Job 32:16
in Job 32Must I wait, now that they are silent, now that they stand and no longer reply?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And shall I wait, because they speak not, Because they stand still, and answer no more?
KJV
When I had waited, (for they spake not, but stood still, and answered no more;)
⋯
This verse in Job 32
Commentary
6 notes on this verseWhen one had waited,.... To observe whether they would make any reply to what he had said, or any objection to his engaging in the controversy: for they spake not; were as mute as fishes: but stood still; like statues, had no power to move, neither to sit down nor to depart, but were as if all life, sense, and motion, were gone from them: and answered no more; or not at all; for it does not appear that they had given him any answer before, as well as not now.
This site's exposition
friends are dismayed, with no more to say
on Job 32:15-17
“Job’s friends are dismayed, with no more to say” marks their silence as final. He takes that silence as his opening: “I too will answer; yes, I will declare what I know”. Delitzsch reads the repeated waiting and declaring as Elihu building his standing on the debate's exhaustion.
This site's exposition
now that they are silent
Clarke says Elihu waited to hear whether the friends had any reply for Job. They stand in silence. Gill adds that Elihu also waited for any objection to his joining the debate, and none came.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
Since, therefore, they had failed, he says that he wants to make up for their defect, and so he says, "Therefore, as I waited," for a long time in deferring to them, "and as they did not speak," in answer to the discourses of Job, …
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistMorals on the Book of Job, Book XXIII · Written before 604.
proposed
Because therefore I have waited, and they have not spoken, they have stood, and have answered no more. Wise men are accustomed to make it the limit of their speaking, to speak so far as to silence their adversaries. For they wish not to display their own powers, but to put down the teachers of heresy. But after it is said of the friends of Job, They were afraid, they answered no more, they removed speech from themselves, Eliu subjoins and says, I have waited, and they have not spoken; they have stood, and have answered no more.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
When I had waited - I waited to hear if they had any thing to reply to Job; and when I found them in effect speechless, then I ventured to come forward.
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְ֭הוֹחַלְתִּי | vehochalti | and will I wait? | H3176 → | 41 times |
| כִּי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יְדַבֵּ֑רוּ | yedaberu | they speak | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| כִּ֥י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| עָ֝מְד֗וּ | ʾamedu | they have stood | H5975 → | 521 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| עָ֥נוּ | ʾanu | they have answered | H6030 → | 331 times |
| עֽוֹד׃ | od | again | H5750 → | 490 times |
וְ֭הוֹחַלְתִּיand will I wait?
vehochaltiH3176 →41 times
כִּי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יְדַבֵּ֑רוּthey speak
yedaberuH1696 →1141 times
כִּ֥יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
עָ֝מְד֗וּthey have stood
ʾameduH5975 →521 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
עָ֥נוּthey have answered
ʾanuH6030 →331 times
עֽוֹד׃again
odH5750 →490 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
James 1:19My beloved brothers, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger,
it leads to
- Proverbs 17:27
A man of knowledge restrains his words, and a man of understanding maintains a calm spirit.
- Proverbs 21:23
He who guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from distress.
- Proverbs 14:29
A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man promotes folly.
- Proverbs 10:19
When words are many, sin is unavoidable, but he who restrains his lips is wise.
- Proverbs 18:13
He who answers a matter before he hears it—this is folly and disgrace to him.
- Proverbs 17:27
Through
Proverbs 17:28Even a fool is considered wise if he keeps silent, and discerning when he holds his tongue.
it leads to
- Job 13:5
If only you would remain silent; for that would be your wisdom!
- Ecclesiastes 5:3
As a dream comes through many cares, so the speech of a fool comes with many words.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 15:2
The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool spouts folly.
- Job 13:5
About Job
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Job; Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XXIII; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.