Charles Ellicott Commentary Job 11:12

"But vain man is void of understanding, Yea, man is born [as] a wild ass`s colt." — Job 11:12 (ASV)

For vain man would be wise, etc., is extremely difficult, because it is hard to distinguish subject and predicate. Literally, it reads, And hollow man is instructed, and the wild ass’s colt is born a man. Whether it means that if God did not so conceal his observation of human actions, the very fool and the most obstinate would become instructed and disciplined, whereas now they are allowed to go on in their folly and obstinacy; or whether it is meant that, notwithstanding the dealings of Providence, hollow-hearted man is still devoid of heart, and every son of Adam at his birth is a very wild ass colt; or whether, again, it is meant that because of the Divine discipline the hollow-hearted man is disciplined, and the very wild ass colt is born a man and humanized, it is hard to decide.

The uncertainty partly arises from our not knowing the exact meaning of the first verb: whether it means to get understanding or to be deprived of it—for either is possible.

Another way of interpreting the context is to refer the last clause of Job 11:11, not to God, but to man. Man does not see that God sees him, for an empty man will get understanding when a wild ass’s colt is born a man—that is, the latter is as likely as the former.

One point is quite clear: that by "the wild ass’s colt," Zophar means Job. However, Zophar suggests that if Job will become something better and wiser, and will put away his secret sin, which Zophar is convinced must cling to him, then Job will again know prosperity and be established in it.