Commentaries:
Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown
vain—hollow.
would be—"wants to consider himself wise"; opposed to God's "wisdom" (see on Job 11:11); refuses to see sin, where God sees it (Romans 1:22).
wild ass's colt—a proverb for untamed wildness (Job 39:5, Job 39:8; Jeremiah 2:24; Genesis 16:12; Hebrew, "a wild-ass man"). Man wishes to appear wisely obedient to his Lord, whereas he is, from his birth, unsubdued in spirit.
Other Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown entries containing Job 11:12:
Job 24:5
Job 39:5
Ecclesiastes 7:16
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