̄er (N-ms) -- Ashes. From an unused root meaning to bestrew; ashes.">of ashes;</a> <a href="/hebrew/1354.htm" title="1354: lə·ḡab·bê- (Prep-l:: N-mpc) -- A back. ">your defenses</a> <a href="/hebrew/1354.htm" title="1354: gab·bê·ḵem (N-mpc:: 2mp) -- A back. ">are defenses</a> <a href="/hebrew/2563.htm" title="2563: ḥō·mer (N-ms) -- From chamar; properly, a bubbling up, i.e. Of water, a wave; of earth, mire or clay; also a heap; hence, a chomer or dry measure.">of clay.</a> </span><span class="reftext">13</span>Be silent, and I will speak. Then let come to me what may.…<div class="cred"><a href="//berean.bible">Berean Standard Bible</a> · <a href="//berean.bible/downloads.htm">Download</a></div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="crossref" id="crossref"></a><div class="vheading">Cross References</div><div id="crf"><span class="crossverse"><a href="/isaiah/29-14.htm">Isaiah 29:14</a></span><br />Therefore I will again confound these people with wonder upon wonder. The wisdom of the wise will vanish, and the intelligence of the intelligent will be hidden.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/1_corinthians/1-19.htm">1 Corinthians 1:19-20</a></span><br />For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” / Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/jeremiah/8-9.htm">Jeremiah 8:9</a></span><br />The wise will be put to shame; they will be dismayed and trapped. Since they have rejected the word of the LORD, what wisdom do they really have?<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/1_corinthians/3-19.htm">1 Corinthians 3:19-20</a></span><br />For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness.” / And again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/isaiah/44-25.htm">Isaiah 44:25</a></span><br />who foils the signs of false prophets and makes fools of diviners, who confounds the wise and turns their knowledge into nonsense,<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/romans/1-22.htm">Romans 1:22</a></span><br />Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools,<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/proverbs/21-30.htm">Proverbs 21:30</a></span><br />There is no wisdom, no understanding, no counsel that can prevail against the LORD.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/1_corinthians/1-27.htm">1 Corinthians 1:27</a></span><br />But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/ecclesiastes/10-13.htm">Ecclesiastes 10:13</a></span><br />The beginning of his talk is folly, and the end of his speech is evil madness.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/2_corinthians/10-5.htm">2 Corinthians 10:5</a></span><br />We demolish arguments and every presumption set up against the knowledge of God; and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/isaiah/47-10.htm">Isaiah 47:10</a></span><br />You were secure in your wickedness; you said, ‘No one sees me.’ Your wisdom and knowledge led you astray; you told yourself, ‘I am, and there is none besides me.’<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/colossians/2-8.htm">Colossians 2:8</a></span><br />See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, which are based on human tradition and the spiritual forces of the world rather than on Christ.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/proverbs/14-8.htm">Proverbs 14:8</a></span><br />The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way, but the folly of fools deceives them.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/james/3-15.htm">James 3:15</a></span><br />Such wisdom does not come from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/isaiah/5-21.htm">Isaiah 5:21</a></span><br />Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.</div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="tsk" id="tsk"><div class="vheading">Treasury of Scripture</div><p class="tsk2">Your remembrances are like to ashes, your bodies to bodies of clay.</p><p class="hdg">remembrances</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/job/18-17.htm">Job 18:17</a></b></br> His remembrance shall perish from the earth, and he shall have no name in the street.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/exodus/17-14.htm">Exodus 17:14</a></b></br> And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this <i>for</i> a memorial in a book, and rehearse <i>it</i> in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/psalms/34-16.htm">Psalm 34:16</a></b></br> The face of the LORD <i>is</i> against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.</p><p class="hdg">ashes</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/genesis/18-27.htm">Genesis 18:27</a></b></br> And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which <i>am but</i> dust and ashes:</p><p class="hdg">to bodies</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/job/4-19.htm">Job 4:19</a></b></br> How much less <i>in</i> them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation <i>is</i> in the dust, <i>which</i> are crushed before the moth?