Job 12:25

American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

They grope in the dark without light; And he maketh them to stagger like a drunken man.

Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

יְמַֽשְׁשׁוּ־חֹ֥שֶׁךְ וְלֹא־א֑וֹר וַ֝יַּתְעֵ֗ם כַּשִּׁכּֽוֹר׃

Transliteration

yəmaššû-ḥōšek wə-lōʾ-ʾôr wa-yatʿēm ka-ššikkôr

Grammar Details

*yəmaššû*: piel imperfect, 3rd masculine plural - they grope
*ḥōšek*: noun, masculine singular - darkness
*wə-lōʾ-ʾôr*: conjunction + negative particle + noun, masculine singular - and not light
*wa-yatʿēm*: waw consecutive + hiphil imperfect, 3rd masculine singular + 3rd masculine plural suffix - and he makes them wander
*ka-ššikkôr*: preposition + definite article + noun, masculine singular - like the drunkard

Word Meanings

*yəmaššû*: grope/feel about
*ḥōšek*: darkness/obscurity
*ʾôr*: light/daylight
*yatʿēm*: makes them wander/causes them to stray
*šikkôr*: drunkard/intoxicated person

ℹ️

About this Translation

American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

Formal EquivalenceSource: American Standard VersionBest for: Word studies and original-language research

🎯 Translation Approach

A highly literal, word-for-word translation (ASV, 1901) augmented with Strong's numbering to connect English words to underlying Hebrew and Greek terms for study.

Word-for-word

5/5

Readability

2/5

💎 Distinctive Features

Integrated Strong's numbering: Links English terms to underlying Hebrew and Greek words for deeper lexical study.
Formal equivalence: Prioritizes close alignment with source-language forms and structures.
Divine name rendering: Frequently renders the Tetragrammaton as Jehovah in the Old Testament, following ASV tradition.
Study-focused formatting: Optimized for reference and research rather than casual reading.

✅ Strengths

High fidelity to original languages
Includes Strong's numbers for precise word study
Consistent lexical choices aid exegesis
Stable, longstanding scholarly text

⚠️ Considerations

Archaic language reduces readability
Older textual basis compared to some modern translations
Strong's numbers are a concordance index, not full lexical definitions

👥 Who is this for?

Ideal for

Pastors and teachers
Seminary students
Serious Bible students
Readers conducting word studies
Those referencing Hebrew/Greek tools

Consider alternatives for

Casual readers
Children and early teens
ESL learners seeking simple English
Readers preferring contemporary language

🔄 Compare with

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Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

Job 5:14 : 14 They meet with darkness in the day-time, And grope at noonday as in the night.
Ps 107:27 : 27 They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, And are at their wits' end.
Isa 19:14 : 14 Jehovah hath mingled a spirit of perverseness in the midst of her; and they have caused Egypt to go astray in every work thereof, as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit.
Isa 24:20 : 20 The earth shall stagger like a drunken man, and shall sway to and fro like a hammock; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it, and it shall fall, and not rise again.
Isa 59:10 : 10 We grope for the wall like the blind; yea, we grope as they that have no eyes: we stumble at noonday as in the twilight; among them that are lusty we are as dead men.
Acts 13:11 : 11 And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.
1 John 2:11 : 11 But he that hateth his brother is in the darkness, and walketh in the darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because the darkness hath blinded his eyes.
Gen 19:11 : 11 And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves to find the door.
Deut 28:29 : 29 and thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and robbed alway, and there shall be none to save thee.

