Albert Barnes Commentary


Albert Barnes Commentary
"They are amazed, they answer no more: They have not a word to say." — Job 32:15 (ASV)
They were amazed - These are also the words of Elihu, designed to express his astonishment that the three friends of Job did not answer him. He says that they were completely silenced, and he repeats this to call attention to the remarkable fact that men who began so confidently, and who still held on to their opinion, had not one word more to say.
The change of person here, from the second to the third, gives some reason to suppose that Elihu turned from them to those who were present and called their attention to the fact that the friends of Job were completely silenced. This supposition, however, is not absolutely necessary. It is not uncommon in Hebrew poetry to change from the second person to the third, especially when any censure or rebuke is implied .
They left off speaking - The margin reads, “removed speeches from themselves.” The marginal reading accords with the Hebrew. The sense is the same as in the common version, though the Hebrew is more poetic. It is not merely that they ceased to speak, but that they put words at a great distance from them. They could say absolutely nothing. This fact, that they were wholly silent, provided ample justification for Elihu to take up the subject.