But a stupid man will get understanding when a wild donkey’s colt is born a man!
English Standard Version (ESV)
The verse highlights a stark contrast: a person described as "hollow" or empty of true wisdom still wants to be seen as wise. It suggests that our innate stubbornness and ignorance, likened to a wild donkey's colt from birth, makes true understanding nearly impossible, implying a radical transformation is needed to gain wisdom.
But a stupid man will get understanding when a wild donkey’s colt is born a man!
English Standard Version (ESV)
Zophar, the third friend, is continuing his sharp rebuke of Job, accusing him of being hollow-hearted and foolish. Zophar believes Job is acting self-righteously and ignorantly, and claims that even the most stubborn and untamed person, like a wild donkey's colt, could gain understanding if they would only submit to God's discipline.
Ever felt like you're born with a stubborn streak, resistant to learning? Zophar taps into a powerful image to describe humanity's natural state.
Zophar argues that humanity, by nature, is like a 'wild ass's colt.' This isn't just about being a bit unruly; it speaks to a deep-seated ignorance and resistance towards divine truth and wisdom.
The Untamed Spirit
This isn't just a jab at Job; it's a statement about the human condition before God's intervention.
What if the very trials and judgments you face are actually meant to shape you into something more?
While Zophar's tone is accusatory towards Job, the verse contains a profound truth about the purpose of God's dealings with humanity. The seemingly impossible event – a wild ass's colt becoming a man – points to the transformative power of divine discipline.
From Colt to Man
Ask a follow-up
Zophar hints that Job's current suffering is God's attempt to bring him to this point of understanding.
Understand the original words
nabub · Hebrew Adjective
A state of foolishness, stubbornness, or lack of spiritual discernment. In the biblical context, it often refers to those who are void of the fear of God or moral sense.
This passage uses the imagery of a 'wild ass' to describe people who are stubborn and act on impulse, much like the 'wild donkey's colt' in Job, highlighting humanity's natural inclination towards rebellion and foolishness.
Romans 1:22This verse speaks of people who claim to be wise but become fools, paralleling the 'vain man' in Job who 'would be wise' but lacks true understanding of God's ways.
Psalm 94:12This verse highlights that discipline from the Lord is a form of teaching, suggesting that even the foolish and untamed ('like a wild ass's colt') can be instructed, offering a hopeful counterpoint to Job's description of inherent foolishness.
Genesis 16:12This passage describes Ishmael as a 'wild donkey of a man,' a concept that echoes Job's description of humanity's untamed and unruly nature at birth, prone to conflict and independence from divine guidance.
pooleJob 11:12: "For vain man would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass's colt."
Or, Yet , or But, vain or empty man (that foolish creature, that since the fall is void of all true wisdom and solid knowledge and judgment of the things of God) would be wise, i.e. pretends to be, and would be thought, wise, and able to pass a censure upon all God’s ways and works. Or thus, But vain man is foolish , or without heart , i.e. without understanding, unable to judge aright of the ways and things of…
pulpitJob 11:12: "For vain man would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass's colt."
Verse 12. - For vain man would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass's colt; rather, and a vain man may get understanding, and the colt of a wild ass become a than (compare the Revised Version, marginal rendering). Zophar seems to mean that, through Divine discipline, such as that described in ver. 10, a vain, foolish, puffed-up man may be reclaimed and become a man of understanding - a stubborn and untame…
The verse highlights a stark contrast: a person described as "hollow" or empty of true wisdom still wants to be seen as wise. It suggests that our innate stubbornness and ignorance, likened to a wild donkey's colt from birth, makes true understanding nearly impossible, implying a radical transformation is needed to gain wisdom.
Zophar, the third friend, is continuing his sharp rebuke of Job, accusing him of being hollow-hearted and foolish. Zophar believes Job is acting self-righteously and ignorantly, and claims that even the most stubborn and untamed person, like a wild donkey's colt, could gain understanding if they would only submit to God's discipline.
Zophar, the third friend, is continuing his sharp rebuke of Job, accusing him of being hollow-hearted and foolish. Zophar believes Job is acting self-righteously and ignorantly, and claims that even the most stubborn and untamed person, like a wild donkey's colt, could gain understanding if they would only submit to God's discipline.
"But a stupid man will get understanding when a wild donkey’s colt is born a man!" — The verse highlights a stark contrast: a person described as "hollow" or empty of true wisdom still wants to be seen as wise. It suggests that our innate stubbornness and ignorance, likened to a wi…
Get the original Greek and Hebrew, verse-by-verse context, and related passages inside the app.
Last reviewed October 2026