He catches the wise in their own craftiness, and the schemes of the wily are brought to a quick end. They meet with darkness in the daytime and grope at noonday as in the night.
English Standard Version (ESV)
This verse highlights a profound irony: those who pride themselves on their cleverness and schemes are often undone by those very plans. God doesn't just thwart their wicked intentions; He turns their own elaborate plots back on them, making their "wisdom" their downfall.
He catches the wise in their own craftiness, and the schemes of the wily are brought to a quick end. They meet with darkness in the daytime and grope at noonday as in the night.
English Standard Version (ESV)
In the midst of Job's suffering and his friends' increasingly critical pronouncements, Eliphaz offers this verse as a stark observation about how God deals with human scheming. He's arguing that wicked plans, no matter how clever, ultimately backfire, demonstrating that true security isn't found in human ingenuity but in right relationship with God. This warning directly precedes Eliphaz's assertion that the righteous will prosper while the wicked are destroyed, painting a picture of divine justice at work.
Ever notice how people who think they're so clever can end up tripping over their own feet? Job's friend Eliphaz points out a profound truth about human wisdom versus divine wisdom.
The World's Wisdom vs. God's Wisdom
Eliphaz is observing a pattern: people who rely on their own cunning and schemes, thinking they are 'wise' in the eyes of the world, often find their plans backfiring spectacularly. This isn't about intellectual brilliance, but about a worldly 'wisdom' that is actually foolishness when measured against God's standards.
Why do so many wicked plans seem to fall apart before they even get started? There's a divine timing at play that can short-circuit evil intentions.
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Divine Intervention in Wicked Plans
The second part of the verse speaks about the 'counsel of the froward' or the perverse being 'carried headlong.' This paints a picture of plans that are rushed, exposed, and ultimately frustrated before they can mature.
Understand the original words
chakam · Hebrew Noun/Adjective
Refers to those who possess intellectual knowledge or practical skill. While wisdom can be godly, when paired with 'craftiness,' it denotes a worldly intellect that stands in opposition to God's ways.
ormah · Hebrew Noun
Refers to intellectual or strategic cleverness, often used in a pejorative sense when describing wicked plots or manipulative strategies used by those who disregard God.
etsah · Hebrew Noun
Refers to a plot or a predetermined plan. In a negative biblical context, it describes the calculated, often deceitful, intentions of the wicked.
choshek · Hebrew Noun
Metaphor for confusion, loss of judgment, or judgment itself. When the wicked are said to meet darkness in the daytime, it signifies that God has blinded their understanding so they cannot find their way.
This Psalm echoes the same sentiment, describing the wicked digging a pit for others but falling into it themselves, perfectly illustrating the 'caught in their own trap' theme.
Psalm 9:15Similar to Job 5:13, this Psalm speaks of the wicked being trapped in the very snares they had secretly set for the innocent, showing a consistent pattern of divine justice.
1 Corinthians 3:19The Apostle Paul directly quotes this verse, highlighting how the 'wisdom of the world' ultimately becomes foolishness because God catches the crafty in their own schemes.
Esther 7:10The story of Haman provides a vivid example of this principle, as the gallows he prepared for Mordecai became the instrument of his own downfall, a direct consequence of his cunning plots.
bensonJob 5:13: "He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsel of the froward is carried headlong."
Job 5:13-14 . He taketh the wise in their own craftiness — Men wise to do evil, or wise in the opinion of the world; he not only deceives their hopes and counsels, but turns those counsels against themselves. And the counsel of the froward — Hebrew, Of the perverse, or wrestlers, such as wind and turn every way, as wrestlers do, and will leave no means untried to accomplish their designs:…
clarkeJob 5:13: "He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsel of the froward is carried headlong."
He taketh the wise in their own craftiness - So counterworks them as to cause their feet to be taken in their own snares, and their evil dealings to fall on their own pate. Such frequent proofs has God given of his especial interference in behalf of the innocent, who have been the objects of the plots and evil designs of the wicked, by turning those evil devices against their framers, tha…
This verse highlights a profound irony: those who pride themselves on their cleverness and schemes are often undone by those very plans. God doesn't just thwart their wicked intentions; He turns their own elaborate plots back on them, making their "wisdom" their downfall.
In the midst of Job's suffering and his friends' increasingly critical pronouncements, Eliphaz offers this verse as a stark observation about how God deals with human scheming. He's arguing that wicked plans, no matter how clever, ultimately backfire, demonstrating that true security isn't found in human ingenuity but in right relationship with God. This warning directly precedes Eliphaz's assertion that the righteous will prosper while the wicked are destroyed, painting a picture of divine justice at work.
In the midst of Job's suffering and his friends' increasingly critical pronouncements, Eliphaz offers this verse as a stark observation about how God deals with human scheming. He's arguing that wicked plans, no matter how clever, ultimately backfire, demonstrating that true security isn't found in human ingenuity but in right relationship with God. This warning directly precedes Eliphaz's assertion that the righteous will prosper while the wicked are destroyed, painting a picture of divine justice at work.
"He catches the wise in their own craftiness, and the schemes of the wily are brought to a quick end. They meet with darkness in the daytime and grope at noonday as in the night." — This verse highlights a profound irony: those who pride themselves on their cleverness and schemes are often undone by those very plans. God doesn't just thwart their wicked intentions; He turns thei…
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Last reviewed October 2026