Job 32:14-17

32:14 Job ¹  has not directed ²  his words to me,

and so I will not reply to him with your arguments. ³ 

Job’s Friends Failed to Answer ⁴ 

32:15 “They are dismayed ⁵  and cannot answer any more;

they have nothing left to say. ⁶ 

32:16 And I have waited. ⁷  But because they do not speak,

because they stand there and answer no more,

32:17 I too will answer my part,

I too will explain what I know.

[32:14]  ¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Job) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:14]  ² tn The verb עַרַךְ (’arakh) means “to arrange in order; to set forth; to direct; to marshal.” It is used in military contexts for setting the battle array; it is used in legal settings for preparing the briefs.

[32:14]  ³ tn Heb “your words.”

[32:15]  ⁴ sn Elihu now will give another reason why he will speak – the arguments of these friends failed miserably. But before he gets to his argument, he will first qualify his authority.

[32:15]  ⁵ tn The verb חַתּוּ (khattu) is from חָתַת (khatat) which means “to be terrified.” But here it stresses the resulting dilemma. R. Gordis (Job, 369) renders it, “they are shattered, beaten in an argument.”

[32:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “words have moved away from them,” meaning words are gone from them, they have nothing left to say.

[32:16]  ⁷ tn Some commentators take this as a question: “And shall [or must] I wait because they do not speak?” (A. B. Davidson, R. Gordis). But this is not convincing because the silence of the friends is the reason for him to speak, not to wait.