Albert Barnes Commentary Job 13:19

"Who is he that will contend with me? For then would I hold my peace and give up the ghost." — Job 13:19 (ASV)

Who is he that will plead with me? – That is, “Who is there now that will take up the cause and enter into an argument against me? I have set my cause before God. I appeal now to all to take up the argument against me, and I have no fear of the result if they do. I am confident of a successful issue and await calmly the divine adjudication.”

For now, if I hold my tongue I shall give up the ghost – This translation, in my view, by no means expresses the sense of the original, if indeed it is not exactly the reverse. According to this version, the meaning is that if he did not go into a vindication of himself, he would die.

The Hebrew, however, is, “for now I will be silent, and die.” That is, “I have maintained my cause; I will say no more. If there is anyone who can successfully contend with me and can prove that my course cannot be vindicated, then I have no more to say. I will be silent, and die. I will submit to my fate without further argument, and without a complaint. I have said all that needs to be said, and nothing would remain but to submit and die.”