</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/genesis/2-7.htm">Genesis 2:7</a></b></br> And the LORD God formed man <i>of</i> the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/2_corinthians/5-1.htm">2 Corinthians 5:1</a></b></br> For we know that if our earthly house of <i>this</i> tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.</p><div class="vheading">Jump to Previous</div><a href="/job/2-8.htm">Ashes</a> <a href="/nehemiah/9-37.htm">Bodies</a> <a href="/2_chronicles/32-1.htm">Bulwarks</a> <a href="/job/10-9.htm">Clay</a> <a href="/nahum/2-1.htm">Defences</a> <a href="/2_chronicles/11-11.htm">Defenses</a> <a href="/job/10-9.htm">Dust</a> <a href="/job/12-24.htm">Earth</a> <a href="/job/11-8.htm">Heights</a> <a href="/job/11-8.htm">High</a> <a href="/titus/1-14.htm">Maxims</a> <a href="/esther/6-1.htm">Memorable</a> <a href="/esther/6-1.htm">Memorials</a> <a href="/job/8-11.htm">Mire</a> <a href="/job/4-18.htm">Places</a> <a href="/1_kings/4-32.htm">Proverbs</a> <a href="/2_timothy/2-14.htm">Remembrances</a> <a href="/job/8-2.htm">Sayings</a> <a href="/1_kings/4-32.htm">Similes</a> <a href="/job/12-21.htm">Strong</a> <a href="/job/13-5.htm">Wise</a><div class="vheading2">Jump to Next</div><a href="/job/30-19.htm">Ashes</a> <a href="/job/31-15.htm">Bodies</a> <a href="/psalms/31-2.htm">Bulwarks</a> <a href="/job/27-16.htm">Clay</a> <a href="/isaiah/25-12.htm">Defences</a> <a href="/isaiah/22-8.htm">Defenses</a> <a href="/job/14-8.htm">Dust</a> <a href="/job/14-8.htm">Earth</a> <a href="/job/15-7.htm">Heights</a> <a href="/job/15-12.htm">High</a> <a href="/titus/1-14.htm">Maxims</a> <a href="/ezekiel/39-13.htm">Memorable</a> <a href="/esther/6-1.htm">Memorials</a> <a href="/job/30-19.htm">Mire</a> <a href="/job/15-15.htm">Places</a> <a href="/proverbs/1-1.htm">Proverbs</a> <a href="/2_timothy/2-14.htm">Remembrances</a> <a href="/job/15-3.htm">Sayings</a> <a href="/ecclesiastes/12-9.htm">Similes</a> <a href="/job/15-26.htm">Strong</a> <a href="/job/15-2.htm">Wise</a><div class="vheading2">Job 13</div><span class="reftext">1. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/job/13-1.htm">Job reproves his friends for partiality</a></span><br><span class="reftext">14. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/job/13-14.htm">He professes his confidence in God; </a></span><br><span class="reftext">19. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/job/13-19.htm">and entreats to know his own sins, and God's purpose in afflicting him</a></span><br></div></div><div id="mdd"><div align="center"><div class="bot2"><table align="center" width="100%"><tr><td><div align="center"> <script id="3d27ed63fc4348d5b062c4527ae09445"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=51ce25d5-1a8c-424a-8695-4bd48c750f35&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script> <script id="b817b7107f1d4a7997da1b3c33457e03"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=cb0edd8b-b416-47eb-8c6d-3cc96561f7e8&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-2'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-0' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-3'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-1' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div align="center" id='div-gpt-ad-1531425649696-0'> </div><br /><br /> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:inline-block;width:200px;height:200px" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3753401421161123" data-ad-slot="3592799687"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script> <br /><br /> </div> </td></tr></table></div></div></div><div id="combox"><div class="padcom"><a name="study" id="study"></a><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top"><a href="/study/job/13.htm">Study Bible</a></td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/study/job/" title="Book Summary and Study">Book ◦</a> <a href="/study/chapters/job/13.htm" title="Chapter summary and Study">Chapter </a></tr></table></div><b>Your maxims are proverbs of ashes;</b><br>In this phrase, Job is addressing his friends, who have been offering him traditional wisdom and advice throughout their dialogues. The term "maxims" refers to the sayings or principles that his friends have been using to explain his suffering. Job criticizes these as "proverbs of ashes," suggesting they are empty, worthless, and lacking substance. Ashes in the Bible often symbolize mourning, worthlessness, or destruction (<a href="/genesis/18-27.htm">Genesis 18:27</a>, <a href="/isaiah/61-3.htm">Isaiah 61:3</a>). Job implies that their wisdom is as insubstantial and futile as ashes, unable to provide true comfort or understanding of his plight. This critique highlights the limitations of human wisdom when it is disconnected from divine insight.