4 Now Elihu had waited before speaking to Job because they were older than he.
4 Now Elihu had waited
4 Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because they were older than he.
4 Elihu had waited with Job while they spoke because they were all older than he.
4 Now because they were years older than he, Elihu had waited to speak to Job.
4 Elihu had waited for the others to speak to Job because they were older than he.
9 Great men are not always wise: neither do the aged understand judgment.
9 It is not the old
9 The experts have no corner on wisdom; getting old doesn't guarantee good sense.
9 Great men are not always wise, Nor do the aged always understand justice.
9 Sometimes the elders are not wise. Sometimes the aged do not understand justice.
(Read Job 32:6-14)
Elihu professes to speak by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and corrects both parties. He allowed that those who had the longest experience should speak first. But God gives wisdom as he pleases; this encouraged him to state his opinion. By attention to the word of God, and dependence upon the Holy Spirit, young men may become wiser than the aged; but this wisdom will render them swift to hear, slow to speak, and disposed to give others a patient hearing.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Job 32:4
Commentary on Job 32:1-5
(Read Job 32:1-5)
Job's friends were silenced, but not convinced. Others had been present. Elihu was justly displeased with Job, as more anxious to clear his own character than the justice and goodness of God. Elihu was displeased with Job's friends because they had not been candid to Job. Seldom is a quarrel begun, more seldom is a quarrel carried on, in which there are not faults on both sides. Those that seek for truth, must not reject what is true and good on either side, nor approve or defend what is wrong.