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

Job 12:19-24
6 verses
80%
19He leadeth priests away stripped, And overthroweth the mighty.
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.
Ps 107:27
80%
27They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, And are at their wits' end.
Job 5:14
79%
14They meet with darkness in the day-time, And grope at noonday as in the night.
Prov 4:19
78%
19The way of the wicked is as darkness: They know not at what they stumble.
Isa 59:9-10
2 verses
76%
9Therefore is justice far from us, neither doth righteousness overtake us: we look for light, but, behold, darkness; for brightness, but we walk in obscurity.
10We grope for the wall like the blind; yea, we grope as they that have no eyes: we stumble at noonday as in the twilight; among them that are lusty we are as dead men.
John 11:10
75%
10But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because the light is not in him.
Isa 8:22
75%
22and they shall look unto the earth, and behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and into thick darkness [they shall be] driven away.
Isa 29:9
75%
9Tarry ye and wonder; take your pleasure and be blind: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink.
Ps 82:5
75%
5They know not, neither do they understand; They walk to and fro in darkness: All the foundations of the earth are shaken.
Job 24:16-18
3 verses
74%
16In the dark they dig through houses: They shut themselves up in the day-time; They know not the light.
17For the morning is to all of them as thick darkness; For they know the terrors of the thick darkness.
18Swiftly they [pass away] upon the face of the waters; Their portion is cursed in the earth: They turn not into the way of the vineyards.
Isa 28:7
74%
7And even these reel with wine, and stagger with strong drink; the priest and the prophet reel with strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they stagger with strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.
Job 10:22
74%
22The land dark as midnight, [The land] of the shadow of death, without any order, And where the light is as midnight.
Job 24:10-13
4 verses
74%
10[ So that] they go about naked without clothing, And being hungry they carry the sheaves.
11They make oil within the walls of these men; They tread [their] winepresses, and suffer thirst.
12From out of the populous city men groan, And the soul of the wounded crieth out: Yet God regardeth not the folly.
13These are of them that rebel against the light; They know not the ways thereof, Nor abide in the paths thereof.
Job 17:12
73%
12They change the night into day: The light, [say they], is near unto the darkness.
Jer 13:16
73%
16Give glory to Jehovah your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness.
Ps 69:23
73%
23Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see; And make their loins continually to shake.
Lam 3:2
73%
2He hath led me and caused me to walk in darkness, and not in light.
Job 12:17
72%
17He leadeth counsellors away stripped, And judges maketh he fools.
Eccl 12:3
72%
3in the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows shall be darkened,
Job 15:23
72%
23He wandereth abroad for bread, [saying], Where is it? He knoweth that the day of darkness is ready at his hand.
Nah 1:10
72%
10For entangled like thorns, and drunken as with their drink, they are consumed utterly as dry stubble.
Job 12:5
71%
5In the thought of him that is at ease there is contempt for misfortune; It is ready for them whose foot slippeth.
Isa 5:11
71%
11Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that tarry late into the night, till wine inflame them!
Isa 24:11
71%
11There is a crying in the streets because of the wine; all joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone.
Isa 24:20
71%
20The earth shall stagger like a drunken man, and shall sway to and fro like a hammock; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it, and it shall fall, and not rise again.
Jer 25:16
71%
16And they shall drink, and reel to and fro, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them.
Rom 11:10
71%
10Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, And bow thou down their back always.
Job 18:6
71%
6The light shall be dark in his tent, And his lamp above him shall be put out.
Deut 28:29
71%
29and thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and robbed alway, and there shall be none to save thee.
Prov 4:17
71%
17For they eat the bread of wickedness, And drink the wine of violence.
Prov 31:5-6
2 verses
71%
5Lest they drink, and forget the law, And pervert the justice [due] to any that is afflicted.
6Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, And wine unto the bitter in soul:
Isa 24:9
71%
9They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it.
Ps 107:40
70%
40He poureth contempt upon princes, And causeth them to wander in the waste, where there is no way.
Job 18:18
70%
18He shall be driven from light into darkness, And chased out of the world.
Isa 42:16
70%
16And I will bring the blind by a way that they know not; in paths that they know not will I lead them; I will make darkness light before them, and crooked places straight. These things will I do, and I will not forsake them.
Isa 5:30
70%
30And they shall roar against them in that day like the roaring of the sea: and if one look unto the land, behold, darkness and distress; and the light is darkened in the clouds thereof.
Jer 23:12
70%
12Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery places in the darkness: they shall be driven on, and fall therein; for I will bring evil upon them, even the year of their visitation, saith Jehovah.
Joel 1:5
70%
5Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and wail, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the sweet wine; for it is cut off from your mouth.