Shall I wait, because they don’t speak, because they stand still, and answer no more?
Parallel Translations
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Shall I wait, because they don’t speak, because they stand still, and answer no more?
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When I had waited, (for they spake not, but stood still, and answered no more;)
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And shall I wait, because they speak not, because they stand still, and answer no more?
Cross-references (4)
Passages linked to Job 32:16 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Job 13:5 Oh that you would be completely silent! Then you would be wise.
- Proverbs 17:28 Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is counted wise. When he shuts his lips, he is thought to be discerning.
- Amos 5:13 Therefore a prudent person keeps silent in such a time, for it is an evil time.
- James 1:19 So, then, my beloved brothers, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger;
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (8 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Job 32:16 When I had waited, (for they spake…
Job 32:16 When I had waited, (for they spake not, but stood still, [and] answered no more;)
Ver. 16. When I had waited, for they spake not, but stood still] Or, Seeing I have waited, but they have not spoken, &c. Nothing appears but a dumb show, a deep silence, such as Elihu much marvelled at, and therefore setteth it forth in many words, all to one purpose. See Job 32:15.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Which he repeats as a strange and unreasonable thing,…
Which he repeats as a strange and unreasonable thing, that they should be silent when they had such obligations to speak for the vindication both of God’s justice, and of their own truth and reputation.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain When one had waited,.... To observe whether they would…
When 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:
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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.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 16. When I had waited] I waited to…
Verse 16. 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.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 16. When I had waited — This may be…
16. When I had waited — This may be regarded as a question. Should I wait because they speak not, because they stand still? etc.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 16–17. Job_32:16 is most naturally to be taken as…
16–17. Job_32:16 is most naturally to be taken as a question,
16. And shall I wait because they speak not,
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Because they stand still and answer no more?
17. I will answer also my part, &c.
The discomfiture and silence of the three friends shall not have the effect of imposing silence on him.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (16) When I had waited.—Or, as some render it,…
(16) When I had waited.—Or, as some render it, “And shall I wait because they speak not?” But they stand still and make no further reply.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain When I had waited (for they spake not, but…
When I had waited (for they spake not, but stood still, and answered no more); rather, as in the Revised Version, and shall 1 wait" because they speak not, because they stand still" and answer no more? Am I to wait until they shall have recovered themselves, and found something to answer? Surely this is not necessary. Neither courtesy nor etiquette prescribes it. Especially when I have waited so long, and have so much to say, and am so exceedingly anxious to say it (see vers. 18-20). Elihu shows all the impatience and ardour of a young speaker (see ver. 6), and feels the confidence that young men so often feel in the wisdom and persuasiveness of their words. (comp. Job_33:1-6)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.