<p><b>your defenses are defenses of clay.</b><br>Here, Job continues his critique by comparing his friends' arguments to "defenses of clay." Clay, in biblical times, was a common material used for making pottery and bricks, but it was also fragile and easily broken. This metaphor suggests that their arguments are weak and easily shattered under scrutiny. The imagery of clay can also be connected to the creation of man (<a href="/genesis/2-7.htm">Genesis 2:7</a>), emphasizing the frailty and impermanence of human constructs compared to divine truth. Job's statement underscores the inadequacy of his friends' attempts to justify his suffering through their limited understanding, pointing to the need for a deeper, more divine perspective on human suffering and justice.<div class="vheading2">Persons / Places / Events</div>1. <b><a href="/topical/j/job.htm">Job</a></b><br>A man described as blameless and upright, who feared God and shunned evil. He is the central figure in the Book of Job, enduring immense suffering and questioning the reasons behind it.<br><br>2. <b><a href="/topical/j/job's_friends.htm">Job's Friends</a></b><br>Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar are the three friends who come to comfort Job but end up arguing with him, insisting that his suffering must be due to some hidden sin.<br><br>3. <b><a href="/topical/t/the_land_of_uz.htm">The Land of Uz</a></b><br>The setting of the Book of Job, traditionally considered to be in the region of Edom or northern Arabia.<br><br>4. <b><a href="/topical/g/god.htm">God</a></b><br>The ultimate authority and sovereign being, whose wisdom and purposes are beyond human understanding.<br><br>5. <b><a href="/topical/s/satan.htm">Satan</a></b><br>The adversary who challenges Job's integrity, suggesting that Job is faithful only because of his prosperity.<div class="vheading2">Teaching Points</div><b><a href="/topical/t/the_limitations_of_human_wisdom.htm">The Limitations of Human Wisdom</a></b><br>Human wisdom, like the "proverbs of ashes," is often insufficient in understanding God's purposes. We must seek divine wisdom through prayer and scripture.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/t/the_fragility_of_human_defenses.htm">The Fragility of Human Defenses</a></b><br>Just as "defenses of clay" are easily broken, our own justifications and arguments can fail. We should rely on God's strength and truth.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/t/the_importance_of_discernment.htm">The Importance of Discernment</a></b><br>Job's critique of his friends' counsel teaches us to discern the quality of advice we receive and give, ensuring it aligns with biblical truth.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/t/trusting_in_god's_sovereignty.htm">Trusting in God's Sovereignty</a></b><br>In times of suffering, we should trust in God's sovereign plan, even when it is beyond our understanding, rather than relying solely on human explanations.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/t/the_role_of_suffering_in_spiritual_growth.htm">The Role of Suffering in Spiritual Growth</a></b><br>Suffering can refine our faith and deepen our reliance on God, much like Job's experience, leading to spiritual maturity.<div class="vheading2">Lists and Questions</div><a href="/top10/lessons_from_job_13.htm">Top 10 Lessons from Job 13</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/does_job_42_contradict_divine_justice.htm">Why does the final chapter (Job 42) seemingly contradict earlier statements about divine justice and fairness, hinting that God's blessing can be won through passive endurance?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/why_do_the_righteous_suffer_harm.htm">How does Proverbs 12:21, declaring no harm befalls the righteous, hold up when many faithful people throughout biblical and modern times have endured great suffering and tragedy?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/why_does_proverbs_4_13_stress_instruction.htm">Why does Proverbs 4:13 insist on unwavering adherence to instruction when other biblical passages (like Job) suggest wisdom doesn't always prevent hardship?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/how_do_i_measure_the_days_of_my_life.htm">What does Proverbs 14:13 mean?</a><a name="commentary" id="commentary"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/ellicott/job/13.htm">Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers</a></div>(12) <span class= "bld">Remembrances</span>--<span class= "ital">i.e.</span> "Wise and memorable saws of garnered wisdom are proverbs of ashes, worthless as the dust, and fit for bodies of clay like your bodies." Or, as some understand it, "Your high fabrics, or defences, are fabrics of clay," as an independent parallelism.<p><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/pulpit/job/13.htm">Pulpit Commentary</a></div><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 12.