Job 33:5

5 "If you are able, answer me. Present [your argument] {before me}; take your stand.

Job 33:5 Meaning and Commentary

Job 33:5

If thou canst answer me
That is, when he had done speaking, after he had heard him out; if he thought he could make a reply to him, he gave him full liberty so to do, and tacitly suggests that he should give him an attentive and candid hearing, as he had requested of him:

set [thy words] in order before me;
put them into the best form and order thou canst for thy self-defence, and level them at me; set them, as it were, in battle array against me; give them all the poignancy, strength, and three thou art capable of:

stand up;
not out of veneration to him, but to denote freedom and boldness in himself; a presentation of himself with boldness, and standing and keeping his ground: the expressions are military; Mr. Broughton renders it, "stand to it".

Job 33:5 In-Context

3 My words [declare] my heart's uprightness, and my lips sincerely speak {what my lips know}.
4 The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of Shaddai gives life to me.
5 "If you are able, answer me. Present [your argument] {before me}; take your stand.
6 Look, before God {I am like you}; I myself was also formed from clay.
7 Look, dread of me should not terrify you, and my hand will not be heavy upon you.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Literally "to the face of me"
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.