to prick up the ears · verb, hiphil imperative, 2nd person masculine singular
Job
אִיּ֥וֹב'i.Yov
H347
Ijob · proper noun, a man's name
hearken
שְֽׁמַֽעshe.ma'-
H8085
to hear intelligently (often with implication of attent… · verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine singular
peace
הַ֝חֲרֵ֗שׁha.cha.Resh
H2790
to scratch · verb, hiphil imperative, 2nd person masculine singular
speak
אֲדַבֵּֽר'a.da.Ber
H1696
perhaps properly · verb, piel imperfect, 1st person common singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Job 18:2 How long will it be ere ye make an end of words? mark, and afterwards we will speak.
Job 13:6 Hear now my reasoning, and hearken to the pleadings of my lips.
Job 21:2 Hear diligently my speech, and let this be your consolations.
Job 32:11 Behold, I waited for your words; I gave ear to your reasons, whilst ye searched out what to say.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Job 33:29–end
We have here the conclusion of this first part of Elihu's discourse, in which, 1. He briefly sums up what he had said, showing that God's great and gracious design, in all the dispensations of his providence towards the children of men, is to save them from being for ever miserable and bring them to be for ever happy, Job 33:29, Job 33:30. All these things God is working with the children of men. He deals with them by conscience, by providences, by ministers, by mercies, by afflictions. He makes them sick, and makes them well again. All these are his operations; he has set the one over the other (Ecc 7:14), but his hand is in all; it is he that performs all the things for us. All providences…
Mark well, O Job - Pay the deepest attention to what I have said, and to what I shall say.
John Gill on Job 33:31
Mark well, O Job,.... Consider and weigh well what has been said; or rather attend to what is further to be said:
hearken unto me; to what he was about to say; for he was full of matter, and had not yet vented all he had to utter:
hold thy peace, and I will speak; be silent and do not interrupt, and I will go on with my discourse.
Keil & Delitzsch on Job 33:29–end
29 Behold, God doeth all
Twice, thrice with man,
30 To bring back his soul from the pit,
That it may become light in the light of life.
31 Listen, O Job, hearken to me;
Be silent and let me speak on.
32 Yet if thou hast words, answer me;
Speak, for I desire thy justification.
33 If not, hearken thou to me;
Be silent and I will teach thee wisdom.
After having described two prominent modes of divine interposition for the moral restoration and welfare of man, he adds, Job 33:29, that God undertakes (observe the want of parallelism in the distich, Job 33:29) everything with a man twice or thrice (asyndeton, as e.g., Isa 17:6, in the sense of bis terve) in order to bring back his soul from the pi…
The Church Fathers
Eliu has uttered great and very powerful words. But it is a characteristic of every boastful person, that, while giving utterance to truths and mysteries, he suddenly blends with them, through pride of heart, some foolish and proud expressions. For he endeavours to please the world without, in that which he thinks with truth; and is soon despoiled of the truth, just as through haughtiness of pride he goes back from what is inward. For, because he seeks to be approved of outwardly as a man of learning, he loses inwardly the fulness of wisdom, in which he was instructed. Whence also Eliu, (who, as we have often said, represents the arrogant,) having put forth many profound and wise sayings, as soon as he has uttered these sentiments of truth and mystery, is elated by being puffed up with pride at his wisdom. And as his pride rightly deserved, his feeling soon vents itself in empty words. For he subjoined, saying, Attend, O Job, and hearken unto me, and hold thy peace while I speak. But if thou hast any thing to say, answer me; speak: for I wish thee to appear just. But if thou hast not, hearken unto me; hold thy peace, and I will teach thee wisdom. He shews what opinion he has of himself by this expression in which he says, Attend, O Job, and hearken unto me, and hold thy peace while I speak. For it is enormous pride to exact respect from one's elder, and to impose silence on one better than one's self. But because holy preachers, when reproving others, frequently turn back to their own inmost thoughts, through the grace of humility, and seek to ascertain if perchance they are mistaken, in the very thing which they reprove, and give those, whom they reprove, the liberty of stating, in their own behalf, whatever they think more just, haughty men also sometimes wish to imitate this plan. For putting aside, for a while, their pride in words, they seek for a justification of those whom they reprove, if perchance they are able to find one. Not because it is their real feeling, but they wish to set themselves off by a show of humility. For they are afraid of appearing to be proud and haughty, because they are so. Whence Eliu immediately subjoined, saying, But if thou hast any thing to say, answer me; speak, for I wish thee to appear just. But because he did not say this sincerely, he did not wait to hear that which he had asked for. For he added immediately, But if…
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
God will receive him with joy: Cp. Num 6:24-26; Ps 67:1; Acts 2:28; Jude 1:24.
Rashi on Job 33:29
twice or thrice He chastises him for his iniquities with his illness in order not to destroy him, but if he provokes Him further, he should be concerned with Gehinnom or death, as it is written, “Yea for four, I will not return them” (Amos 1:3).