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">Your remembrances are like unto ashes</span>. The "remembrances" intended are probably the wise saws, embodiments of the ancient wisdom, on which Job's adversaries have relied in their disputations with him (<a href="/job/4-7.htm">Job 4:7, 8</a>; <a href="/job/8-8.htm">Job 8:8-11</a>, etc.). These Job declares to be mere dust and ashes - useless, worthless, such as the first breath of air wilt blow away. <span class="cmt_word">Your bodies to bodies of clay</span>; rather, <span class="accented">your mounds</span> or <span class="accented">your defences</span> (see the Revised Version). These defences, Job <span class="accented">says - i.e</span>, the arguments by which his opponents support their views - are no better than "defences of clay " - easy to batter down and destroy. The ancient defences of a town were usually either of stone, as at Khorsabad ('Ancient Monarchies,' vol. 1. pp. 278, 279), or of crude brick faced with burnt brick, as at Babylon and elsewhere. But Job seems to be speaking of something more primitive than either of these - mere earthworks, like the Roman <span class="accented">aggera</span> hastily thrown up and easy to level with the ground. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/commentaries/job/13-12.htm">Parallel Commentaries ...</a></span><span class="p"><br /><br /><br /></span><a name="lexicon" id="lexicon"></a><div class="vheading">Hebrew</div><span class="word">Your maxims</span><br /><span class="heb">זִֽ֭כְרֹנֵיכֶם</span> <span class="translit">(ziḵ·rō·nê·ḵem)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine plural<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_2146.htm">Strong's 2146: </a> </span><span class="str2">Memorial, remembrance</span><br /><br /><span class="word">are proverbs</span><br /><span class="heb">מִשְׁלֵי־</span> <span class="translit">(miš·lê-)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - masculine plural construct<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_4911.htm">Strong's 4911: </a> </span><span class="str2">To liken, to use, language, in, to resemble</span><br /><br /><span class="word">of ashes;</span><br /><span class="heb">אֵ֑פֶר</span> <span class="translit">(’ê·p̄er)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_665.htm">Strong's 665: </a> </span><span class="str2">Ashes</span><br /><br /><span class="word">your defenses</span><br /><span class="heb">לְגַבֵּי־</span> <span class="translit">(lə·ḡab·bê-)</span><br /><span class="parse">Preposition-l | Noun - masculine plural construct<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_1354.htm">Strong's 1354: </a> </span><span class="str2">The back, the top, rim, a boss, a vault, arch of eye, bulwarks</span><br /><br /><span class="word">are defenses</span><br /><span class="heb">גַּבֵּיכֶֽם׃</span> <span class="translit">(gab·bê·ḵem)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine plural<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_1354.htm">Strong's 1354: </a> </span><span class="str2">The back, the top, rim, a boss, a vault, arch of eye, bulwarks</span><br /><br /><span class="word">of clay.</span><br /><span class="heb">חֹ֝֗מֶר</span> <span class="translit">(ḥō·mer)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_2563.htm">Strong's 2563: </a> </span><span class="str2">A bubbling up, of water, a wave, of earth, mire, clay, a heap, a chomer, dry measure</span><br /><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><div class="vheading">Links</div><a href="/niv/job/13-12.htm">Job 13:12 NIV</a><br /><a href="/nlt/job/13-12.htm">Job 13:12 NLT</a><br /><a href="/esv/job/13-12.htm">Job 13:12 ESV</a><br /><a href="/nasb/job/13-12.htm">Job 13:12 NASB</a><br /><a href="/kjv/job/13-12.htm">Job 13:12 KJV</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="//bibleapps.com/job/13-12.htm">Job 13:12 BibleApps.com</a><br /><a href="//bibliaparalela.com/job/13-12.htm">Job 13:12 Biblia Paralela</a><br /><a href="//holybible.com.cn/job/13-12.htm">Job 13:12 Chinese Bible</a><br /><a href="//saintebible.com/job/13-12.htm">Job 13:12 French Bible</a><br /><a href="/catholic/job/13-12.htm">Job 13:12 Catholic Bible</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/job/13-12.htm">OT Poetry: Job 13:12 Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ashes (Jb) </a></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="/job/13-11.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Job 13:11"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Job 13:11" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="/job/13-13.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Job 13:13"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Job 13:13" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="bot"><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhnew2.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>