Job 35:4

35:4 I ¹  will reply to you, ² 

and to your friends with you.

Job 40:4

40:4 “Indeed, I am completely unworthy ³  – how could I reply to you?

I put ⁴  my hand over my mouth to silence myself. ⁵ 

[35:4]  ¹ tn The emphatic pronoun calls attention to Elihu who will answer these questions.

[35:4]  ² tn The Hebrew text adds, “with words,” but since this is obvious, for stylistic reasons it has not been included in the translation.

[40:4]  ³ tn The word קַלֹּתִי (qalloti) means “to be light; to be of small account; to be unimportant.” From this comes the meaning “contemptible,” which in the causative stem would mean “to treat with contempt; to curse.” Dhorme tries to make the sentence a conditional clause and suggests this meaning: “If I have been thoughtless.” There is really no “if” in Job’s mind.

[40:4]  ⁴ tn The perfect verb here should be classified as an instantaneous perfect; the action is simultaneous with the words.

[40:4]  ⁵ tn The words “to silence myself” are supplied in the translation for clarity.