Job 5:13

He catches ¹  the wise in their own craftiness, ²  and the counsel of the cunning ³  is brought to a quick end. ⁴ 

He catches the wise in their craftiness, and the schemes of the wily are swept away.

"He captures the wise by their own shrewdness, And the advice of the cunning is quickly thwarted.

He catches those who think they are wise in their own cleverness, so that their cunning schemes are thwarted.

He catches the know-it-alls in their conspiracies--all that intricate intrigue swept out with the trash!

He takes the wise in their secret designs, and the purposes of the twisted are cut off suddenly.

He takes the wise in their own craftiness; and the schemes of the wily are brought to a quick end.

He catches the wise in their own craftiness, And the counsel of the cunning comes quickly upon them.

He catches ¹  the wise in their own craftiness, ²  and the counsel of the cunning ³  is brought to a quick end. ⁴ 

¹ tn The participles continue the description of God. Here he captures or ensnares the wise in their wickedly clever plans. See also Ps 7:16, where the wicked are caught in the pit they have dug – they are only wise in their own eyes.

² sn This is the only quotation from the Book of Job in the NT (although Rom 11:35 seems to reflect 41:11, and Phil 1:19 is similar to 13:6). Paul cites it in 1 Cor 3:19.

³ tn The etymology of נִפְתָּלִים (niftalim) suggests a meaning of “twisted” (see Prov 8:8) in the sense of tortuous. See Gen 30:8; Ps 18:26 [27].

⁴ tn The Niphal of מָהַר (mahar) means “to be hasty; to be irresponsible.” The meaning in the line may be understood in this sense: The counsel of the wily is hastened, that is, precipitated before it is ripe, i.e., frustrated (A. B. Davidson, Job, 39).