“He removeth away the speech of the trusty, and taketh away the understanding of the aged.”
"He deprives of speech those who are trusted, and takes away the discernment of the elders." God silences the trusted counselor and deprives the aged of understanding. This verse directly attacks the authority on which the friends stand—they are elders, counselors, trusted speakers, yet according to Job's vision, God routinely silences and confounds such figures. The verse suggests that the friends' confident speech may itself be the silencing God inflicts.
Church Fathers on Job 12:20
Who changeth the lip of the truthful, and taketh away the instruction of the aged. When the priest does not do the good that he tells, even the very word of his lips is withdrawn from him, that he may not dare to speak what he does not practise; as where it is said by the Prophet, But unto the wicked God saith, ‘What hast thou to do, to declare My statutes, or that thou takest My covenant in thy mouth? Whence also he beseeches, saying, And take not the word of truth utterly…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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