Albert Barnes Commentary Job 29:10

"The voice of the nobles was hushed, And their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth." — Job 29:10 (ASV)

The nobles - Margin, “The voice of the nobles was hid.” Literally, this may be rendered, “as to the voice the nobles hid themselves;” or the phrase here employed (נגידים קול נחבאו nechâbâ'û qôl nāgı̂ydiym) may be rendered, “the voice of the nobles was hid”—as it is common in Hebrew when two nouns of different numbers and gender come together for the verb to conform to the latter. Rosenmuller. The word “nobles” here should be understood in the sense of “counsellors,” or men of rank. They would now be called “Emirs,” or “Sheiks.”

And their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth - They were so awed by my presence that they could not speak.