Job 32:11-22

TEXT 32:11-22

11 Behold, I waited for your words,

I listened for your reasonings,
Whilst ye searched out what to say.

12 Yea, I attended onto you,

And, behold, there was none that convinced Job,
Or that answered his words, among you.

13 Beware lest ye say, We have found wisdom;

God may vanquish him, not man:

14 For he hath not directed his words against me;

Neither will I answer him with your speeches.

15 They are amazed, they answer no more:

They have not a word to say.

16 And shall I wait, because they speak not,

Because they stand still, and answer no more?

17 I also will answer my part,

I also will show mine opinion.

18 For I am full of words;

The spirit within me constraineth me.

19 Behold, my breast is as wine which hath no vent;

Like new wine-skins it is ready to burst.

20 I will speak, that I may be refreshed;

I will open my lips and answer.

21 Let me not, I pray you, respect any man's person;

Neither will I give flattering titles unto any man.

22 For I know not to give flattering titles;

Elsewould my Maker soon take me away.

COMMENT 32:11-22

Job 32:11Elihu now turns to the three friends. He merely repeats in more pompous words what he already has declared.[330] He has listened for their most effective arguments against Job, but he was disappointed. If Job is to be condemned, there must be more cogent reasons than he has heard. I listened until you had finished (Heb. tblytkmyour completioninstead of tbwntykmyour arguments) your supposed wise words. Though they had searched out, by laborious efforts, some comforting words, they have been less than effective. In other words, they tried hard, but that was not enough.

[330] See Dhorme, Job, pp. 477-478, for analysis of the many complexities of this verse.

Job 32:12He had followed the debate with utmost care, but he failed to find any forceful words which actually convicted Job. Their calloused compassionless consolation lacked enough cogency to convict him of his crime against God.

Job 32:13This verse is made complex by its ambiguity. Perhaps Elihu says Job does not have invincible wisdom. He could be warning the three friends against excusing themselves for not answering Job. He could be suggesting that ultimately there is no human solution to Job's problem, but that does not justify their dropping the argument. Line one might mean that they have found a wisdom that only God can refute. This seems to best fit the structure of the entire book, especially the location of the Yahweh speeches, Chapter s 38ff. Yet, Elihu is equal to even that occasion; though the line resounds with humility, God will answer him, not man.

Job 32:14Elihu is saying that when I get finished with him, he will not need God to respond. But these are idle words filled with foolish promises, as his arguments do not go beyond the words of Job's friends, in spite of his claim that he will not answerlit. with your words or arguments.

Job 32:15In his soliloquy, Elihu first sets forth his claim of impartiality. His state of mind is also described. Most of his energy is utilized on rage, rather than effectively responding to Job. Yet, he is actually somewhat ridiculous, wordy, and unoriginal.

Job 32:16Once more Elihu piously emphasizes his patience.[331]

[331] For this theme respecting Job, see J. L. Ginsberg, Job the Patient and Job the Impatient, Conservative Judaism, 1967, pp. 12-28; J. K. Zink, Impatient Job: An Interpretation of Job 19:25 ff, J.B.L., 1965, pp. 147-152.

Job 32:17Repetition in order to build up expectation concerning his forthcoming momentous outburst of wisdomJob 32:10 b.

Job 32:18It would not require God's wisdom to refute Elihu's claim that he is full of words. His conceit is insufferable. He claims God as authorizer of his position when he declares that the spirit of my belly is the source of his speechJob 15:2; Proverbs 18:8.

Job 32:19He is as a bursting wineskinMatthew 9:17; Jeremiah 20:9. He must speak in order to vent the wineskin, else it will split. The image is much more than a Taste of New Wine. What is bubbling inside him is like the force of fermentation which must find an outlet.

Job 32:20The image continues. Relief can come to his troubled spirit only if he finds release. He is so full, all that he needs to do is open his mouth.

Job 32:21His sincerity is bettered only by his candidness. Hypocrisy shall not lead him astray by deference to anyone's title or rankIsaiah 44:5; Isaiah 45:4. He takes himself too seriously by his proposed impartial vigour (A. V. respect any manlit. lift up the fareJob 13:8; flattering titleverb, kny means to give an honorific title).

Job 32:22He would not dare to flatter anyone. If he were so tempted, he would immediately be visited by God's vengeance.